NON USA Dryers; what is typical, electric, gas, clothes line?

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Plugs and polarity in Europe

The de facto standard single phase European plug used in most countries is known as 'Schuko' or CEE 7/X. CEE 7/7 is the grounded version and CEE 7/16 is the non-grounded version for small appliances.

The CEE 7/X family of plugs is *not* polarised i.e. you can insert the plugs either way.

As a result *all* appliances on sale in Europe must be designed to be perfectly safe regardless of whether the phase and neutral are reversed.

The plugs used in the UK and Ireland are polarised and can only be inserted in one way.

Also, when CEE 7/7 plugs are used in French sockets, they are polarised as there's a grounding pin which prevents the plug from being inserted the 'wrong' way.

European wiring:

N = 0V (Blue)
L1 = 230V (Brown)
L2 = 230V (Black)
L3 = 230V (Grey)
Ground =0V (Yellow & Green stripes)

Phase to Phase = 400V

The standard CEE 7 socket outlet rated 16Amps (Grounding connectors are the clips at the top and bottom of the socket recess. The recessed socket is designed to make it impossible to touch the pins when you're inserting the plug.

mrx++3-27-2011-17-20-27.jpg
 
UK & Ireland plug

The plug and socket used in the UK and Ireland is rated 13amps and carries an internal fuse (rated from 3 amps to 13 amps depending on the appliance).

This is required because the UK and Ireland allow "ring circuits" which basically means that sockets are connected on a 32amp power bus which runs around all of the sockets in a given area. This is protected by a 32amp breaker + RCD (GFCI) which is sufficient to protect the house wiring and you from electric shock but, local fusing is required for the appliance.

The appliance and its cable are protected by the local fuse in the plug itself. Every plug in this system has a fuse and it is impossible (due to interlocked shutters) to insert anything other than a BS1363 plug into the socket outlet. (the ground pin, must go in first, followed by equal pressure on the line and neutral 'holes' to open the socket).
 
UK/IRL plug

Here's the pic of the UK / Ireland plug type BS1363.

Rated 13amps max. (Delivers just shy of 3000W at 230V)

mrx++3-27-2011-17-25-31.jpg
 
Fuses...

All Australian homes are fused at the meter with either 'old style' breakable wired fuses for each particular circuit (lights, hot water, power points etc) or with circuit breakers, as in our case.

 

We have the following...

 

30amp - stove

20amp - power

20amp - power

20amp - power

20amp - power

20amp - power

20amp - airconditioner

20amp - airconditioner (was hot water...we've now got gas so the ignition runs off a normal power point)

10amp - lights

10amp - lights

 

I should add, that this is a very large house given it was built in 1981...330sqm/3600sqft (including garages) and seems to have been 'over fused' for the time....

 
 
Thing To Remember About Gas

Is that outside of the Untied States it is not always common to find piped natural gas supplies, especially outside of major urban areas. Thus what gas there is, is often tanked propane.

This has much to do with the rather low supplies of natural resources aside from coal, found in most of the EU/UK. IIRC, natural gas to much of the UK is piped from Norway and or other countries up that way where petrol can be found, including their own North Sea operations.

Given the old, in some cases very old housing stock in many EU/UK countries installing gas lines could pose a problem. However many homes that were built and or reconfigured to accept coal gas (used for lighting), find those gas lines are still active though it is natural gas coming out of the pipes.

Remember watching "1900 House" when they were converting the "modern" Victorian town house back to it's original turn of the last century status. All the workmen had to do was remove the caps/seals from the lighting fixtures, and gas (natural) came out.

I lived in an older apartment building in Brooklyn where the gas lines for lighting were still in the walls. One neighbor who had lived for decades in the place told me a story. For years she couldn't figure out why the power company was sending her bills for gas. The only appliance in the apartments that used the stuff was the range, and that was included with the rent. To settle the matter ConEd sent a work crew out to examine the building/apartment. It turned out the gas lines for lighting were still active! Apparently when the buidling was wired for electric no one bothered to seal off the gas for the lines coming from the street. Hard to imagine that for generations residents of that building were *that* close to getting the "Gaslight Treatment*
 
@ronhic

Yeah, ours is similar, but there are also fuses in all plugs here.

Distribution board is like this:

Main Fuse 100A (Covers whole panel)
Main isolating switch (Whole panel)

Sockets Kitchen - 20A RCD I @30mA
Sockets Kitchen - 20A RCD I @30mA
Sockets Utility Room - 20A RCD I @30mA
Sockets Utility Room - 20A RCD I @30mA
Sockets Living Room - 20A RCD 2 @30mA
Sockets Dining Room - 20A RCD 2 @30mA
Sockets Study - 20A RCD 2 @30mA

Garage - 20A RCD 2 @30mA

Sockets Bedroom 1 - 20A RCD 3 @30mA
Sockets Bedroom 2- 20A RCD 3 @30mA
Sockets Bedroom 2 - 20A RCD 3 @30mA
Sockets Bedroom 4 - 20A RCD 3 @30mA

Outside sockets 16A RCBO @30mA

Bathroom lighting & Fans (all bathrooms) 10A RCBO @ 10mA

Lighting living room + dining room 10A RCBO @30mA
Lighting Kitchen 10A RCBO @30mA
Lighting study + halls 10A RCBO @30mA
Lighting Bedroom 1 + 2 10A RCBO @30mA
Lighting Bedroom 3+ 4 + hall 10A RCBO @30mA
Outside lights 10 A RCBO @30mA

Central Heating System 6A RCBO @30mA
Water Heater 20A RCD 2 @30mA
Home network gear : 16A RCD 2 @30mA
Fridge/Freezer : 16A RCBO @30mA

RCBO = combined MCB (Circuit Breaker) and RCD (GFCI)
RCD = Residual Current Device (GFCI)
Each RCD is numbered and controls a number of circuits.
 
...all the bedrooms in this house have 4 x 230v 10amp power points with the main having 6...

 

Lounge room has 6...

Dining room has 4

Family room has 6

Garage has 8

Laundry only 1 (what gives here??? I want 6!)

Bathroom has 2

Ensuite 1

Outside 2x2 in diferent locations

Upstairs hall has 2 x10amp and 1x15amp (for the airconditioner)

Entry 1

 

 

...and 11 in the kitchen

 

There are power points everywhere....trust me, we may have to run power boards for entertainment (TV, amp, DVD...etc), but nothing like we used to....
 
Sockets / Power points:

Kitchen : 19
Utility : 6
Living Room : 8
Hallway 4
Study 8
Dining Room : 6
Master Bedroom : 8
Bedroom 1: 4
Bedroom 2: 4
Bedroom 3: 4
Hallway : 2
Bathrooms : 1 X isolation transformer supplied shaver socket in each (normal sockets are illegal here in bathrooms)
Garage : 2
Outside : 4 (Weather proof)
Attic : 2 (for data equipment)

I am counting each socket, most of them are double plates so they're counted as "2".
 
WOW!

 

I thought we had plenty.....but I have to say that I love the idea of having 19 in the kitchen....

 

Though, I did miss one....the dishwashers...
 
@launderess

The vast majority of homes in Europe are heated with natural gas and natural gas cooking is also pretty popular. For some reason though, gas tumble dryers never really have been much more than a niche item. I am not entirely sure why that is as they are cheaper to run.

Gas, initially coal-gas, has been used in European cities for as long as it has been in existence and was introduced to homes as early as the 1807, so it drastically predates the 1900 house :)

In the UK and Ireland, gas-fired hydronic (water-filled radiator) heating systems are by far the most common in use.

I don't think that you'll find much natural gas in rural anywhere, including the United States. It's not economic to provide remote houses with network connections.

So, in rural areas, if gas is used, it's usually LPG (liquified petroleum gas) i.e. propane delivered by bulk tanker or in over-sized canisters.

@hoover1100

Re: Northern Ireland Natural Gas.

Natural gas is available in Northern Ireland. It's just not provided by the same companies as Britain.
There are connections to Northern Ireland from the gas grid in Britain and from the Republic of Ireland. The two main suppliers of Natural Gas up there are Phoenix Energy and Firmus (which is owned by BGE, the main gas company in the Republic of Ireland)

Because a lot of Ireland (North and South) is relatively rural / non-dense urban you will tend to find that there are probably a higher % of LPG (propane) installations than in say the South of England. But, natural gas is widely available in any major urban area and even some quite small/middle sized towns.

Natural gas came on stream in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s when the Kinsale Head Gas field was discovered. It rapidly replaced "town gas" (coal gas) just as it did in Britain after the discovery of gas in the North Sea in the 1960s/70s.

Northern Ireland remained "off grid" until the 1990s though!

Natural gas network in Ireland : (Gas fields : Corrib Gas and Kinsale Gas)

mrx++3-27-2011-20-02-34.jpg
 
I ALWAYS use the dryer - it's just part of "doing laundry" for me. Even though we have a rotary clothes dryer in our garden, actually a quite expensive one that retracts the lines into its "arms" when not in use to keep them clean, I never use it. I much prefer using the dryer: no bleaching from the sun, no roughness, no creases and no stink. I know, some people say they love the smell of laundry dried outside but I don't. The air around here is pretty clean - after all, I'm practically surrounded by trees in this area of Germany - yet, I think air-dried clothes smell nasty. I either want them to smell of softener or of nothing. Also, I can't stand to fiddle around with every little sock, piece of underwear etc. etc. No! Just toss it all in the dryer and let the sensors take care of everything.

As for dryers themselves: the most common type of tumble dryer in Germany is the sensor-controlled condenser dryer. Out of the approx. 50 dryers we have on the sales floor, only three are vented and not a single one is time-controlled. We do have (and sell) an increasing amount of heat-pump dryers, as they typically use half the energy of a traditional dryer. Gas dryer are practically non-existent. As are dryers that are larger than 24x24 inches - unless one would get a professional unit, of course.

Capacity-wise, the largest drums are 4.2 cu.ft., which is enough for 13 lbs. Yet, some manufacturers claim their dryers hold almost 20 pounds, which, I guess, they do but the result will be a wrinkled mess. Most dryers change drum rotation like a washing machine, although Bosch/Siemens and others make uni-directional dryers these days. Our Electrolux changes direction every five minutes for about 10 seconds. Miele dryers have a sensor that can detect a balled-up load and reverse accordingly.

Another difference is the moisture-sensing system: most (all?) US dryer with moisture sensors (not Auto Dry) have metal bars either at the front or back of the drum. Typically, European dryers use the drum vanes as sensors, which works very precisely. Our dryer actually uses the entire drum to sense moisture so even a single item can be dried on a sensor setting! If no clothes are in the drum, it'll shut off within seconds. That's how good the sensors are. Again, some manufactures (Bosch/Siemens) are using the "metal bar" system on their Euro units, too.

We also didn't have more than two temp settings until recently. Normal (+/- 158F) or low (+/- 122F). What I wonder is how do US dryers control their five different settings? I suppose they just turn the heater on and off? Especially gas dryers? German dryers - being electric - have two heaters, which they engage according to the temp selected. Our dryer has a 1000W and a 1400W element. Combined or individually, they are cycled throughout the drying process.

Full stainless steel drums are the norm. Glass doors can be had from many manufacturers, now.

Alex
 
On older US electric dryers there is just a thermostat that cycles on and off that controls the temperature.

My old 1976 Westinghouse dryer is about 23 amps at 240 single phase; or 20 amps for 3 phase 208 volts; or about 13 to 14 amps when wired for only 120 volts.

Mine is today on 240 volts plugged into a 30 amp socket; with #10 wire in the wall to a 30 amp double pole breaker. #10 wire is about 1/10 inch dia; approx 2.5mm.

An old dryer like mine uses the Neutral too; the AC motor runs on one 120 volt leg; the heater coil on 240 volts for 5400 watts and just say 1400 watts when on 120 volts ie low heat setting.

Westinghouse and some other brands used the coil at 1/2 voltage for low heat settings.

Other electric dryer makers in the USA use a special thermostat; that has an interal heater. They "heat" thermostat up to get a low temp setting, the thermostat has many leads. The dryers low and mid heat settings are with external resistors that vary the heat "inside" the thermostat; to alter the temp at which cycling happens.

My own 1976 westinghouse dryer heats up the air with coils and this passes through the drum; then through the door, through the suction blower blower below and by the THERMOSTAT; then goes outside in the 4" /100mm vent tube.

The thermostat turns off about 145F to 150 F and back on say 10 to 15 F lower
 
I thought modern condenser dryers used room air for cooling and so was amazed at the lack of vented dryers on the European market, given that they're often located in kitchens rather than laundry rooms or garages. I'm aware that winter temperatures in Europe are often quite cold aside from Mediterranean climates - I've spent time in eastern France and Germany during the winter - but it can get unpleasantly hot and humid in the summer. Cutting a dryer vent in most walls, even masonry walls, is no big thing, so I wonder why there are so few vented dryers? And in the warmer parts of Spain and Italy I can't imagine paying European electrical rates to keep the a/c going while the dryer heats up the room!
 
in the warmer parts of Spain and Italy I can't imagine p

I'm sure nobody would use a dryer in summer in Italy also because the "standard" power contract is limited to 3,3kW of power and with "high-power" contracts limited to 6,6 kW, so at best you have 15 or 30 Ampere at 230V!
 
I'm not entirely sure about the energy efficiency of air-to-air condensor dryers either to be honest. I would like to see a side-by-side comparison.

We have a vented Miele dryer and it's a fantastic machine. It just dries reliably, quickly and doesn't produce crinkles or over-heated clothes.

It's going strong, without a single repair since 1998 and still looks new.

That machine gets used almost daily.

I have found that some condensors run very hot and they also seem to take a very long time to dry compared to vented dryers.

I am not really sure why they became so popular in Europe. From what I can see it's mostly marketing hype.

I have even seen people install condensors in utility rooms that already had ducting for dryer venting pre-installed!
 
I can't imagine paying European electrical rates to keep

As Gabriele says, you would never use the dryer in that weather (there's no point)

Also, even in Southern Europe, A/C is nowhere near as widespread as it is in the US. Some homes have them, but from what I've seen in Spain and Italy, many (most?) do not.

In the UK, A/C it's basically non-existant (especially in domestic environments), and it's use reserved for large shops and office buildings, even then, it wouldn't be used very much at all.

Matt
 
Condenser Dryers

Cannot speak for the rest of Europe, but at least in Paris and other parts of France with strict building zoning, it is either a condenser dryer or nothing. One simply cannot drill holes into walls of those Baron Haussmann buildings to make a vent. Indeed think that applies to most all "older" (and we're talking anything still standing from the 1600's through perhaps built just prior or after WWII. Same goes for air conditioning, which also explains those portable units with ducting that goes out a window.

IIRC, consumer magazine tests on both sides of the pond usually put vented dryers ahead of condensers in terms of drying time. As for water cooled condenser dryers, only remember seeing one of those. It was in our high school's "home ec" suite. For some reason "Whirlpool" sticks in my mind, though many here in the group say it wasn't possible. Only remember teacher having to turn on a water tap behind the machine before starting up the unit. This she complained about bitterly as having to use the thing even during a "water shortage". However can see why it was installed. The classroom suite did not face an exterior wall, and there was no way to run ducting to where it could exit. As the school still stands and is use, wonder if the dryer remains?
 
I am not surprised that there is a market for condenser dryers in Europe, what surprises me is that there is virtually no market for vented dryers (as Logixx notes above only 3 out of 50 dryers on a showroom floor).  

 

As far as using the dryer in the summer, I see good reasons to do this. If your yard has lots of trees as mine does, there may not be much place to put a clothesline in a location that's both attractive and not under the trees, and if you dry under the trees you're going to get bird droppings plus the shade inhibits drying. In addition, many people leave in the morning for work at 8:00 to get there by 9:00, and don't get home until 6:00 at the earliest. That really doesn't leave much time for hanging clothes, especially if you often do your laundry in the evening. When I was a small child my mother line dried all her wash. It smelled great and was fun to help with, but at that time she was a stay at home housewife and had the time to do it. Once she went back to work everything went into the dryer.
 
Here on the Miss coast it was so hot Sunday that I turned on one AC unit; since the humidity was so high inside that my glasses kept fogging up.

In line drying of clothes this time of year sometimes one gets gobs of pollen, thus line drying gets pollen all over ones items.

Sometimes a humid approach is used, the line is used to mostly dry items then the dryer is used to fully dry and fluff towels and fully dry jeans.

In big casinos locally; AC units are running often in January where many folks are bunched together, while other parts of the casinos are using heat. ie both heating and cooling in the same building.
 
Exact, as Matt pointed out, Air conditioning is a "new" thing to have in the house, if you look at the 2010 situation, only around 40% of the houses of my town had air conditioning and most only in the bedrooms.
My family was one of the first to put aircon in the 90s and at the time it was regarded as an expensive luxury!
And I must say it is! With our prices, the electric bill for june and july alone, usually is around 400-500 euros (570-710 USD)!!!!

At the moment we're putting on a new tri-split De Longhi inverter airconditioner for the bedrooms and two separate machines for the living rooms and kitchen
 
In Los Angeles I just had a piece of R59 white coax cable why high above the 5 foot long shower/tub; held be two screw eyes. It was so dry that bluejeans would dry bone dry in 1/2 day, plus it added a tad of humidity that was needed too. If it was humid I just had this dinky fan aimed at the items to accelerate the drying to a few hours for bluejeans, often minutes for shirts.
 

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