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

[launderess]

We Loves Our Air Conditioning

One thing Americans complained of bitterly when visiting the UK/EU was the lack of AC. Those from the otherside of the pond complain bitterly that many American homes,businesses, and or public accomodations are like meat freezers!

One gentleman from Spain even wrote to the New York Times moaning that every shop or place he and his wife visited on their recent trip to NYC that summer were ice cold. He also wondered why something couldn't be done to moderate the temperature.

Growing up in the 1970's AC was a luxury, especially whole house central versions. Many persons had a unit in the living room and or perhaps the master bedroom, but that was about it. Then as with all consumer goods as prices came down everyone seemed to have them everywhere.

Since neither my nor my siblings bedrooms had AC as we grew up, really am not that bothered sleeping even on a quite hot/humid summer's night. However that applies to "NYC heat", once you get down Sawth things are different. That heat and damp coming off the Gulf can make one puddle in matter of seconds.

Think in some ways this move to everyone having ACs killed the fun summer nights of yesterday. I can well remember a hot summer's night would find our street (and most everyone else's one assumes), filled with children playing, adults sitting on the steps/out in the yard etc all because it was simply "too hot inside". People went for drives, or down-town to walk around or even to a movie, lounge or any place else that was "air conditioned". Now you can walk up most areas buck naked on a hot summer night and no one would know. The streets are deserted as everyone is indoors with shut windows enjoying the AC.

To me this is why many parts of Europe, especially the furhter south one goes have such a vibrant night life. Having had ages of time to work out how to live with the climate, people adapt.

 

[hydralique]

A few years ago when our old dryer died (drum fractured and a roller snagged, it was truly worn out) we had to go a few days without a dryer until our new one was delivered. We ended up hanging clothes on hangers all over the orange tree in the backyard - it looked a bit like a demented acid-trip version of a Christmas tree!  That was fun for awhile but lost its luster very rapidly - I can only imagine what the neighbors thought  

 

[MrX]

AC in Ireland is a bit of a waste of time / energy / and totally pointless.

The typical temperatures here simply do not warrant it. It's the same in the UK really too, although the Southeast of England can get a little bit warm in summer compared to the rest of Britain and Ireland. Also, the London underground "the tube" in summer is often just painfully warm. It's totally non-air conditioned and only ventilated by the pressure of the trains moving through the tunnels. Good old 19th century engineering!

Peak summer temperatures around here are about 19-25ºC. (66ºF to 77ºF)

30ºC would be pretty unusual anything above 30ºC would be an absolute shocking heatwave worthy of tabloid "Phew!! what a scorcher!" headlines

Basically, the normal climate here is like a cool air conditioned room anyway.

 

[MrX]

Irish Temperature data

Here's some info on typical Irish temperatures - hence the lack of need for AC !!

I still don't really understand the logic of the popularity of condensor dryers here though. There's absolutely nothing stopping most people from installing a vented dryer in most homes.

95% of people live in houses, and drilling a hole in the wall with a core drill is pretty simple and is done quite regularly for other reasons e.g. adding extract hood vents, gas boiler flue vents, bathroom fans etc etc .

http://www.met.ie/climate/temperature.asp

 

[launderess]

Paris

Must say really am not bothered by lack of AC when in most parts of France, well at least Paris and parts north as well.

Paris is actually a bit north of NYC by latitude, and unlike here it is rare one wakes up to the "dog days of summer" heat common from say late July through August. Yes, Paris can be hot in the afternoon especially in August, but by the time early evening and certainly by nightfall (the sun does not go down until almost well after 9PM in summer), it is much cooler. Indeed one often requires a sweater or jacket if going out. Thus can see how easy it is to get on without AC.

One other great thing about Paris apartments is that most are built with cross ventilation, something usually lacking in NYC unless you have a really huge flat.

 

[combo52]

ENERGY USE AND DRYERS

Air-cooled condenser dryers run hotter and use almost 25% more electricity than vented dryers. No harm meant but Europeans do not take dryers as seriously as we do in the US. Normally the Europeans are very very energy efficient in many ways that that we

 

could learn from, but I have always been amazed that gas dryers were so uncommon in Europe which proves my point about taking dryers seriously. Also it is about impossible to dry large items like mens jeans in a 24"and get wrinkle free clothes.

 

 

 

[hoover1100]

Also it is about impossible to dry large items like mens jea

Myself, and everyone I know does it all the time, and they are not wrinkled at all.

I'm sure this discussion has come up on here before, but a modern condenser works out ever so slightly more efficient than an electric vented dryer and there is no heat loss from the room.

I guess because we use dryers so much less, and there are a lot less of them, the issue of how efficient they are is less important (but still relevant).

I'd imagine in the next 10-15 years or so, heat pump dryers will become commonplace, which are a lot more efficient than any gas or standard electric dryer.

No dryer is more efficient than a clothesline anyway!

Matt

 

[MrX]

Yeah, I have to say, no wrinkle problems whatsoever in our dryer.

 

[launderess]

What Was That? What Did You Say About 24" Dryers?

Well as one who spent the weekend doing several loads of wash in the Miele, then drying in a vintage Whirlpool 24" dryer, I take exception to that remark! *LOL*

Towels, T-Shirts, the lot all came out wrinkle free, and that was after loads were spun in the spin dryer for 5 to 7 minutes. If there is anything that will put in creases, a spin dryer will do it.

Have also dried jeans in my dryer, but never until they are crispy. Mainly just enough to work out any wrinkles from the final spin cycle, then they are hung up to finish drying.

 

[cfz2882]

24"dryers

i really like my 24"asko,it holds and effectivly drys a pretty big load for
it's small size-works really nice for my typical neptune and filter flo
loads,i usually run the 60min timed cycle or one of the sensed cycles for
smaller or light fabric loads.
Operating with an ambient temp of around 65*,this air cooled condensor
dryer seems quite effective-there is a squirrel cage blower on each end of
the 3300 rpm split-capacitor motor,one blower circulates drying air though
through the drum,heater and condenser along with a very fine-mesh lint filter
the other blower blows ambient air through the condenser.When the condensate
reservoir gets to a certain level a small pump starts and pumps out through
a tube of about 3/8".
My much slower and lower wattage splendide is a water cooled condenser;
a fan-forced heater circulates heated air through the drum while cold tap
water is trickled along the inner surface of the stainless steel outer tub
to condense away water as the drain pump cycles at timed intervals.

 

[dj-gabriele]

ENERGY USE AND DRYERS

@combo52

No offense taken, at all, but I just want to clarify a thing.
We (as Europeans) are energy conscious even when it comes to dryer as they're rated for energy. (even if it would be better not to use them at all!)
Actually new condenser dryers are more efficient than every vented dryer ever sold over here.

Virtually all the vented dryers are energy class C: that means a stated energy use of 0,67 kWh per kg of dried laundry. Older ones might be D class or even E.
All the new standard condenser dryers are on energy class B, that means a consumption of less than 0,64 kWh per kg of dried laundry because they "re-cycle" part of the heat they put out in the room.

Thus, the "condenser dryers run hotter and use almost 25% more electricity than vented dryers" statement is valid only when comparing old machines and surely not those made after the energy label came in wide use.
If you think at modern heat pump dryers (again, condensing machines) the energy use is between A-30% to A-50%, only 0,27-0,38 kWh per kg of dried clothes.

 

[haxisfan]

Issue with wrinkling...

Improper use once again would lead to wrinkles, uneven drying and poor results in general.

Who cares about the max capacity declared by the manufacturer... if you load the dryer no more than half its visible drum size (never mind about the weight of the items in your load) I can assure you that you won't need to iron ever again. In my case my washer spins items continuously for 10 minutes... none of this faffing about for 2-3 minutes... then a little burst of spin and more faffing about! Yet my clothes look as if they've been ironed when I'm done with them: of course I don't expect that they did so by themselves... I indulge into running my hand over them once they've been folded!

Having said that there are still some obstinate items that would wrinkle no matter what... regardless of using the dryer... well, I'm thinking of a few pillow cases of mine made of 100% egyptian cotton and they punctually get creases. The get folded and put away without being ironed and by the time I need to use them again they'll be as flat as a pancake!

As I've never seen a gas dryer in my life, I was wondering whether these work in a similar fashion as a vented dryer... I would appreciate a confirmation from you folks. Thanks.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Gas dryers:

The burner, started by a spark (older ones had a pilot flame) ignites every time that the temperature drops below a set threshold or on more sophisticated ones, the flame intensity is modulated and never stops burning.
The flame, heats the air along with its combustion gas and everything is pumped in the drying chamber via a fan that operates in suction like a standard vented dryer. I don't know if there are gas dryers that have heat exchangers so the combustion products don't enter in contact with the clothes!

After that the hot humid air is just evacuated outside.

 

[solsburian]

My aunt has (or had) a White Knight Gas Dryer and she loved it, I haven't seen her for a while but if she still has it it will probably be 15 years old now.

 

[hydralique]

In use there is no difference between a gas dryer and a conventional electric dryer: you put the clothes in, set your cycle and it does the rest. On some models you might hear a small "whoosh" as the burner open up, same as a water heater or furnace, but generally this isn't as loud as the noise made by the drum and clothes falling about. Gas dryers usually dry a little faster and are cheaper to run than electrics, which is why many of us prefer them. The only disadvantage is that you have to have an appropriate gas line.

 

[3beltwesty]

USA electric 3 and 4 wire dryer plugs

In USA 240 volt electric dryer plugs; older dryers had/have a 3 wire plug; newer dryers use a 4 wire plug.

A dryer like my 1976 Westinghouse has a 3 wire plug; two 120 Volt "hots" to Neutral

A newer dryer and new codes require an added green wire ground; this is the 4th wire on the plug.

In the USA a the meter and if the circuit panel is close; the neutral wire and ground are connected together. In many places there is a 10 foot long copper coated 1/2 inch diameter ground rod driven in the ground; right below the electric meter.

In the USA is the panel is away from the tie together of earth/ground and neutral; the panel has to have a separate Neutral and Ground bus bar in the circuit breaker box. Most boxes have this; but if the baox is right by the meter the two bus bars are connected together.

With a remote circuit breaker box; the neutral wire is often a volt or two away from ground since the two 120 volt legs are not always balanced in the amperage they are carrying that moment.

If the neutral wire from the transformer on the street is broken; lost; then the sum of the two hot legs still is 240 volts; but one might have 170 volts on one leg and 70 on another. This means the FRAME on some older 3 wire dryers that was tied to neutral *may* float way above ground and thus somebody could get shocked. Having a defined green wire ground tied to the copper ground rod reduces this.

http://fixitnow.com/appliantology/dryercords.htm

 

[3beltwesty]

In the USA heating say water in a water heater with natural gas costs here about 1/3 to 1/2 as much as using an electric version.

In dryers; a gas dryer too often costs 1/3 to 1/2 as much to run too, but one has often added water vapor released so in humid areas like here often it is more like 1/2. Here one has to factor in the cost of having a licensed gas plumber add the gas disconnect or one's house fire insurance is voided if your non licensed set up causes the fire. Some places charge more for fire insurance depending on the gas appliances. If one lives where one has little risks, insurance companies might not include risks and look at details as much. Here if my house is fully insured for wind, fire,floods, and liability the premium is about 8000 dollars per year. Thus many of us do not insure for everything; we cannot afford it.

Fore me with only washing about twice a week, buying a gas dryer has no rate of return. I have to factor in buying a gas dryer, paying big bucks for a licensed gas plumbers connection, added insurance costs. Pre Katrina, when a gas water heater in the attic died, I did a bypass on it and only now use one water heater and got that attic gas water heater off the insurance companys risk spreadsheet.

On another thread, another says insurance companies in the USA do not consider gas dryers to be an added risk. Here since full coverage is 154 dollars per week in insurance, they look at more items on their risk sheets.

 

[combo52]

24' DRYERS ARE TOO SMALL TO DRY LARGE ITEMS

Of coerce you can dry 2 or 3 pairs of jeans with reasonable success in a small dryer. But drying heavy jeans and towels in small batches is a waste of energy and time and wear and tear on the dryer itself. Drying heavy items is a little like baking cake layers in an oven, you can bake two layers in about 30 minutes. But you can bake 6 layers in say 35 minutes using almost no more energy than just baking two.

 

But I always dry loads of at least 6 jeans or sometimes more than 10 pair per load. Keep in mind that I even think that the 27" dryers that are becoming more popular here are too small for the best results, I will keep my 29 and 31" wide dryers thank you.

 

I would be willing to bet that the great majority of clothing dried in hotels, hospitals, restaurants etc etc in Europe is dried with gas dryers, they are just the most energy efficient way to dry clothes on any scale.

 

Heat-pump dryers show great promise and will give gas dryers a run for the money. My brother [ Jeff ] and I designed heat-pump dryers over 30 years ago, while I can't claim that we thought of it first we knew that it was a sound idea that would make sense.

 

[hoover1100]

24' DRYERS ARE TOO SMALL TO DRY LARGE ITEMS

Well I dry 6kg (13lbs) of towels, or bed linen, or jeans in my 24" dryer no problem.

I can also dry about 5lbs of the same loads in my compact dryer (half the size of a 24" machine)

Nothing is ever creased, if anything clothes dry much more evenly and less creased because our dryers reverse and won't ball sheets or anything up like a unidirectional dryer.

Matt

 

[logixx]

What I also have to say regarding vented vs. condenser: condenser dryers seem to dry much more evenly when doing mixed loads.

I didn't change sorting habits when using the big Speed Queen dryers at the laundry room of my UK dorm. That is to say, I threw jeans and T-Shirts in at the same time - just like I do at home. At the end of the 30 min. cycle, some items were dry while others were still moist. This doesn't happen with condenser dryers. Everything dries pretty much at the same pace, as the moisture level of the entire load is gradually reduced.

Alex