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

[3beltwesty]

"condenser dryer"

OK so does "condenser dryer" have the same meaning across the globe?

I ask because here it is not really a common term used here at all.

ie are there variants of "condenser dryer" designs so that dialog here might be murky?

What is a good block diagram of one? Is the condensed water dumped out, evaporated, drained in a tube down a drain?

****ie are their eco thrifty versions and horrible wastefull versions of them?

Here I am not so familar with them.

 

[foraloysius]

Here's a scheme of how an Asko condenser dryers work. All European condenser dryers work similar. The red flow is circulating air in the dryer. In the condenser the air gets cooled by the blue flow. The water that is condensed is pumped into a reservoir or can in most cases be pumped into a drain with a small hose (The hose of my Miele dryer fits together with the drain hose of the washer in one drain pipe).

 

[launderess]

Commerical Businesses And Their Laundry

Again, cannot speak for the rest of the EU/UK, but at least in Paris and many other major urban areas of France the larger hotels, hospitals etc send their laundry out to commercial laundries. There one assumes you are correct in the use of large steam or gas heated vented driers versus condenser models. The volume of laundry is just too large IMHO for anything else.

There is along tradition going back ages for those living in French cities to send their wash either to the country (or out of it). This was originally done in aid of finding fresh water and air (both in short supply at that time).

I've stayed at some small hotels in Paris where they did their own laundry, but once you go to the medium or larger places, things can change.

As in the United States many businesses simply feel it is "cheaper" in the long run to outsource their laundry. Between labour,machine and supply costs, not to mention costs of staffing, it just makes sense.

 

[pierreandreply4]

here in canada the use of electric dryers are use offend as certain canadian citys have ban for newer construction the use of clothes lines and that also applys to condos like i live in

 

[cfz2882]

american condenser dryers

several u.s. appliance manufacturers made condenser dryers around the 1950s,
both air and water cooled-i don't know many details so will start a thread
in imperial

 

[lavamat_jon]

24' DRYERS ARE TOO SMALL TO DRY LARGE ITEMS

 

<span style="font-style: normal;">I'm guessing in that case then I have only imagined the perfect results I got this weekend when I dried a load of 6 pairs of jeans, a denim shirt and a denim jacket, or two big loads of towels in my little old AEG .  (I would usually use the clothes horse - either on the landing or on the front terrace, but had a laundry marathon this weekend after being away so had no option but to use the dryer).</span>

 

<span style="font-style: normal;">Only creasing I get is when I forget all about the washing in the dryer until 2 days or so later! Then, that's nothing that putting the dryer on the Easy Iron programme won't sort.</span>

 

<span style="font-style: normal;">To answer the thread: I have a condenser dryer, but depending on time/space/amount of laundry I can get through I am less hesitant to use the dryer than I once was.  A little bit more on the electric bill mind...  One thing I miss about living in a flat is no washing line, when I was at the parents I had an ideal set up - the washer is next to the back door, and the line starts outside just next to the back door so you could literally hang stuff up right out of the washer without having to empty it all into a basket first.</span>

 

<span style="font-style: normal;">Jon</span>

 

[MrX]

Just did a standard sized laundry hamper of towels in the Aqualtis and then into our Electrolux Inspire 7kg (15.4lbs) dryer.

No wrinkles.

The only problem that I ever have is if you leave the clothes in the dryer for too long. Ideally, you should just remove them at the end of the cycle when the buzzer sounds and there are no crinkling / creasing problems at all.

Also, using a fabric softener (not dryer sheets) always produces better results.

The towels were washed in Ariel and conditioned with Ecover - they smell really nice

 

[haxisfan]

10 minute final cool tumble:

I always leave my clothes in the dryer overnight (whether they've been on the line beforehand or not) as I'm usually sleeping when the drying cycle has completed... still no creases after a refresh programme. All tumble dryers have a 10 minute cold tumble at the end of any programme to cool down the garments and avoid the creation of wrinkles.

The only problem I've had with a full mixed load is that some of the thicker items might occasionally not be entirely dry as the rest of the load, so, when this happens, I allow an extra refresh cycle for them alone.

Some1 here suggested that this uneven drying scenario wouldn't occur in a condenser dryer (mine being vented)... well, if that's the case my next drying machine will have to be a condensing unit... however I feel that a vented dryer is easier on fabrics as it doesn't bake them as much ;-)

 

[combo52]

24' DRYERS ARE TOO SMALL TO DRY LARGE ITEMS

I never said you couldn't get saterfactory results out of a 24" dryer, but if you sit them SxS the difference is dramatic in the way the clothes emerge and even more so if you leave them sit in the dryer overnite. I would bet that they don't use 24" condensing dryers in commerical laundries in Europe. Bigger is always going to be better in a dryer drums size.

 

I also would like to see some test data that shows that condenser dryers use less electricity than vented machines. It used to be the other way around and it would be interesting to know what breakthrough allowed them to become more efficient. Since the very beginnings of clothes dryers very little has been done to improve efficiency the science was pretty much the same for all  dryers. The heat-pump dryer may be the one big exception.

 

[launderess]

Well No, They Wouldn't Would They?

Use 24" dryers in a commercial laundry, I mean who would anywhere?

Like 18" dishwashers, small 24" dryers are meant to serve a specific market. Mainly those whom are "space" challenged to put it nicely. Am sure many a EU housewife might love a *uber* sized dryer, but where is she going to put it?

 

[lavamat_jon]

When I lived in student accommodation a few years ago, the commercial Maytag Neptune gas dryers were a lot harsher on clothes and left stuff more creased than any of our domestic dryers ever had.

 

Why, I do not know, but that's how it was.

 

I've never used massive commercial dryers to dry anything other than duvets, so I can't comment how laundry comes out of those.

 

Jon

 

[hoover1100]

Commercial dryers

And American style dryers I've used get far hotter than even our condenser dryer's highest heat setting.

As a result of this, I find they tend to bake creases in a lot more, and seem to do a much shorter (around 2min) cooldown which is completely inadequate.

Because they don't reverse, items like sheets tangle and ball up much more, which results in damp, particularly creased patches which have been stuck scrunched up in a ball. Same is true for any dryer which doesn't reverse. I find this with my Carlton compact dryer.

At the end of the day, the main reasons clothes will crease in the dryer is over drying, being left in the dryer too long, too much heat and of course, overloading.

If your used to an American size/style dryer, using a different type will take some adjusting to.

I guess the same is true from my position, having found less than desirable results out of American size/style machines.

Same is probably true for the "what is better, vented or condenser?" argument.

It all boils down to what you know and what you are used to, changing to a different method requires a learning curve to get it right.

Matt

[this post was last edited: 3/30/2011-09:08]

 

[chestermikeuk]

Baffling & Bizzar!!!

Is the only reality with the "results and uber size dryer comments", whyever would you not get perfect results (satisfactory or otherwise) out of a tumble dryer manufactured in Europe??

Vented is the best option over condenser (IMHO), many manufacturers are introducing back TOL vented models after years of complaints about condensers, which may I add is usually due to the condensers not being maintained & regulary cleaned...

As to Heat Pump - the jurys out...they require even more of a thought process - here in UK we are used to spinning everything fast (Max Extract) and then popping spun clothing into a dryer where the moisture is low and the heat flow drops any creases due to spinning - that way you get great results and fast economical drying times.

Having used a few heat pump dryers I have been dissapointed with the results, because there is hardly any heat in the dryer they dont drop creases etc, (they basically suck the moisture out of the air flow and clothes tumble in cooler air) in fact the cycles work in reverse of the traditional dryers, residual heat builds up as the cycle progresses. So you lose the steamy airflow out of a condenser and lose the heated drum surface which acts like an iron out of the vented dryers!!

The trick then is to have more moisture in the clothes and to avoid excess creasing, you will still save on energy in a heat pump but not on time!!!

heres another condenser dryer diagram, appliance front is RHS

 

[3beltwesty]

Matt; the old 1976 Westy dryer here has a long cool down cycle in the automatic setting. The heater is off for about something like 5 to 10 minutes and the dryer keeps on spinning and thus the temp drops as the heat is exhausted. If one has something that is really heat sensistive, the lower 1/4 power 120 volt "low setting" with a timed dry really slowly drys stuff, since the input power is only 1300 to 1400 watts, instead of 5400 watts.

 

[mielabor]

Maytag gas dryer

@foraloysius

Well Louis, your link points to a site where they sell Maytag gas dryers. That's an unusual brand name in the Netherlands...

 

[mielabor]

These are the specifications:

http://www.gaswasdroger.eu/pdf/maytag_specificaties_eng.pdf

 

[foraloysius]

They changed the website after I posted the link. Yes, there was an American gas dryer in that link, but it was a Huebsch dryer with top mounted controls. Huebsch is not only sold in North America, but also in Europe.

I noticed there are two other models as well, a Maytag one and a more European looking model named Hamstra.

 

[3beltwesty]

What is the typical wattage of non us condensor dryers?

 

[3beltwesty]

Is the wattage such that one needs a higher current socket; or is it low enough that it is the same 230 volt plug/socket that all ones other stuff uses?

 

[logixx]

No extra socket is needed - the average dryer has +/- 2500 watts. Heat-pump version can go as low as 1200 watts.