Please reccomend a decent but affordable condenser dryer

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A condenser dryer works by passing the hot moist air of the condenser (similar to the cold coil known as the evaporator in an air con unit). This is the cartridge cassette you pull out to clean every so often.

This cartridge has wide flat tubes that overlep each other and run from top to bottom and left to right but they dont join up. Hot moist air is pulled through one set of tubes running usually the longest way of the condenser cartridge and fan sucks room temperature air thruogh the other set of tubes. This cools the cartridge down to dew point (similar to a glass of ice cold water on a hot day) and the moisture in the hot air sticks to the cooler surface. This is then collected in the water tank or drained away. The cooled dryer air then recirculated back through the heating elements and back into the dryer. As the room temperature air is the "refrigerant" in this case it is not that good as a cooling medium which is why condenser dryers have bad press at being slow.

IN a heat pump dryer the condenser cartridge is replaced by an evaporator coil identical to that of an air con or dehumidifier system. A cooling circuit setup the same as in an air con system is plumbed into the dryer with refrigerant running through the evaporator this brings the evaporator coil down to a very cold temperature and is much more efficient at removing the moisture from the damp hot air. After the evaporator coil is the condenser coil (hot side or outdoor coil in an air con unit). This is setup in the same way as a dehumidifier with a compressor.. the cold dry air is then reheated back upto temperature and makes it way back into the dryer to repeat the cycle.

I found this also:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/laundry/2004120958010854.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/laundry/2004120958010854.html
 
Which review of the John Lewis version of heat pump BEKO

Just signed upto which so copied and pasted from their site: To be honest its got me worried at this bit - "If you put a small 3kg load of cottons in the drum, you'll not see your laundry again for an hour and 55 minutes - 45 minutes longer than the average drying time for this amount of clothes."

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The Beko DP8045CW is the first heat pump condenser tumble dryer that we've tested that costs less than £500. Typically heat pump tumble dryers like these can halve running costs compared to standard condenser and vented dryers - but has Beko cut corners to make a heat pump dryer this cheap? Find out if it's worth buying and what it'll add to your energy bills in our review below.

This heat pump tumble dryer may cost a lot less to run compared to non-heat pump dryers, but it's very noisy and drying times are around average, reducing to sluggish if you're not drying a full load. As such, it doesn't have what it takes to be a Which? Best Buy.

What is it?
This striking looking dryer can hold a healthy 8kg of laundry, which is great if you have a large busy household that has a lot of clothes to dry.

A child lock option is on hand to stop nippers from changing the program selection mid-cycle, and a light inside in the drum will help you spot any rogue garments hoping to stay hidden.

The heat-pump technology behind this dryer means it costs a lot less to run compared to a regular condenser dryer. This is because heat pumps re-circulate the same air - which uses a lot less power.

It will condenser the moisture taken from your laundry into a water reservoir - which you'll need to empty regularly. A hose is supplied with this machine to connect it directly to a water waste pipe - using it saves you the effort of manually emptying the reservoir.

What's it great at?
This machine doesn't excel at much, but it does at least dry loads impressively evenly, meaning you won't find rogue wet socks mixed in with crispy shirts and tea towels.

Its better than average at trapping moisture from the laundry, stopping vapour leaking out of your machine and keeping your home from becoming a steam room whenever you're doing the drying.

The large opening into the drum makes it easy to get your laundry in and out, and the filters are easy to change. You should also find this machine very intuitive to use, so you won't need to reach for the instruction manual too often.

Is there anything I should watch out for?
It's much noisier than the average dryer. You'll want to hide this dryer away behind a closed door when it's on, and if you've got open plan living there are quieter models available.

As is common with heat pump machines, this one's running costs are much lower than standard condenser or vented dryers, but it's still more wasteful than the average heat pump machine we've tested. See the 'Full specification' tab below for an estimate of the full running costs.

If you put a small 3kg load of cottons in the drum, you'll not see your laundry again for an hour and 55 minutes - 45 minutes longer than the average drying time for this amount of clothes.

It wont smooth creases out of shirts, so this isn't a dryer that will help you escape the ironing.

Should I buy it?
Heat pump condenser tumble dryers for less than £500 are rare - but there are much better models available. If you are after a dryer with a heat pump, it may be worth spending that little bit more to get a superior model.

Pros: Low running costs, laundry evenly dried, good at trapping moisture, easy to use

Cons: Slow when drying small amounts of laundry, very noisy, shirts left fairly creased
 
Why would they say its poor for half loads? Surely it would dry them quicker as there is less clothes and more space to tumble?
 
Which

Richard

I had already read this report, and I will admit it did give me some concern before I bought my dryer. The first point to note is that this is not the machine you have purchased (perhaps old stock as it is not listed on Beko web site) - and your machine is approx. £100 cheaper than this model from JL.

I did consider the JL models also but without a review of them I could not see that they offered any particular advantage over the Beko and just about half the price of the 8kg model.

I can only re-iterate what I have said before and this machine continues to satisify me. Up this thread I have noted what is pretty much a typical load for me. All I can say is that when it was done (2hrs 35min later) everything was evenly dried, with no damp spots on things like the duvet cover and sheets which normally get tangled, but did not for me. As I noted before the clothes do not seem "fried" and I have not noticed the static buildup that I used to get with my old Hotpoint. As has been noted elsewhere shrinkage seems to be less too - with the Hotpoint I would not dry T shirts in it due to the shrinkage (I am tall and believe me, crop top is not a good look on me) but I took the chance with the Beko and all was fine.

As you can see above there are various programmes, and some of these are for smaller capacities than the 8kg, but I am a mean git so I have not used any of these yet. And you can over ride the programmes too and use an old fashioned timer option too, but I have not felt the need to do so.

The Which report comments about ironing, well I do not tumble dry items as a means of avoiding ironing (oh that I could!) but I do like the fact that the display will indicate when the drying level has reached "iron dry" on its way to cupboard dry so that items can be removed if they want ironing (like pillow cases for me). Iron dry is exactly what it says, just damp enough for easy ironing, cupboard dry is ready to be put away. I have not used the extra dry setting yet, I have not needed to.

As for the noise, it has not bothered me - its much the same as the old Hotpoint. You say you are going to use yours in a cupboard so it should be fine, although if its in your bedroom that might be an issue, (it is not for me, I could have a herd of elephants tramping round my bedroom - a herd of "bears" would be preferable though - and I would not wake up) but you have the benefit of a timer to start it up when it should be least disruptive.

I thought long and hard about this before making the purchase, especially as my "default" brand is Miele, which get the best buy rating. As I stated at the begninning of this thread, given the amount of use I expect to give a dryer I felt I could not justify the cost of a Miele or even the somewhat cheaper Siemens models. I would expect them to be better (they are a bit cheaper to run apparently) but not having used them I cannot comment.

Currently I am very happy with my purchase, it seems to me to work better than my 10 year old Hotpoint. I cannot say that it has the build quality of a Miele, but for the price it seemed very satisfactory to me. To me the "problem" you might have with it is that, to get the best from it and its ecomony, you will be need two loads from your washing machine to fill it, if you are used to drying one load while washing the next, then its a bit of a culture change, but nothing more than that - and I think overall, although the drying times might seem longer, in fact they are less because you are drying one load rather than two. i do not think you will be disappointed with it.

Oh, one final point, it is a good deal heavier than a normal drier, so it will probably take two of you to get it into place.

Al
 
Thanks...

...for the info Richard! Very informative! I assumed all condenser dryers used water as a refrigerant (forgetting that they are not plumbed in like a washer-dryer doh! ) So only circa 24 hours before your delivery - do you feel like a child on Christmas eve!? :D

B
:)
 
Why is it better to dry a full load in these dryers then? Surely the less clothes the better all round?

Yes very excited just get it to me lol!
 
Hi Gary!

Yes it should be here between 4&7 hoping they come earlier as I've started washing this afternoon.

One question as it contains refrigeration circuit is it best to let it stand for a while before using like you would with a fridge/freezer?
 
Standing

Richard

When they delivered mine they were about 30 minutes into the (morning) time slot.

It says in the instructions that you need to leave it stand, I left mine about 48 hours (just me being lazy) - I dont think it says that long in the instructions.

Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Al
 
It says 12 hours in the manual if it has been transported horizontally. So will ask the delivery company if its been laid on its side at any point.
 
Well it's here! And it's not that noisy in fact it's the sort of white noise I could fall asleep to!

Started with my bedding on a cupboard dry cottons cycle. It told me 2:55 mins for completion so far the air temp inside the dryer is upto nearly 30c so I think a lot of the cycle is spent getting the drum upto temp as no element assist it. I started it from outside temp of 3c straight when I unpacked it from the van..

I've put a temperature probe inside the filter door to monitor that the compressor is working properly. Energy use on my energy monitor reads 680watts! Big difference from 2-3kw the other dryer used!

Here's a couple of pics:

richardc1983++2-8-2013-12-06-46.jpg
 
It's telling me there's half an hour left of drying and it's upto 40c what I have noticed is that the bounce tumble dryer sheet doesn't work as the dryer doesn't get hot enough to activate it. No great issue at all though and much gentler drying.
 
Beko

Hi Richard, Glad it arrived and is working okay, let us know what the finish time is, mind you are pulling the washing out of the 1100rpm Hoover so will be longer than Als 1400rpm spin...

And PLEASE never use those wax dryer sheets in a condenser or heat pump dryer, all that wax gets into the heater coils (as does toooo much fabric conditioner, and you must know how quick coils and fins get mucked up from air con systems!!
 

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