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liberatordeluxe

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Feb 15, 2012
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Hello,

Never owned a tumble dryer in my life therefore i have no idea which brand to buy. Bit put off the Hotpoint brand after all the product recalls about fire safety and i don't really want to £300 odd on a dryer that is mainly just going to be used for towels, sheets, duvet covers and any clothes that are safe to tumble dry.

I have seen the small White Knight dryers but no idea if they are any good or if they would take too long to dry items. I would only ever use a dryer when it was bad weather so would be used about 3 times a week no more.

Regarding energy efficiency is there much difference in savings between a B and C rated dryer?

Any recommendations greatly appreciated.
 
B vs C isn't much of a difference. Most non heatpump dryers use about the same per kg, vented dryers are only rated worse because of a clause in the EU regulation put in to consider that vented dryers can dramaticly increase heating cost in the winter.
Some C rated vented dryers even are slightoy more energy efficent then condenser equivalents.

Even when used rarely, heatpump dryers are just the better choice today.

Especially when used as a bad weather backup, it is nice to be abled to dry basicly everything.
And even the cheapest models with A+ rating literally half the energy costs.
 
Asko

I have an Asko condenser from 2009 and it has been perfectly reliable-don't know if these are "supposed"to be good or bad,but mine has been good.I think same Asko machines badged as "Maytag"over there in the UK :)
 
Where would the dryer be sited? (i.e kitchen, utility room, spare room, hall cupboard, or garage?).

Be aware that some earlier finicky condenser sensor machines didn't/don't like freezing cold rooms (sheds and garages). I don't know if that's the case nowadays. And standard condenser machines need ample space for ventilation, else the area gets steamy, so hall cupboards are no good. Clearing the condenser unit on these is reasonably simple.

Vented: they're probably the simplest design, with less to go wrong. Steam is deposited outside - provided that a hose/duct is fed outside the building - those 'Betterware-style, add-on-to-the-hose, ice-cube-filled-condenser' contraptions are not suitable.

Regarding the EU energy label: I suppose if you had open-plan houses and a vented dryer, the heat loss from the house would be moderately large.

On the other hand, if you could place the vented machine (hose leading to the outside) in a room with the room door closed and window open, only the heat in that room would be evacuated. Obviously if it's an unheated room or garage, that isn't going to matter much.

Heatpump condenser machines are obviously more expensive, more complex, and possibly more to go wrong... the condenser fins can be awkward to clear on these.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The dryer most likely would go in a porch or insulated wooden shed. I wouldn't mind Zanussi but they don't appear to make dryers anymore.
 
If you can get one:

A top filter Whirlpool dryer or Speed Queen (I know there are available in UK) would be the best choices. Providing you can use a vented dryer. I Tumble dry all laundry save for very delicate items in my SQ dryer. The most important thing is to regulate the temp and not let the dryer get too hot for what is being dried.
WK78
 

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