Condenser Dryer: anyone has one?

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#838548 18-Jun-2013 10:00

I believe you cannot wall mount a condenser drier...

DarthKermit

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#838552 18-Jun-2013 10:04

How does a condenser dryer differ from a normal old dryer?

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gehenna

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#838563 18-Jun-2013 10:13

A condenser has a tank that catches all the water from the clothes and has to be emptied after every few loads. Rather than having an exhaust hose that has to be ducted outside.

zenourn

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#838564 18-Jun-2013 10:17

DarthKermit: How does a condenser dryer differ from a normal old dryer?

Wikipedia describes it reasonably well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_dryer#Condenser_dryers

I think a heat-pump dryer is a much better option. Has the same advantages as a condenser dryer and also is a lot more efficient. Just need the prices to reduce.

Dunnersfella

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#838569 18-Jun-2013 10:21

I haven't seen heat-pump dryer prices dropping at any point...
Most people see $500 F&P or Haier dryers as being 'good enough', so mass adoption of the top end of the market won't happen any time soon. I believe it will stay in the realm of the wealthy for the time to come.

netspanner

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#838577 18-Jun-2013 10:44

gehenna: A condenser has a tank that catches all the water from the clothes and has to be emptied after every few loads. Rather than having an exhaust hose that has to be ducted outside.

Ours has a small pipe, like the washing machine that can hook over the sink and drain automatically as well.

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khull

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#838582 18-Jun-2013 11:04

It is a matter of personal preference (unless you already know why you can't have a normal dryer). Older apartments do not have ducts to vent (or insufficient space) so the only option is to go for a washer + condenser.

Personally, I avoid them. Did nothing to dry my clothes as it barely got hot enough to turn the water into steam. All I got in the end was hot damp clothes (especially cotton) in the same time a normal dryer would be ready to be kept back into the wardrobe.

gehenna

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#838586 18-Jun-2013 11:09

No such problems with mine.

Dunnersfella

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#838603 18-Jun-2013 11:33

khull:
Personally, I avoid them. Did nothing to dry my clothes as it barely got hot enough to turn the water into steam. All I got in the end was hot damp clothes (especially cotton) in the same time a normal dryer would be ready to be kept back into the wardrobe.

In all seriousness, was this your condenser dryer, and did you read the instructions? What brand / model?

BlueShift

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#838605 18-Jun-2013 11:36

I used a couple of washer/dryer combo units on a recent overseas trip. They're very convenient in small apartments, and since the washer is plumbed in, disposing of the condensed water from drying is easy. The drying took a bit longer than I'd expect from a standard dryer, but not terribly much more. By that point of the trip, I was more than prepared to wait for nice fluffy clean socks and undies.

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#838642 18-Jun-2013 12:40

I hate both of the condenser dryers we have had. We had the top of the line bosch and swapped it within a month for the meile which was just as bad. It's SLOOOOOWWWW and when the clothes come out they still feel moist. Both Bosch and Meile came out, declared it normal for a condensor and left. $2K for a dryer that we hate!

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gehenna

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#838643 18-Jun-2013 12:44

Again no such problems with mine :( Sad to hear of all your bad experiences.

khull

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#838646 18-Jun-2013 12:53

It was an LG, don't recall the model as it was a rental at the time. New machine.

Given time I'm sure it would do the job but I just couldn't be bothered having my clothes in there for 3-4 hours at a time when the same item would dry in 1 hour for a standard dryer.

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#838731 18-Jun-2013 14:44

Have an Electrolux one that stacks on top of our washing machine (with a kit I had to buy separately from HNs). Roughly 2 hours cycle, works well, as long as you clean the filters every time.

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Dunnersfella

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#838797 18-Jun-2013 17:16

On the Miele set the drying cycle to 'Extra Dry' ensured everything was dry, and the cycle takes a little over an hour. We normally give it 5-10 minutes before we get our clothes (laziness FTW)... and we haven't had wet clothing yet.

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