Clothes dryer recommendations

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#3079219 24-May-2023 11:22

allio:

I have the same one and it does reverse tumble. Only sporadically but it's enough - I haven't had balled/tangled sheets once in about six months of ownership with 4-5 cycles per week. Amusing because basically all the negative reviews say it can't dry sheets. I have no idea what they're doing.

Probably putting too much in at once. I have seen so many flatmates pack the thing full after packing the washer totally full and things dont dry well. The washer gets them wet so they assume cleaned even tho it just rotated as a single mass in there instead of tumbling.

Richard rich.ms

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#3079220 24-May-2023 11:23

Bung:

Does the LG reverse tumble? The Consumer report says yes but the 2 one star customer reviews complain that it doesn't. Often the most useful part of Consumer are the customer reviews based on long term use but some times it's not clear that the reviewers are even talking about the same unit.

Or even know how to work the thing they have bought.

Richard rich.ms

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#3079234 24-May-2023 11:43

SATTV:
Interesting how there are a lot of people raving about heat pump dryers, only a year or so ago it was complete opposite people saying that after three hours they were still damp etc.

John

Not sure I agree with it being a lot raving now vs a year ago. I know there was a thread where someone says theirs didn't dry well, but that often is due to how they load it.
Eg overloaded, not spun enough before being put in or the auto sensing function picks up the dry synthetics while the cottons are still wet.

Everyone's use case varies, so heat pump dryers may still not be the best solution for everyone's drying needs.

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#3079236 24-May-2023 11:48

Consumer NZ top rated

clothes_dryers

acetone

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#3079476 24-May-2023 21:00

Don't forget that it will take a lot of use before you see the cost benefit of a heat pump dryer vs the classic vented ones.
Check out the chart
https://www.consumer.org.nz/services/clothes-dryers/guide

Outright price obviously plays a part in that graph.
I had heard a lot of people saying that the heat pump dryers take longer to dry clothes.
Can anyone who has one comment on that when they switched?

richms

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#3079478 24-May-2023 21:05

Vented driers are very unpleasant to use, because cold air comes in to replace what is vented out they cost to run heating more. Condenser ones leave all the heat in the room so you get a nice toasty bathroom when it runs in winter for no extra cost.

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#3079493 24-May-2023 21:58

Are any of these new fangled dryers able to be hung upside down on a wall? We have limited space so it would have to go above our front load washing machine. Having said that I suppose we could stack it straight on top but assume you need something between them to support it or lock them together?

Also I notice the Vogue 8kg at Trade Depot is visually identical to the Kogan (apart from the LED display colour). So one would assume the same internals and therefore similar performance/life expectency?

Our old dryer went kaput a few years ago and we've just been drying clothes on a rack in front of the fire in winter since then (with our dehumidifier on the 'clothes dry' setting). It actually works pretty well, so it's debatable whether we actually need to spend the money on a dryer - except for having unsightly clothes racks on display in the lounge of course.

timmmay

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#3079499 24-May-2023 22:08

You probably don't want to hang a heavy ducted drier from the wall. Our standard drier stacks on top of the washing machine. The "stacking kit" is really just four little bracket things that go into screw holes in both appliances to screw them together, which works well.

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#3079506 24-May-2023 22:38

Wheelbarrow01:

Are any of these new fangled dryers able to be hung upside down on a wall? We have limited space so it would have to go above our front load washing machine. Having said that I suppose we could stack it straight on top but assume you need something between them to support it or lock them together?

They generally stack now, with a kit that may come with the dryer to go onto some screws on the washer to make sure it doesnt fall off when the spin gets a bit excited. Has to match the brand and be a compatible combination to do it which is why the last 2 times I have bought have been both at the same time. Also saves on delivery fees.

Richard rich.ms

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#3079508 24-May-2023 23:52

We have been very happy with our Miele T1 but it is only 7 kg (verus 8 kg that the OP seems to want), and is now $2099. When we got it last year the price was lower, around $1900 if I am remembering correctly. At the time I was very surprised that you could get a Miele below $3000, let alone $2000.

When you get clothes out of it and they are still warm, for some strange reason you get the impression that they are not dry. But once they cool a little you find that they are actually dry. Like any sensor dryer, it does not handle badly mixed loads where one part of the load will dry much faster than the rest - that can fool it to finish early. But it is significantly better there than the nasty Westinghouse dryer we were replacing. It takes a few loads to get its finish time estimates right, but now it is pretty good at calculating the times for loads similar to ones it has previously done.

It has options for "extra dry" mode on a number of its cycles, but I have not ever even tried them as the default settings have been fine. Drying times are very similar to the old vented Westinghouse and the prior F&P that lasted for 35 years. It does do drum reversals, but only for a very short time before it switches to forwards again. Fitted sheets are still able to wrap up other things inside of them and make them fail to dry, but that is the same as any other dryer I have met.

Electricity use is greatly decreased, and the washhouse is no longer damp. I love having the in-drum light so I can see when I am loading or unloading it. The main filter is easy to clean after each load. It has a second filter on the air intake that needs occasional cleaning - it tells you when, and will not allow you to start it until it is cleaned. Cleaning the intake filter sponge is a bit messy as it is done under the tap, but it can be put back in still damp (just squeezed out) and the dryer can be run immediately like that. We have it on the opposite side of our washhouse from where the plumbing is, so we have to empty its water bottle after each run, but that is easy enough to do.

It would have been nice to have a WiFi connection, but that is the only downside I have seen with it. Reliability remains to be seen, as we have had it less than a year. We can hope for 35 years like the old electro-mechanical F&P, but I think that is unlikely, even with Miele's reputation for decent lifetimes.

MikeAqua

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#3079535 25-May-2023 09:28

When I read this thread, I'm happy to live in an arid place. I put a load of washing on the line just before 8am this morning. When I stop at 1pm for lunch, it will be dry - except for the jeans, which might take until afternoon-tea.

Mike

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#3079537 25-May-2023 09:30

acetone:
I had heard a lot of people saying that the heat pump dryers take longer to dry clothes.
Can anyone who has one comment on that when they switched?

We switched to a F&P heatpump dryer. Yes it does take longer to dry the clothes. About 30% longer. However it has some big benefits. much lower power consumption 900w (max), much much gentler on clothes - in fact you can put things you would never dear put in a conventional dryer. No requirement to be vented. I recommend them, but you need to understand they take longer to do the job. You will save on power, but equally you will save on clothes replacements which can be very costly.

zenourn

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#3079546 25-May-2023 09:38

We've had a Bosch heat pump dryer for 12 years. Over time the drying performance got gradually worse so last month I decided to take it apart to see what was potentially happening. What I found was that the internal heat exchanger (photo below) was completely clogged and I'm surprised it could work at all. After cleaning this it is incredible how well it now works. They describe the unit as "self cleaning" but they only clean the first heat exchanger and not the second internal one.

It is crazy that they have a maintenance item that requires 4+ hours to sort. It really isn't trivial to get to - required taking out over 50 screws and removing almost every component so I could access the heat exchanger. I'll probably do this every couple of years now to keep performance optimal.

johno1234

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#3079564 25-May-2023 10:45

Wheelbarrow01:

Are any of these new fangled dryers able to be hung upside down on a wall? We have limited space so it would have to go above our front load washing machine. Having said that I suppose we could stack it straight on top but assume you need something between them to support it or lock them together?

Also I notice the Vogue 8kg at Trade Depot is visually identical to the Kogan (apart from the LED display colour). So one would assume the same internals and therefore similar performance/life expectency?

Our old dryer went kaput a few years ago and we've just been drying clothes on a rack in front of the fire in winter since then (with our dehumidifier on the 'clothes dry' setting). It actually works pretty well, so it's debatable whether we actually need to spend the money on a dryer - except for having unsightly clothes racks on display in the lounge of course.

None. Only vented dryers can be wall hung. Condensing and heat pump driers are too heavy and rely on gravity to capture condensed water so wouldn't work upside down.

rb99

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#3079572 25-May-2023 11:52

Just thought I'd throw this in here -

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2375252-tumble-dryers-shed-hundreds-of-tonnes-of-microfibres-into-waterways/

and yes washing machines are way worse.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

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