First ever Tumble Dryer - what to go for

[DiyNutJob]

Here's the disassembly of a heat pump based dryer. From what I see, I would say it's more expensive to buy and more expensive to fix. Given the complexity, there is higher probability of failure. What people save in electricity, they will pay in the initial buy, and in replacements and repairs. My recommendation is don't get one. If you don't agree, don't bother to argue. I don't care and am just giving my view.

 

[dishman]

Here's the disassembly of a heat pump based dryer. From what I see, I would say it's more expensive to buy and more expensive to fix. Given the complexity, there is higher probability of failure. What people save in electricity, they will pay in the initial buy, and in replacements and repairs. My recommendation is don't get one. If you don't agree, don't bother to argue. I don't care and am just giving my view.

I tend to agree, but I am a cynic when it comes to modern appliances. As nice as it is to be eco-friendly, and I do admire the tech. Quite often people are spending a lot of money to save a bit of money, and the likely repair or longevity costs are something that is not often considered outside of the purchase cost. So the chances are, many people do not make a saving before the appliance needs to be replaced.

I say this while looking at my now 40 year old Hoover tumble dryer, that has not missed a beat in all that time, well other than the slightly iffy mechanical timer.


The original filter is at the back and vents directly from there, so no hidden areas to get clogged. Simple and reliable....and yes inefficient.
And that has been kept in a cold, semi enclosed, semi-watertight lean-two for that time.

 

[nic11]

Try the dehumifier, along with some sort of fan, running overnight, with the washing hung up in there - no need for any heat. I think you may find that as effective, a much more energy efficient, and economical solution.

Why with a fan? We already use a dehumidifier, but not in combination with a fan. So just wondered what's the difference?

 

[opps]

As an aside, as previously mentioned, I had to repair my 3 year old heat pump drier. I was surprised at the amount of lint that I found that, seems, to have escaped from the drum seal into the main body. Having vacuumed it out, I am happy to use the machine unattended, but after, say, year 4, unless I strip it down again, I might be less confident.

 

[opps]

I tend to agree, but I am a cynic when it comes to modern appliances. As nice as it is to be eco-friendly, and I do admire the tech. Quite often people are spending a lot of money to save a bit of money, and the likely repair or longevity costs are something that is not often considered outside of the purchase cost. So the chances are, many people do not make a saving before the appliance needs to be replaced.

I say this while looking at my now 40 year old Hoover tumble dryer, that has not missed a beat in all that time, well other than the slightly iffy mechanical timer.
View attachment 323891View attachment 323892

The original filter is at the back and vents directly from there, so no hidden areas to get clogged. Simple and reliable....and yes inefficient.
And that has been kept in a cold, semi enclosed, semi-watertight lean-two for that time.

My old, cheap, Hotpoint (exterior vented) tumble drier was 20 years old when binned. Approximately £200 when new. I new belt and replacement overheat sensors were the sum of repairs, but the bearings were effed. You could hear the metal on metal grind when in use.

Total cost of ownership (excluding my labour time), worked out to £11.50 per year. No idea how much electricity it used though.

 

[DiyNutJob]

I tend to agree, but I am a cynic when it comes to modern appliances. As nice as it is to be eco-friendly, and I do admire the tech. Quite often people are spending a lot of money to save a bit of money, and the likely repair or longevity costs are something that is not often considered outside of the purchase cost. So the chances are, many people do not make a saving before the appliance needs to be replaced.

I say this while looking at my now 40 year old Hoover tumble dryer, that has not missed a beat in all that time, well other than the slightly iffy mechanical timer.
View attachment 323891View attachment 323892

The original filter is at the back and vents directly from there, so no hidden areas to get clogged. Simple and reliable....and yes inefficient.
And that has been kept in a cold, semi enclosed, semi-watertight lean-two for that time.

I cleaned out the fans on mine (25+ year old) front and back over the weekend and realised how uncomplicated the construction was. Everything was ran by the the same motor - a single point of failure, in my book a major plus. So long as spares are available, it is a keeper. They would not sell circuit boards, but mine are fine. The circuit boards could be fixed by a specialist on ebay for £50.

 

[DiyNutJob]

The dryer efficiency is directly related to the performance of the condenser. In a non-heat-pump dryer, the condenser can be removed for cleaning, and can be replaced relatively cheaply. In a heat-pump dryer, the condenser is fixed in place and can't be replace without great expense. A further problem with the heat pump condenser is that it involves refrigerant. That means it cannot be DIY'ed (I presume) or will be regulated to disallow DIY.

The heat pump is at maximum efficiency when new. Once fluffed up, that efficiency cannot be regained because there is no easy way to remove the debris build up. The debris will build up in every part of the condenser, and not just on the surface you can access.

The conventional condenser has large gaps to allow debris removal. The heat pump condenser has narrow spaces between the cooling/thermal-conduction fins, making debris removal impossible.

Regular condenser:

Heat pump condenser:

 

[opps]

I cleaned out the fans on mine (25+ year old) front and back over the weekend and realised how uncomplicated the construction was. Everything was ran by the the same motor - a single point of failure, in my book a major plus. So long as spares are available, it is a keeper. They would not sell circuit boards, but mine are fine. The circuit boards could be fixed by a specialist on ebay for £50.

I get what you are saying about circuit board repairs- but often they will sell you a reconditioned one after you give them the faulty PCB.

But yeah,, it is potentially win - win scenario

 

[DiyNutJob]

How to properly clean the heat pump condenser. The man said sheeet in his language, whatever that means.

 

[nic11]

The dryer efficiency is directly related to the performance of the condenser. In a non-heat-pump dryer, the condenser can be removed for cleaning, and can be replaced relatively cheaply. In a heat-pump dryer, the condenser is fixed in place and can't be replace without great expense. A further problem with the heat pump condenser is that it involves refrigerant. That means it cannot be DIY'ed (I presume) or will be regulated to disallow DIY.

The heat pump is at maximum efficiency when new. Once fluffed up, that efficiency cannot be regained because there is no easy way to remove the debris build up. The debris will build up in every part of the condenser, and not just on the surface you can access.

The conventional condenser has large gaps to allow debris removal. The heat pump condenser has narrow spaces between the cooling/thermal-conduction fins, making debris removal impossible.

Regular condenser:

Heat pump condenser:

Very interesting. Initially was thinking that the newer heat pump is the way to go with it a case of the extra upfront cost being countered by cheaper running costs, but ease of ongoing maintenance is a definite consideration. Especially as that surely affects long term efficiency

 

[BlueLoo]

Interesting video.

However, not much more complicated than my last whirlpool condenser which i was extremely intimate with on frequent occasion to fix the ****ing thing.

So owning a hp version doesn't really put me off tbh. I've had fridges run for 20 years without stop. I see no issues with the tech.

That said, i think you pick to suit your need.

Gentle drying? HP
Rapid drying? vented
Mo'money bags? Vented.
No hole in wall? Not vented.
Confined space? Not condenser.
Frequent use? HP
Infrequently used? Not HP.
Hippy? Washing line.

 

[DiyNutJob]

I've had fridges run for 20 years without stop.

The fridge heat exchanger is not subjected to wet debris being blown all over it.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Very interesting. Initially was thinking that the newer heat pump is the way to go with it a case of the extra upfront cost being countered by cheaper running costs, but ease of ongoing maintenance is a definite consideration. Especially as that surely affects long term efficiency

The efficiency declines from the first use. Then it's a downward slope from there. Drying produces a lot of grey fluff. You may not know this if you never owned a dryer.

 

[BlueLoo]

The fridge heat exchanger is not subjected to wet debris being blown all over it.

Meh.

Shoved in the arse of a built in, they get covered in dust and condensate and rarely if ever see the light of day.
The last one i had was working but bless it, everything on it or near it had rusted off from the fridge condensation drain dripping on it.

It's robust and mature tech.

 

[BlueLoo]

The efficiency declines from the first use. Then it's a downward slope from there. Drying produces a lot of grey fluff. You may not know this if you never owned a dryer.

Meh to that as well.

New units have good filters.
Not perfect but definitely better.

There is nothing affecting efficiency other than, er, i dunno tbh. It's a bucket with a heat fan pump fridge gubbins in it. Not much to derate.

(Probably just takes a little longer as it ages which may have a slight impact on older units etc etc)