Topic: Vented vs Condenser tumble dryer?

[kt.]

Our 7yr old vented tumble dryer is on its way out as there is water under the dryer now after each cycle and the utility is full of condensation dripping all round the room.  We are considering a condenser dryer instead of vented.  The favoured one lost because reviews said it has to be emptied after every cycle.  Is this the case for all condensers?  

Does the room steam up at all?

I do like the condenser idea but obviously am a bit sceptical about the change.  (Looking Up to £250)

[betula]

I have a condenser and no it does not have to be changed after every cycle.

We keep ours in the cupboard under the stairs to give me more room in the kitchen and I just leave the door open so I can plug it in and no steam.

[grawrc]

I think there are 2 types - one is "plumbed in" to your drain and the other (my type) has a tank where the condensate collects. It's where the detergent drawer is on washing machines. I empty that every time I use the td. I don't have to but it's really easy to do and it makes sure I don't let it get too full. I also clear the "lint" from the filter in the door every time I use it. Both tasks take about 30 seconds!

The condenser itself also needs cleaned on a regular basis as ultimately it gets clogged up. I rinse mine through at the sink about once a month (2 minute job).

I have no regrets about getting a condensing td. It has been really great. Now more than 10 years old so the newer models are probably even better.

[brownowl23]

i have always had condenser dryers and they are fab. I currently have a miele and have had it for 5 years now. it goes about 4-5 cycles before needing emptying.

[Jill]

If you've already got a hole in the wall and propose to site a new one in the same place, I'd go for fully vented because (a) they're cheaper to buy and (b) I think (but wait to be proved wrong!) that they're cheaper to run. 

[tonybloke]

sounds like either your vent through the wall is blocked, or you have a hole in the drum somewhere!
drag it out and have a look (might be easy fix, and d**n sight cheaper than a new machine!!)

[Jill]

Good point, Tonybloke.  Must say, seven years isn't long.  My last one lasted 17 years.

[grannyjanny]

While on the subject of tumble driers does anyone know about the running costs. I have a Zanussi washer/drier. I only use it for small items usually but with the weather as it has been I have used it more than I would have liked & wonder each time I use it how much it costs to run.

[shirlton]

We got a washer dryer about 4 years ago. Its a condenser type that is plumbed into the drain. We have hardly used it. Its probably because we have never been used to having a dryer. I should imagine it would get a lot more use if we had children in the house. We have 2 spare rooms so that where the washing dries in the winter and outside in the summer.
Old habits die hard ;D

[tonybloke]

we gave out tumble drier to a young family with 3 kids a couple of weeks ago.
we hadn't used it more than 5 times in ten years, and it was occupying space in the kitchen unnecessarily.
most of the washing gets dried on the washing line, and/or hung up in front room in front of wood-burner when we go to bed.

[Paulines7]

I have had both types of dryer and much prefer the vented type. 

You shouldn't have condensation nor water under the dryer.  Have you checked that the vents and the filters are not blocked?  That's what it sounds like to me. 

I use my tumble dryer with every wash but then what I spend on electricity is saved by not having to iron it!

If you do have to buy a new one, get one with a buzzer on it so you can remove the clothes as soon as they are dry and if you get the timing right, they will be less creased.

[Obelixx]

We gave our tumble dryer away to a battered women's refuge 35 years ago.   Apart from when I take duvets or sofa covers to the launderette for a spring clean, weekly washing gets hung on airers in the attic or a spare bedroom.  I tried hanging it outside but stuff either gets blown away or decorated by our lively local bird population.

[lavenderlux]

I've had both types - vented and condenser.  I preferred the vented one, I purchased this in 1976 and used it regularly up to 1992 (as it saved a lot of ironing if you take the items out and fold them as soon as it stops) when I passed it onto my son, as I purchased a combined washer dryer which is the condenser type and the water goes direct to the drain.  The original 1976 dryer was still working fine in 2009 when my son and his girlfriend (they are now married) purchased a house together and kept her newer vented dryer.   Offered the older one on our local freecycle (my husband, an electrician, fully checked it over for safety), had several people initially interested but when told its age, they didn't want it, although it worked perfectly well, so sadly it had to go to the dump!   

[Ellen K]

^^ that is sad.  When I bought my first house in the mid 80s, I bought a second hand Zanussi washing machine and .... I still have it today.  A few hoses have perished and it blew a soleniod on the cold water inlet valve a few years back but it is still operational.  I keep thinking of dumping it because one day it will fail in a spectacular fashion and flood the house but the new ones are rubbish.

In answer to the Q about how much dryers cost to run, mine has a 4 KW heater and it takes about 1 hour to dry a load so I calculate that at 50p,  It depends on your tarriff but it does make you think that doing several loads and taking them to the launderette to dry isn't that much of a rip off after all.

[SMP1704]

I have always had a washer/drier - not enough space for separate machines but need drying with two boys and PE kits!

I have had vented and now both type of condenser.  The vented was second hand and lasted us about 5 years, the second a cartridge condenser which lasted us about 12 years, getting at the cartridge to empty the water was a faff.  I now have a plumbed in version, where the tumble drier part also drains water out through the washing machine plumbing.  Apart from the usual cleaning, I don't have to think about it.  I only ever use the short program and all good.  Like others that have commented, I only use it during the winter when the boys run out of clean clothes ;D  My vote goes to the plumbed in condensing type.

[Paulines7]

^^
In answer to the Q about how much dryers cost to run, mine has a 4 KW heater and it takes about 1 hour to dry a load so I calculate that at 50p,  It depends on your tarriff but it does make you think that doing several loads and taking them to the launderette to dry isn't that much of a rip off after all.

There was a programme on TV called "Rip Off Britain".  A man used a meter to find out how much electricity things were using and the cost.  The tumble dryer was 19p an hour.   I probably use mine about 5 hours a week so that is less than £1.  Well worth the money when I don't have to iron it!!   ;D ;D

here is a link to the programme:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wck9k

[grawrc]

According to Which:
A-rated heat-pump dryers use about half of the energy of a B-rated machine, and are cheaper to run – it will cost about 25p to dry a full load. Most tumble dryers are C-rated.

Vented, they say, are generally cheaper to run than condensing.

[Ellen K]

There was a programme on TV called "Rip Off Britain".  A man used a meter to find out how much electricity things were using and the cost.  The tumble dryer was 19p an hour.   I probably use mine about 5 hours a week so that is less than £1. 

He must have had a very efficient tumble dryer!  In contrast to his daughter who had a hairdryer which could heat the Albert Hall.

It's not rocket science, you don't need a fancy machine.  Look at the wattage of your dryer, get the price per KW from your bill and multiply it.  Then add 20% for VAT !!

[kt.]

I was all planning to convert to a condenser  but reviews on cheaper machines were not great.  Good reviews came with £300 machines.  We ended up with another vented machine, Hotpoint.  With the hole in the wall already being there and decent condensers costing almost double.  Thanks all. :)

[rugbypost]

Three years back my wife contacted breast cancer every thing grand now, any way tumble dryers I work in the building trade so to do the work would cost  nothing  so my wife decided to buy the hotpoint washer dryer to bo honest with you with the grand childrens school cloths every day mine everyday and the weather has been rotten.Our machine looks forward to us going on holiday  touch wood not a breack down the tumbl e dryer is used every day  its evan used to fluff up the towels  for grand kids its not like my OH to save money but she did well with this buy. Rugbypost