timbo343 Posted October 30, 2015 Posted October 30, 2015 So with the weather getting worse we have bitten the bullet and placed an order for a Beko DCU6130 tumble dryer as the house is starting to become very humid (70%, normally about 62% in the lounge). We normally hang the washing out on the line but recently been drying clothes inside. I have always been put off with the idea of a tumble dryer as they cost so much to run. After looking on reevoo and inputting my electric cost per kWh, it looks like it would only cost £38 to run per month (based on 2 drys per week at 11.02p kHw, theres only 2 of us) then thought its better than having a damp house so ive been doing a bit of research and decided to go for a condensing dryer over a vented. The reason being, in a years time we hope to have converted the lounge/diner into kitchen/diner so all appliances will live in the kitchen. I'm now thinking i may have bought the wrong type of dryer. We will be placing this condensing dryer in the garage until the kitchen is done but ive just read that condensing dryers shouldnt be run in temps below 5°C and a vented dryer would have been the better option butreviews are giving mixed opinions. Also ive read that condensing dryers dontdry clothes as good as vented ones but the missus says that her place of work has a condensing dryer and it gets clothes dry, are the teviews ive been reading just picky users as they might not have cleaned the filters correctly. Can anyone help me out on this please.
SpuffMonkey Posted October 30, 2015 Posted October 30, 2015 I reckon vented are best - if it fits in the garage - can't you vent it there - I just cut a 4" hole for the pipe for ours and it works fine 1
timbo343 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Posted October 30, 2015 Thats what im thinking, there is already a hole as we think the guy before us had one however is right at the back of the garage. I was thinking of having the dryer about half way down and then run more flexible pipe, at the end of the day its only a bit of ventalation pipe. Possibly need about 2-3 metets more. We bought it from ao.com and they state they will happily swap it if we arent happy. The other main reason for buying condensing was we could have it in the kitchen. This one we have bought seems to be very efficient too.
elsiegee40 Posted October 30, 2015 Posted October 30, 2015 I have used a condensing dryer for years. I think I'm on my third ... my first was vented. I haven't had a problem with them. It is worth doing your research and getting one that's a Which? best buy or has been tested for efficiency independently elsewhere. Regardless of the type of dryer, it's aleays worth giving clothes an extra spin before tumble drying them... I spin towels twice after they're washed... to get as much water out as possible. It is vital is to keep the lint filter clean... I clean it out before I use it each time. Also make sure that the condenser is cleaned regularly... it also clogs with lint and needs to be taken out and have water run through it periodically. I have noticed that can really ruin the performance if not done often enough. 2
timbo343 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) I think cleaning the filter is a must for any condensing dryer from what ive read. Ive been doing a lot of reading yesterday afternoon and some people ignore cleaning the filters so experience a drop in performance. Also i had heard the more expensive dryers are cheaper to run... kinda reminds me of printers lol. We have started to do an extra spin (1400rpm) at the end of a wash cycle as we find it helps with drying times, clothes dont come out as wet. The missus just wanted something that would dry clothes but being the person i am and need to find out energy performance, cost of running, etc it took me about 4 hours to choose. Like i say, after reading reviews i ended up more confused. Sometimes reading reviews is a bad idea lol. Edited October 31, 2015 by timbo343
newpersn Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 I got a beko condenser tumble dryer. Never looked back. I took out the 3 year warranty out which was a good job as it had the sensors replaced about 6 months ago. Ours has programs for nearly about everything 1
rich_tech Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 It really depends how often you use your device I believe, we have a condensing dryer and its housed in our shed in this house to my relief, if they are used a lot (couple of times a day or more) I think it can cause problems with the condensation causing mould issues we have found in our last two properties - issues with houses and an ex-neighbour previously meant that it had to be used a lot by us and caused issues with mould and damp I believe in the kitchen where it was housed in both the homes. I said to my wife I would never have another condensing dryer after this one I would prefer vented every time, though that is a personal preference all the same. 1
newpersn Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 It really depends how often you use your device I believe, we have a condensing dryer and its housed in our shed in this house to my relief, if they are used a lot (couple of times a day or more) I think it can cause problems with the condensation causing mould issues we have found in our last two properties - issues with houses and an ex-neighbour previously meant that it had to be used a lot by us and caused issues with mould and damp I believe in the kitchen where it was housed in both the homes. I said to my wife I would never have another condensing dryer after this one I would prefer vented every time, though that is a personal preference all the same. Ours sits in our downstairs bathroom. there a window and extractor fan in there. We always have the window open when we use the tumble dryer. Even in our old house where we had damp problems before we didnt have any issuses. 1
pcstru Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 I'm torn between a dryer (something I said I would never buy) and trying to get a better solution on the house environment either using a small positive pressure unit in the loft or fitting a heat recovery unit - probably in the kitchen or bathroom. Either one would run most if not all of the time, would be much cheaper to run than a tumble dryer and should benefit the whole house.
rich_tech Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 Ours sits in our downstairs bathroom. there a window and extractor fan in there. We always have the window open when we use the tumble dryer. Even in our old house where we had damp problems before we didnt have any issuses. The landlord with us has a love of extractor fans in the bathrooms, I think they are another waste of time over proper ventilation, the wife and I tend to have the bathroom window open for a large portion of the day here to combat condensation after the shower. From my understanding of building these days, Cavity Wall insulation seems to be a massive issue with damp speaking with one of our landlords building service managers as it keeps the moisture in the cavities and everything in there "Sweats", same for the lack of airing and ventilation and flues in properties as they tend to get covered over and removed nowadays. 1
dhicks Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 From my understanding of building these days, Cavity Wall insulation seems to be a massive issue with damp speaking with one of our landlords building service managers as it keeps the moisture in the cavities and everything in there "Sweats", same for the lack of airing and ventilation and flues in properties as they tend to get covered over and removed nowadays. Rather than use a tumble dryer, we dry our clothes on a rack inside and have a separate dehumidifer. It seems to work well - we have a proper, well-insulated flat as above, but with the dehumidifer running we don't have a problem with damp. This is a small, one-bedroom flat, so really just two rooms, and we do maybe two or three washing loads a week - things may differ in a larger house or flat. 1
tom_newton Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 Had 2 condensers - one of which connected to mains draining, so didn't need emptying. Never been able to find a similar one since it died. Current one I have no complaints about, and it lived in an unheated cellar for a year or 3. I'd definitely have a vented if I had a vent-able place to put it. Simpler, cheaper, and no need to muck about with emptying the water. 1
MatthewL Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 Had condenser one for a while, in my current place its in the out house and is fine. I just need to get some pipe to add it to the drain to save me emptying it as the one that comes with it is not long enough. I tumble dry everything or time to time it goes on a rack in the house. I don't notice any difference with bills, washer and dryer gets used tops of twice a week if that. 1
timbo343 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Posted October 31, 2015 Thanks everyone, my main concern is the condensing dryer being in the garage and depending how cold it gets, just a bit worried i read condenser dryers shouldnt be used in temps less than 5°C. It will only be used about twice a week over winter.
Andrew_C Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) We dry on a rack hanging in the stairwell. Having spotted water (I thought it was condensation) on the underside of the felt in the lots, I bought a "positive pressure" fan. No sign of condensation in th ehouse, but it didn't fix the water blowing up under the ridge tiles. Funny that. It is quiet, has a sensor that switches it off when not needed, and it pulls air in from the loft; this being marginally warmer than true outside. I think it works well, but it is difficult to quantify. Back to the question; I suspect the 5 degree limit won't be much of a problem. If the washing machine is out there, it will soon warm up to that unless you are in the real north! eta - I see that you are... Edited October 31, 2015 by Andrew_C 1
MatthewL Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 Mine is in an outside outhouse which is cold at times and its ok not had any issues. 1
timbo343 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Posted October 31, 2015 We dry on a rack hanging in the stairwell. Having spotted water (I thought it was condensation) on the underside of the felt in the lots, I bought a "positive pressure" fan. No sign of condensation in th ehouse, but it didn't fix the water blowing up under the ridge tiles. Funny that. It is quiet, has a sensor that switches it off when not needed, and it pulls air in from the loft; this being marginally warmer than true outside. I think it works well, but it is difficult to quantify. Back to the question; I suspect the 5 degree limit won't be much of a problem. If the washing machine is out there, it will soon warm up to that unless you are in the real north! eta - I see that you are... The North for me is in Yorkshire, not the real north as in scotland.
timbo343 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Posted October 31, 2015 Mine is in an outside outhouse which is cold at times and its ok not had any issues. We might be ok then with it been in the garage. The washer is in the kitchen, the dryer would be the only appliance out in the garage.
howartp Posted November 1, 2015 Posted November 1, 2015 My neighbours' is in what was a covered porch, but she put UPVc windows and door all round it to form a cloakroom maybe 10 years ago. She uses it for every wash, and I suspect with the number of kids/grandkids she has that she probably does theirs for them as well. I'll send you a pic later Tim to compare. 1
Disaster Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 My lodgers were caning my tumbledryer for a while so I bought a device to measure it's usage. It's cheaper than you think (to my relief). I think after 2 hours it clocked about 30p or so, not worth worrying about in the end (compared to income from them). 1
Oaktech Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 I've got a vented one under the stairs and it's pretty good. We've got an Indesit IDV75 and we're well pleased with it. We had all kinds of damp problems with our lodger drying stuff on racks in his living room and after we got the tumble dryer that all dried up. Ours sits in the understairs cupboard with a pipe through the wall and a flappy vent grill on the outside. We looked at the condensing and decided they were more hassle than they were worth. With our little one now going through more clothes than ever and the indesit approaching the end of it's warranty I'm sorely tempted to get a Beko 8kg heatpump dryer with it's 8kg capacity and A++ rating! It all depends on whether my wife will take the savings over the £350 outlay! 1
Boredguy Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 We got a cheap "White Knight" vented dryer when our last one packed, and it's been running quite happily for the last 5 years out in our garage (where we've had a tumble dryer for the best part of 25 years) To be honest, I've not worried about the power requirements as we've got solar panels on the house and we're generating a fair amount from them so it all balances out. One of these days I will get round to drilling a vent hole through the brick work, as I've got to hoover the garage every now and then as the lint gets blown up to the joists. 1
Andrew_C Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 as the lint gets blown up to the joists.Spray some glue around and call it insulation?
Garacesh Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 My lodgers were caning my tumbledryer for a while so I bought a device to measure it's usage. It's cheaper than you think (to my relief). I think after 2 hours it clocked about 30p or so, not worth worrying about in the end (compared to income from them). With 3 of us in the house that tumble dry practically every wash (no garden to hang stuff out in, just a small balcony that doesn't get a massive amount of sun, and we don't have the heating on much) and the combined Gas&Electric bill is only £70 per month. So they're really not that expensive. Couldn't tell you what kind of dryer we have, though. All I know is there's a vent at the bottom that kicks out a lot of hot air as it's drying (that the cat loves to sleep in front of), and there's a water tank that collects it all and needs emptying after every dry. It doesn't have any kind of extraction though (likely because it's all collected in the water 'bottle') so it means we have it in the kitchen next to the washing machine. No need for fancy fans, vents, etc.
jinnantonnixx Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 We got a cheap "White Knight" vented dryer when our last one packed, and it's been running quite happily for the last 5 years out in our garage (where we've had a tumble dryer for the best part of 25 years) To be honest, I've not worried about the power requirements as we've got solar panels on the house and we're generating a fair amount from them so it all balances out. One of these days I will get round to drilling a vent hole through the brick work, as I've got to hoover the garage every now and then as the lint gets blown up to the joists. I've got a cheapo White Knight one too. It's been great. It can be run vented, but we use it upstairs in the back room where it fills up its plastic water container which needs emptying every couple of runs. No biggie. It's important to keep the fluff filter clear (two seconds with the vacuum) and wash the condensor every so often. I just hold it under a cold shower now and again. We used to switch the house heating on to dry clothes over the radiators which was ridiculous, looking back.
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