# Dryer Efficiency



## jebatty (Jun 1, 2016)

Something I've never seen before. On a recent trip to Prague I stayed in an apartment that had a clothes dryer with an integral heat exchanger condenser to both strip the moisture out of the hot exhaust air and warm the incoming air. Water collected from the condenser was deposited in a small container tub that needed to be emptied periodically. 

Two big pluses: energy recovery efficiency and keeping condensation out of the vent stack. And I suppose the water could be used too.


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## Highbeam (Jun 1, 2016)

Just plumbing our conventional dryers with outside air would go a long ways!


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## begreen (Jun 1, 2016)

Heat pump and condensing dryers are ductless. These are available in the US too. They are pricey but electrical savings can be 25% according to some reviews. Most are compact, 24" models, but there are some larger units too.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/LG-Elect...ic-Ventless-Dryer-in-White-DLEC855W/202336986
http://www.whirlpool.com/-[WED99HEDW]-1022543/WED99HEDW/

Inglenook topic Jim, but I would like to hear more about your Prague trip if you have the time.


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## maple1 (Jun 1, 2016)

That home depot dryer link talks about washing dishes in the description.

A clothes dryer that can also wash dishes - way cool!


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## begreen (Jun 1, 2016)




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## jebatty (Jun 1, 2016)

begreen said:


> Heat pump and condensing dryers are ductless.


This dryer also has a duct.


begreen said:


> Inglenook topic Jim, but I would like to hear more about your Prague trip if you have the time.


 Still traveling but will start a discussion as soon as I catch up on stuff.


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## Lake Girl (Jun 1, 2016)

They have all-in-ones available Washer/Dryer/Steamer $2700 Cdn.
http://www.sears.ca/product/lg-50-c...word}&ef_id=VfyzFAAABWNR7A7P:20160602033147:s

Dryer times are longer than a conventional dryer ... up to twice as long.


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## jebatty (Jun 2, 2016)

... and it's a stand-alone dryer. Brand is Below.


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## jebatty (Jun 2, 2016)

Error - brand is Beko.


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## blades (Jun 2, 2016)

Makes sense in an apartment or condo type environment- typically very difficult to get short runs to vent outside. Condensation in vent piping is a real issue in these types of constructions as well being able to clean piping of lint build up over time. Housing is a whole different world outside of the states.


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## maple1 (Jun 2, 2016)

I think it makes sense wherever you are. Our washer & dryer are 20 years old - pretty interesting seeing tech evolve, I'll be checking these out whenever ours gets to being replaced.


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## jebatty (Jun 2, 2016)

Another interesting thing is that the dryer's condensation unit also is an additional dust and lint trap. Needs frequent cleaning, easy to do.


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## semipro (Jun 2, 2016)

We've been using one of the ductless condensing dryers, a Bosch Axxis unit I picked up used for $100.
Its shares basement space with our heat pump water heater which creates somewhat of a mutualistic relationship between the two -- the dryer takes in ambient air, heats it, and exhausts it to the room.  The HPWH likes the warmer air and exhausts dry cool air which the dryer likes.
More here: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/conservation/4310-experience-condensing-clothes-dryer.html

Condensation from the dryer goes to our septic and condensation from the heat pump along with waste water from the reverse osmosis water treatment system goes to a small in-ground pond outside.  The flow is enough to keep it topped off.


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## iamlucky13 (Jun 2, 2016)

Lake Girl said:


> They have all-in-ones available Washer/Dryer/Steamer $2700 Cdn.
> 
> Dryer times are longer than a conventional dryer ... up to twice as long.



The all-in-ones I've used when visiting the UK were universally terrible. 4 hours to run a cycle, after which your clothes come out in a random state somewhere between still almost dripping wet (but hot enough to literally cause a burn) to crispy dry with a slight charred odor. None of my clothes fit afterwards. They'd all be shrunk to a degree I didn't even realize was possible.

The experience makes me extremely reluctant to ever try a condensing drier again, all-in-one or otherwise.

A ducted heat pump drier I would consider, as well as the sort described in Prague.


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## jebatty (Jun 3, 2016)

Basements like ours would be an ideal location or source of intake air for a condensing dryer. The basement is always cool and for many months of year could use additional dry heat. Using the cool air for intake to the condensing unit and the warm exhaust air stripped of moisture for heat to the basement would be perfect. But would not want to inject humid air into the basement.


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## jebatty (Jun 4, 2016)

I did a quick search "dryer condenser" and numerous hits. Here's an aftermarket product:


I would like to see a test showing the humidity of the before and after output air. The condenser in the Beko dryer was far more technical.


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## jebatty (Jun 4, 2016)

I'm thinking in my case with dryer on the ground floor and using a metal exhaust vent pipe down into the cool basement to help expel heat and allow condensation in the pipe with the condenser box at basement floor level could work quite well. Condensation in the pipe would drip into the box. Worth a try, very inexpensive.


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## semipro (Jun 4, 2016)

jebatty said:


> I would like to see a test showing the humidity of the before and after output air.


I'm highly skeptical that this add-on device does little more that remove (some) lint from the exhaust. Warm air passing over cool water seems just as likely to pick up moisture as it passes over the water bath. I'd bet that the water level doesn't rise during operation providing proof that the unit is not a "condenser".


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## Circus (Jun 4, 2016)

There use to be commercial tubs that would spin 3 or 4 times faster than modern washing machines. After a minute the clothing came out almost dry, cutting drying time 75%.  Maybe we're looking at the wrong appliance.


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## begreen (Jun 4, 2016)

Front loading washers have a high speed spin cycle that extracts a lot of the water. This allows us to run the dryer on low temp and still get the clothes dry in short order.


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## jebatty (Jun 5, 2016)

Wiki has an article on condensing dryers and heat pump dryers. What I might try will use cool basement air to condense the water rather than recycling the dryer exhaust air through a condenser. This won't save dryer energy but will eliminate the exhaust vent, and it will put needed heat into the basement which will save energy. Right now the exhaust vent runs up into the attic and then to an outside wall, about 16'. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_dryer


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## georgepds (Jun 13, 2016)

So.. noting this is a wood heat forum.. I'll admit I never had a dryer. It's dry by the stove during winter , and out on the line during summer. ( I do have a washer, I'm not a complete wingnut)

I do have a relative humidity meter in the stove room, and it's reallllly dry (~20%) in the dead of winter


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## georgepds (Jun 13, 2016)

The idea that your dryer needs a heat exchange condenser, reinforces my general opinion that material things just require more material things.. It's not that I'm a simplification nut.. but really.. where does it stop?

The exception, as to material things,  seems to be a wood stove.. simple iron box with a pipe leading to the outside. Yes, it requires wood, but that's pretty much it


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## begreen (Jun 13, 2016)

According to engineers here it also requires a catalyst, a cat bypass, a thermostat and some secret sauce.


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## Lake Girl (Jun 14, 2016)

georgepds said:


> So.. noting this is a wood heat forum.. I'll admit I never had a dryer. It's dry by the stove during winter , and out on the line during summer. ( I do have a washer, I'm not a complete wingnut)
> 
> I do have a relative humidity meter in the stove room, and it's reallllly dry (~20%) in the dead of winter



While a good concept (drying clothes by the stove in the winter), you obviously don't have a big family.  Try that with a few kids ... minimum a load a day when the kids were little.

What would make sense to me would be the ability to utilize some of the heat from the pellet stove for pre-heating hot water.  I know there is a cross link for the Harmans but we don't see any of the models available in Europe that are also water heating units.  Yes, there are larger boiler units available but none seem to be in the mid-range size or have the ability to do some of each (air and water)


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## BoilerMan (Jun 14, 2016)

georgepds said:


> The idea that your dryer needs a heat exchange condenser, reinforces my general opinion that material things just require more material things.. It's not that I'm a simplification nut.. but really.. where does it stop?
> 
> The exception, as to material things,  seems to be a wood stove.. simple iron box with a pipe leading to the outside. Yes, it requires wood, but that's pretty much it


While I certainly see your point, we are discussing a modern appliance and ways to use the energy from it that would be otherwise wasted.  At my house...my wife does laundry back to back loads and a clothes line that would hold 4-5 loads would be large.  Also planning on doing laundry only when there is no rain in the forecast is not as easy in some parts of the country.

As well as a simple iron box with a pipe leading to the outside could use some improvements in efficiency, leading to less wood use, less smoke, and more heat output.....You know I am one of those engineering types

TS


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## Highbeam (Jun 15, 2016)

begreen said:


> According to engineers here it also requires a catalyst, a cat bypass, a thermostat and some secret sauce.



The wood stove requires those things to be the best it can be. If you're okay with average then the woodstove can be quite simple.

So to optimize the wood burning experience or the clothes drying experience, there are some pretty cool ideas out there that often times become the norm. Not long ago people were using barrel stoves in their homes!


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## begreen (Jun 15, 2016)

Some of those old Oak stoves were pretty efficient heaters. Based on the experiences of a lot of GE heat pump hw heaters, new more complex designs can be more efficient, and much higher maintenance. But engineers love them.


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## jebatty (Jun 18, 2016)

I made a small step forward on implementing a condensing/heat capture system for our electric clothes dryer: ordered a data logging temperature/humidity sensor to monitor the results. Primary objective is to make sure that not too much humidity is delivered into the basement and secondarily to add heat when needed. Right now in the basement we have to dehumidify during the June-September period and it would be beneficial to have added heat (rather than added electric heat) from the dryer during the November-April period. The dryer venting system therefore will need a bypass to vent outside when heat/dehumidification is not needed and vent inside when heat is needed, subject to not adding undesirable humidity.

We have a high efficiency, front loading washer with high speed spin, and that already has greatly reduced the amount of humidity generated in the drying process. The data logger will provide info on humidity from the dryer at the before condensing point and at the after condensing point to determine the effectiveness of the condenser, and it also will provide info on how much humidity is raised in the basement when the dryer is condensing and venting into the basement.


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## semipro (Jun 18, 2016)

jebatty said:


> I made a small step forward on implementing a condensing/heat capture system for our electric clothes dryer: ordered a data logging temperature/humidity sensor to monitor the results. Primary objective is to make sure that not too much humidity is delivered into the basement and secondarily to add heat when needed. Right now in the basement we have to dehumidify during the June-September period and it would be beneficial to have added heat (rather than added electric heat) from the dryer during the November-April period. The dryer venting system therefore will need a bypass to vent outside when heat/dehumidification is not needed and vent inside when heat is needed, subject to not adding undesirable humidity.
> 
> We have a high efficiency, front loading washer with high speed spin, and that already has greatly reduced the amount of humidity generated in the drying process. The data logger will provide info on humidity from the dryer at the before condensing point and at the after condensing point to determine the effectiveness of the condenser, and it also will provide info on how much humidity is raised in the basement when the dryer is condensing and venting into the basement.


What are you planning to use as a condenser Jim?


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## jebatty (Jun 19, 2016)

To start with nothing more than a length of aluminum vent pipe terminating above a container of water. The basement temp is in the 50 degree range during late fall to spring. Maybe add a turbulator inside the pipe to increase moist air contact with the surface of the pipe.


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## DUMF (Jun 23, 2016)

So here we are on a generally wood heating site, now discussing "green".
This Luddite spouts using a down comforter for example for the complaints about cold bedrooms.
Now another whine: does anyone hang clothes on an outdoor "line" anymore to dry naturally year-round ?
Why use fossils to dry clothes except in dire need for clean undies ? We need to know.
Lazy ?
Time constraints ( spend less time diddling on social media ) ?
Like efficiency and speed ?
Boy, those undies sure smell nice after outdoor naturale drying.


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## jebatty (Jun 24, 2016)

DUMF said:


> So here we are on a generally wood heating site, now discussing "green".


 I got a laugh out of your mention of wood because the Green Room actually is for discussing "green" and "conservation" ... not just wood. 





> This area is for discussion and links of renewable energy and conservation NOT related to stoves - such as solar, wind and water power as well as conservation, ethanol and other evolving technologies.


 What are your thoughts on a wood-fired clothes dryer?


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## DUMF (Jun 24, 2016)

jebatty said:


> I got a laugh out of your mention of wood because the Green Room actually is for discussing "green" and "conservation" ... not just wood.  What are your thoughts on a wood-fired clothes dryer?



The boss says: " no clothes dryer in MY house around the wood stoves....none." My entreaties that
the clothes drying would supply indoor humidity in the winter falls flat.
So, out to the clothes lines winter or summer. Now that's "green".


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## jebatty (Jun 24, 2016)

My boss also says no clothes drying in the house ... and not outdoors too -- the birds sit on the line and poop on the hanging clothes. Hence, an effort to use the electric dryer more efficiently.


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## maple1 (Jun 24, 2016)

Clothes rack doesn't have to be around the stove. Most of our clothes hanging is in the master bathroom, a bit in the room where the washer & dryer are. Moisture is pretty fluid, anywhere in a dry house will usually do.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jun 24, 2016)

begreen said:


> Heat pump and condensing dryers are ductless. These are available in the US too. They are pricey but electrical savings can be 25% according to some reviews. .


Some estimates are 50% energy savings.


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## jebatty (Jun 25, 2016)

And soon an ultrasonic clothes dryer? Will have to wait to see if this scales up and hits a price point that can capture market share. Ultrasonic Dryer


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## Lake Girl (Jun 25, 2016)

That prototype is a little small  Concept works on individual pieces of fabric but I'm curious on the full-size model...


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## woodgeek (Jun 25, 2016)

DUMF said:


> does anyone hang clothes on an outdoor "line" anymore to dry naturally year-round ?
> Why use fossils to dry clothes except in dire need for clean undies ? We need to know.
> Lazy ?
> Time constraints ( spend less time diddling on social media ) ?
> ...



We are lazy or busy with other things....hard to tell the difference to be honest.  

We have a HE washer that has a hi-speed spin.  A lot of things come out of the washer so spun that they air dry overnight in the house, for bulk loads...we use a dryer, but with 100% wind power no fossils are required.


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## Ashful (Jun 25, 2016)

You guys are thinking about this all wrong.  Georgepds's simplicity, with begreen's efficiency:





Remember when all washers had a wringer?  Supplanted by the spin cycle, but which does the better job, with less electricity?

You can still buy a wringer, today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BrotherBart (Jun 25, 2016)

Ashful said:


> You can still buy a wringer, today.



Been there, washed with that. Never again.


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## begreen (Jun 25, 2016)

I remember reading in the papers about a woman that lost her scalp to one of those. You really don't want to get something caught like long hair in those wringers.


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## Ashful (Jun 25, 2016)

BrotherBart said:


> Been there, washed with that. Never again.


Damn!  I knew you were old, but...


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## BrotherBart (Jun 25, 2016)

Ever seen the Maytag powered by a single cylinder gas engine? I have. The only one that could get the thing to start was Grandpa. He would stomp the kick starter one time then spit tobacco on it and say "Start you son_of_a_bitch" and it would start on the next stomp.


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## BrotherBart (Jun 25, 2016)

Found a pic.


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## Ashful (Jun 25, 2016)

BrotherBart said:


> Ever seen the Maytag powered by a single cylinder gas engine? I have. The only one that could get the thing to start was Grandpa. He would stomp the kick starter one time then spit tobacco on it and say "Start you son_of_a_bitch" and it would start on the next stomp.


Yep.  I still have the engine from my great-grandmother's.  I used to run it, as a kid.  Machine is long-gone, but the engine is still with me.

Had it kick back on me a few times, when I was young.  Used to scare me, then.  Can't imagine my wife running it, today.  Women must have been tough, in those days.


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## woodgeek (Jun 26, 2016)

Ashful said:


> Women must have been tough, in those days.



Given the men in those days, and the fact that we are not extinct, I would have to agree.

of maybe it just really beat doing the laundry down by the river.


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## jebatty (Jun 26, 2016)

woodgeek said:


> ... maybe it just really beat doing the laundry down by the river


 Nothing can beat beating the laundry.


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## Lake Girl (Jun 26, 2016)

Had a Maytag wringer when I first got married (80s) as it was better than going to the laundry mat and our oldest had cloth diapers (sensitivities to disposable).  Those things are very tough on clothes ... not very forgiving if buttons or zippers go through the wrong way.  The trade off is time vs. slightly more electric usage with a spin cycle (unverified).  Still running the motor when wringing so not sure if there is electric savings.  Wouldn't say there is much difference on moisture removal between a wringer and a front end loader...

The actual savings value would come from water and detergent usage ... less water & detergent used with a wringer.  My Mom used to have a washing machine with a suds saver (wash water drained into laundry sink and sucked back in for next load) so actual water use was decreased.  That is a thing of the past with front end loaders.  I think you can still get a suds saver option but they are not as common.

Edit:  Apparently Australia is the only place you may still be able to get a suds-saver model (and maybe not there anymore).  Appears they were phased out in North America late 90s/early 2000s.  Front end loaders apparently use 30% less water.  Suds saver would re-use approximately 50% ... more if you could get 3 loads washed using the same water.  That is dependent on how dirty those clothes really are...


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## iamlucky13 (Jun 27, 2016)

Last time I had a reason to use a laundromat, they had a dedicated spin-cycle machine. The washers all did a spin cycle, of course, but this thing was apparently a step up over that. Supposedly, for 25 cents and 5 minutes it took about 15 minutes / 75 cents) off the drying cycle. I didn't do a comparison test, but my clothes were noticeably lighter after removal from the spinner than when I put them in.

I'd imagine that machine saved a decent amount of energy.


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## DUMF (Jun 28, 2016)

*CLOTHELINES--*
Now that is green. Just saying..............


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## begreen (Jun 28, 2016)

Give up clothes and go naked. Maybe green, until you turn red.


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## maple1 (Jun 28, 2016)

...or blue.


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## begreen (Jun 28, 2016)

LOL  depending on the season.


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## Lake Girl (Jun 29, 2016)

or until you get arrested...


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## begreen (Jun 29, 2016)

Yes, then all color bets are off, but someone else does the laundry then.


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## lml999 (Jul 21, 2016)

maple1 said:


> That home depot dryer link talks about washing dishes in the description.
> 
> A clothes dryer that can also wash dishes - way cool!



Hey, my dish washer makes a pretty good bicycle parts washer...but only if my wife isn't home.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jul 21, 2016)

maple1 said:


> That home depot dryer link talks about washing dishes in the description.
> 
> A clothes dryer that can also wash dishes - way cool!


Yea cuz who dont want to do a load of dishes and silverwear after the socks,underwear and sweatpants come out.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jul 21, 2016)

Im not sure a $900 heat pump dryer would ever pay for itself in energy savings. IF it was practically free with rebates like the Geospring then i would bite.  First id have to see just how much the dryer is using to begin with , not so easy with 220V


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## woodgeek (Jul 21, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> Im not sure a $900 heat pump dryer would ever pay for itself in energy savings. IF it was practically free with rebates like the Geospring then i would bite.  First id have to see just how much the dryer is using to begin with , not so easy with 220V



The 'average' dryer load requires roughly 3.3 kWh to dry.  You could run the numbers from there.

The HP dryers would be too slow for me.

AS it is, we used to have a conventional washer, and a load to 30 minutes, but the dryer took 60 because the load came out so wet.  Now our HE washer takes 60+ minutes per load, and the dryer only takes 30 minutes, because of the fast spin.  

Its a wash.


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## semipro (Jul 21, 2016)

woodgeek said:


> The 'average' dryer load requires roughly 3.3 kWh to dry.  You could run the numbers from there.
> 
> The HP dryers would be too slow for me.
> 
> ...


Maybe as far as total time but I'm thinking energy use per time for the dryer is much higher than the washer.


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## Ashful (Jul 21, 2016)

There's only one way to do laundry.  Go big, or go home.


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## woodgeek (Jul 21, 2016)

semipro said:


> Maybe as far as total time but I'm thinking energy use per time for the dryer is much higher than the washer.



My HE washer IIRC uses less that 10% as much as the dryer, per load.


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## TonyVideo (Jul 28, 2016)

lml999 said:


> Hey, my dish washer makes a pretty good bicycle parts washer...but only if my wife isn't home.


I clean all kinds of things in our dishwasher when my wife is out of town. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. [emoji3] 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Seasoned Oak (Jul 29, 2016)

TonyVideo said:


> I clean all kinds of things in our dishwasher when my wife is out of town. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. [emoji3]
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Until she may secretly signs up on hearth,com


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## Ashful (Jul 29, 2016)

TonyVideo said:


> I clean all kinds of things in our dishwasher when my wife is out of town. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. [emoji3]
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


From Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck" days, "honey, come get this transmission out of the tub so I can take a bath."


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## Seasoned Oak (Jul 29, 2016)

My wifes like that ,i once used the toilet plunger to plunge the bathroom sink and she made me put new sink and faucet in, Should have never told her i used it. I guess shes a germaphobe.


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## begreen (Jul 29, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> i once used the toilet plunger to plunge the bathroom sink and she made me put new sink and faucet in


Guess she never heard of bleach?


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## scotthershall (Aug 1, 2016)

Just reading though this interesting discussion... 

Have any of you used an indoor dryer vent? Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4X2FSM/?tag=hearthamazon-20 or this http://www.lowes.com/pd/IMPERIAL-Indoor-Hook-Up-Dryer-Vent-Kit/3203205

I was considering it before we installed our pellet stove, since we were wasting a substantial amount of heat every time we use the dryer. The ideas was to use it during the heating season. My wife vetoed the idea since she didn't want the house smelling like laundry all the time. I guess I can understand that, but even with the pellet stove running, the extra heat and humidity from the dryer would be nice... and the smell of clean laundry isn't that bad... heck, people spend good money on that scent at Yankee Candle...


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 1, 2016)

begreen said:


> Guess she never heard of bleach?


No amount of bleach can erase that mental picture i guess.


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 1, 2016)

scotthershall said:


> Just reading though this interesting discussion...
> 
> Have any of you used an indoor dryer vent? Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4X2FSM/?tag=hearthamazon-20 or this http://www.lowes.com/pd/IMPERIAL-Indoor-Hook-Up-Dryer-Vent-Kit/3203205
> 
> I was considering it before we installed our pellet stove, since we were wasting a substantial amount of heat every time we use the dryer. The ideas was to use it during the heating season. My wife vetoed the idea since she didn't want the house smelling like laundry all the time. I guess I can understand that, but even with the pellet stove running, the extra heat and humidity from the dryer would be nice... and the smell of clean laundry isn't that bad... heck, people spend good money on that scent at Yankee Candle...


We vent inside all winter ,and put a stocking over the hose to catch lint.  In spring summer and fall the humidity is so high here there's no way i want to add to that ,plus all the heat,so its a wintertime thing only. Humidity can get down to dangerously low levels here in winter like 25%. AN d filling up those portable humidifiers constantly is a giant PIA. P,S. you want to vent as far away from the dryer as practical cuz you dont want to draw the same moisture yur expelling back thru the clothes.


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## Highbeam (Aug 2, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> Humidity can get down to dangerously low levels here in winter like 25%.



Really, that's dangerous? We see 16% (lowest it will go) for a large part of the winter. I like it dry. Was always told to keep it low, under 50% RH or the dust mites will thrive.


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## begreen (Aug 2, 2016)

16% would be very low for us. Our house averages in the 40-45% RH range throughout most of our damp NW winters. Most of the time winter outdoor relative humidity is in the 70-95% range here. We have only seen around 20% on rare occasions when we have a very cold high pressure system over this area and the there is a prolonged period of below 20F temps. When we lived back east we had much lower interior readings. The lowest I recall was 7%?!


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## Ashful (Aug 2, 2016)

Our indoor humidity holds in the low 20's all winter, and that's with a lot of cooking in the kitchen.  Old house, not quite as tight as anything built today, I suspect.


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 2, 2016)

Highbeam said:


> Really, that's dangerous? We see 16% (lowest it will go) for a large part of the winter. I like it dry. Was always told to keep it low, under 50% RH or the dust mites will thrive.


At those levels several things happen here, dries out sinuses and promotes colds and other respiratory ails.  We have had furniture split ,our tropical mahogany table split and cracked badly.


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## iamlucky13 (Aug 3, 2016)

The innternational residential code requires dryer vents to terminate outside the building, with a couple exceptions, such as for condensing dryers where the manufacturer has designed it to work without a vent.
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...ing-code-questions/18918/dryer-venting-inside

The two big risks I can think of are humidity causing condensation (not likely to be an issue if the humidity is normally low, and it's not discharged into a relatively small, closed room), and either airborne lint to breathe in or settle everywhere or lint build up in an extra trap like those off-the-shelf indoor vents have. That's is a fire risk, but mitigated if the user cleans up any lint - something you already have to do with the trap in the dryer.

Taking into account those concerns, it doesn't seem like a big deal to vent indoors as long as you restore it to outdoor venting if you ever sell the house so an inspector doesn't flag it.

I'd never do it in my area because of the humidity.


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## semipro (Aug 3, 2016)

Funny, this related article showed up in my email box today. 
Its from GreenBuildingAdvisor.com
*http://tinyurl.com/h9w28fw *


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 3, 2016)

Is there any other restrictions such as venting under a porch deck. I have to vent a conventional dryer and the most accessible outside wall has a porch deck on th eother side where the cap would terminate. It is an open air deck with spaces between the boards and an open front. But its only about 2 ft off the ground.


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## DanburyTreeCT (Aug 3, 2016)

Seasoned, Over here in CT there aren't any restrictions with venting under a porch deck.


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## scotthershall (Aug 5, 2016)

iamlucky13 said:


> The innternational residential code requires dryer vents to terminate outside the building, with a couple exceptions, such as for condensing dryers where the manufacturer has designed it to work without a vent.
> http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...ing-code-questions/18918/dryer-venting-inside
> 
> The two big risks I can think of are humidity causing condensation (not likely to be an issue if the humidity is normally low, and it's not discharged into a relatively small, closed room), and either airborne lint to breathe in or settle everywhere or lint build up in an extra trap like those off-the-shelf indoor vents have. That's is a fire risk, but mitigated if the user cleans up any lint - something you already have to do with the trap in the dryer.
> ...



My guess lint is highly flammable... When I moved into my house about 1.5 years ago, the first thing we had to purchase was a new washer and dryer because the previous owners took theirs (was a short sale, I think they needed the money but to their credit they never said it came with the house). Installing the new dryer I learned the last one was vented improperly. There was a vent cap on the outside but no actual vent piping from the drywall to the vent cap! The previous owners just stuck the flexible dryer vent into the drywall and called it good. After pulling out a mess of lint and fiberglass insulation and rodent excrement and acorn shells (from a 12" thick wall) I removed the old vent cap and installed a new one complete with an attached vent pipe.

Between that and all the other similar stuff (like the central air condensate line running straight down and touching the ground, causing it to back up almost instantly on a humid day - the air handler is in the attic) I'm surprised the house didn't burn down or sustain any other major damage during the 8 years the previous owners were there...

My most recent discovery... the town provides a nice 110PSI of water to the house. I just purchased a pressure reducing valve to be installed this weekend.


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## Ashful (Aug 5, 2016)

Holy water pressure!  Surprised you didn't get knocked clean off your feet each time you turned on a shower head.


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## semipro (Aug 6, 2016)

scotthershall said:


> the town provides a nice 110PSI of water to the house. I just purchased a pressure reducing valve to be installed this weekend.


Utility water pressure at a user is largely dependent upon the elevation of the user with respect to the elevation of the water in storage towers.   They have to build to the supply adequate pressure to the highest houses so sometimes those at lower elevations will have higher than normal pressures.  High pressure is certainly easier to address than low pressure though.


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## DBoon (Aug 10, 2016)

scotthershall said:


> the town provides a nice 110PSI of water to the house


Yeah, a condo I lived in had the pressure regulator fail and we were getting 140psi water pressure - I literally had water blowing past a faucet seal when I opened it up there was so much pressure.


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## Lake Girl (Aug 12, 2016)

scotthershall said:


> My guess lint is highly flammable...


A local couple lost everything due to a lint fire ... living quarters, store, and wedding gifts as they had only been married about a week.  Lucky they got out ... dog woke them up.


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## begreen (Aug 13, 2016)

Lake Girl said:


> A local couple lost everything due to a lint fire ... living quarters, store, and wedding gifts as they had only been married about a week.  Lucky they got out ... dog woke them up.


That's really sad. We only run ours on low heat to reduce the chance of fire.


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 13, 2016)

begreen said:


> That's really sad. We only run ours on low heat to reduce the chance of fire.


I only run low heat to save electricity ,it just takes a little longer to dry.


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## jebatty (Aug 14, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> I only run low heat to save electricity ,it just takes a little longer to dry.


 Do you have a way to measure total electricity used before and after this strategy? Seems to me it takes X btus to evaporate water from a load of clothes, and that has to come from somewhere. Your strategy also likely is impacted by ambient relative humidity: high humidity will take longer to dry vs lower humidity. Obviously, drying outside takes 0 electricity, so using low heat and moving more air from the outside on a longer blower cycle may save energy.


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## semipro (Aug 14, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> I only run low heat to save electricity ,it just takes a little longer to dry.


Given that the drum motor and fan have to run longer on low heat mode I'm wondering if this might actually use more power per load.


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## Seasoned Oak (Aug 14, 2016)

semipro said:


> Given that the drum motor and fan have to run longer on low heat mode I'm wondering if this might actually use more power per load.


I would say its the same reason my Geospring HPWH saves so much power ,it may have to run longer than a traditional WH to recover but its consuming 500 watts instead of 4500 watts. Im sure the heating element in a dryer uses many times the power of the drum motor.


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## semipro (Aug 14, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> I would say its the same reason my Geospring HPWH saves so much power ,it may have to run longer than a traditional WH to recover but its consuming 500 watts instead of 4500 watts. Im sure the heating element in a dryer uses many times the power of the drum motor.


Its not the same.  
The Geospring saves power because it captures ambient heat from the air as opposed to using using only resistance heat as in a conventional WH. It takes longer than conventional resistance heating only because doing it faster would take a larger refrigeration system that would be too large and cost too much. 
Evaporating water from wet clothes requires a certain amount of heat per mass of water.  Whether you do that slowly or more rapidly does not (necessarily) change the total amount of heat (i.e. energy) needed.   I say "necessarily" because agitation and airflow affect the rate of evaporation also.


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## iamlucky13 (Aug 15, 2016)

The difference between a heat pump device and a resistance one is clear. It does seem possible, however, that simply relying more on air flow volume than on heat could save a small amount of energy. This would not be overwhelmingly difficult to test, if someone had a 240V power meter, and randomized which loads they ran which way.


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## NickDL (Sep 15, 2016)

DUMF said:


> So here we are on a generally wood heating site, now discussing "green".
> This Luddite spouts using a down comforter for example for the complaints about cold bedrooms.
> Now another whine: does anyone hang clothes on an outdoor "line" anymore to dry naturally year-round ?
> Why use fossils to dry clothes except in dire need for clean undies ? We need to know.
> ...


My wife hangs our clothes out as much as possible. She will also hang clothes in front of the wood insert, she really loves that. But there are plenty of times that she needs to use the dryer, especially when the weather is bad and she has run out of hanging space. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## Where2 (Sep 15, 2016)

Ashful said:


> There's only one way to do laundry.  Go big, or go home.
> 
> View attachment 182287



Nice to see I'm not the only guy with 2 front load washers and dryers in his house...

I've been working on a recently acquired rebuild project (a 2008 Samsung electric dryer) to drag to our farm. While I have it disassembled, I may spend some time investigating the main intake air locations, and what holes I need to seal in the chassis to limit surrounding air intake. This unit has a series of louvers on the back that may be intake air. My, nearly identical, existing Samsung electric dryer backs up to an exterior wall and vents directly through the same wall. If I could duct intake air to it rather than using conditioned room air, it might provide that "dried on a line" smell someone liked in their undies early in this thread, and increase the efficiency of my home.

For those who keep asking about measuring dryer efficiency, get a TED 1001, TED 5000, or even the (bare bones) Peacefair 100A kwh meter (with external CT). I've used all of those to measure 220V energy consumption.

While I was at the farm this summer, I spent plenty of time line drying my clothes, mainly because I was rearranging the room where the laundry units lived. There were definitely days where line drying didn't work, and several times when that little 120V apartment dryer my buddy dropped off came in handy sitting on the porch, vented out the window.


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## Ashful (Sep 22, 2016)

Where2 said:


> Nice to see I'm not the only guy with 2 front load washers and dryers in his house...


I've been seeking out ways to increase my carbon footprint, in an attempt to prevent @woodgeek and @jebatty steering us clear of the "inevitable environmental apocalypse".  As of this date, I've personally exceeded the average yearly energy consumption of Dusseldorf, and many other small European cities.


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## begreen (Sep 22, 2016)

And on that dubious note closing thread.


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