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Topic: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?  (Read 5170 times)

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Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« on: January 29, 2019, 04:19:04 PM »
Pros and cons please, and thanks.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2019, 04:22:31 PM »
We have a vented one - cheap and cheerful.  Probably kills the electric when it's running - BUT it drys a load in 40ish minutes.  So it's definitely on for less time than some.  Absolutely as good of a job as my US machine.  Just doesn't have a sensor on it, which is fine by me as I know how long it takes to dry, so just set the timer for that length of time.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/laundry/tumble-dryers/white-knight-c38aw-vented-tumble-dryer-white-10146380-pdt.html#srcid=11026


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2019, 06:09:23 PM »

Could I be wrong about the terminology?  My condenser dryer uses a ton of heat, essentially steaming the water out of the clothes (however the hell that works).  It shrinks the clothes and bunches up any plastic.  And smells like an oily rage being cooked.  And it takes 5 and a half hours! 

Mrs. jimbocz gives me a bollocking just about every time I use it, so I usually have to wait until she goes to bed. 

Keep it to yourself Son of Sailor.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2019, 06:19:47 PM »
Could I be wrong about the terminology?  My condenser dryer uses a ton of heat, essentially steaming the water out of the clothes (however the hell that works).  It shrinks the clothes and bunches up any plastic.  And smells like an oily rage being cooked.  And it takes 5 and a half hours! 

Mrs. jimbocz gives me a bollocking just about every time I use it, so I usually have to wait until she goes to bed. 

Keep it to yourself Son of Sailor.

That sounds more like a condenser than Kristie's description.. sorry Kristie!  :)

My vote is for vented. I also have a cheap one with only high and low settings. (I immediately ruled out getting one with a sensor because a lot of the complaints were that the machine finished before clothes were completely dry.) I almost exclusively use the low setting as I feel it's more gentle on the clothes and it still takes less than an hour even for a load of towels.

You do need to be able to vent it somewhere though so either out of a window or through the wall.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2019, 06:41:39 PM »
We have a condenser  washer/dryer unit. It gets the clothes most of the way dry if I put it on high/outdoor setting, or if I have almost nothing in there. But normally it just drives a lot of the moisture out and I still end up hanging the clothes at least overnight on airing racks. And it takes for-ev-er!  Still, they are handy if you can't put a hole in the wall to vent the moisture outside! If I had my 'druthers, I'd rather have a vented machine.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2019, 08:02:20 PM »
We have a condenser dryer.

Pros for me: using no heat, my clothes don't look faded and shrink up.
Ours uses little electricity.
No place to vent means I can still have dry clothes.

Cons: a little noisy (ours is anyway)
It does take longer to dry when not using heat

How does it work, if there's no heat?


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2019, 08:55:45 PM »
I have a condenser dryer and it sounds nothing like Jimbo's. It uses very little electricity and doesn't shrink or wrinkle our clothes. They are slightly damp when they come out, but that usually dissipates after I shake them out and fold them. A full load takes about an hour to 90 minutes. It's not loud. Honestly, I had my doubts but I love it. We didn't have any dryer in our old place so the simple fact of not having clothes hanging all over everything is a blessing.
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Tu seras mon unique projet.

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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2019, 08:13:14 AM »
I have a condenser dryer and it sounds nothing like Jimbo's. It uses very little electricity and doesn't shrink or wrinkle our clothes. They are slightly damp when they come out, but that usually dissipates after I shake them out and fold them. A full load takes about an hour to 90 minutes. It's not loud. Honestly, I had my doubts but I love it. We didn't have any dryer in our old place so the simple fact of not having clothes hanging all over everything is a blessing.

There must be something significantly different between yours and mine.  Mine literally takes 5 and a half hours.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2019, 11:20:07 AM »
We had a condenser dryer at the rented house, and it was as Jimbo described.  Now we have a vented dryer, and it's just like back home. 
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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2019, 01:02:15 AM »
So I ended up buying a Hoover DynamicNext.   It is a condenser dryer.  My choice was a vented dryer in the out building outside or a condenser model in a ready built space in my kitchen next to the sink.  Not having to run outside to check on clothes appealed.  Also, we plumbed it in so it drains rather than having to empty a water tank.  It has a large capacity and loads of settings.  A large mixed weight load takes about 90 minutes to dry.   A light load is under an hour.    Last Saturday, I dried a heavy weight down duvet and it took about three hours, but came out light and fluffy and dry.  The tumble of it changes directions frequently so that the clothes dry evenly.    It's pretty quiet, too.

The dryer that came with the house was a vented unit in the out building.  It worked, but was really old and the plastic parts felt brittle and cheap.  The plastic door handle snapped off in my hand so the door was hard to open.  And it was tiny.  I would not have been able to fit the duvet in it.

I'm pleased with the purchase.


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Re: Need a new dryer-condenser or vented?
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2019, 10:13:58 AM »

Glad that worked out for you and thanks for letting us know.

I must be missing something here, because I used Which magazine and bought what was supposed to be the best dryer.  Obviously it's not! I wonder what's going on.  Maybe there's different types of condenser dryers with different technologies.  I'm curious but too lazy to Google.


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