Stage 1 of work being done to our house is to sort out the internal garage. In 10 days men in space suits will take away the asbestos ceiling, after which time I’ll be replacing the ceiling, sorting lighting and building storage cabinets.

As part of this work, I want to have a tumble drier in the garage* to go alongside the washing machine. Current tumble drier is in the kitchen and is vented through the wall.

So, recommendations please for a tumble drier to go in the garage:

1. Vented or condensing?
2. Brands to look at (currently have a Bosch washer after we borked the STW Approved Miele)?

Zzzzzzzzzzzz…….

*Yes, I’ll have a smoke detector in there.

The one that’s currently in your kitchen?

perchypanther – Member

The one that’s currently in your kitchen?

+1

Recommend using a stacking kit for approx 25 quid. very pleased with my two Bosch units. Dryer on top is very handy and saves space.

Current one is old and tired. And that doesn’t address question 1.

I know it’s tedious, but try a little harder, eh?!

*mutters* STW these days. Don’t know they’re born. In my day. During the war */mutters*

Interesting thought on the stacking point. Will look into that. Would seem to favour a condensing unit.

Current one is old and tired

Does it have workers rights?

Vented though

Modern condensors are pretty good (and we have one) but if I had the option I’d still go for a vented. Generally cheaper, dry faster and less to go wrong in them.

For the record we have a Beko DPU8360 which is a reasonably little (8kg load) condensor with a heat pump to make it A+ efficiency rating. It is stacked on top of our washing machine (also Beko) without any fancy fixing kit and is plumbed in so we don’t need to keep emptying it.

If you want to go through the faff of getting a vent put into garage etc. then go vented.

Saying that though, our Bosch conderser hasn’t skipped a beat in many a year.

So Bosch condenser.

Ah, just had a thought: Mrs North is only 4’10”. If I stack them then she’ll do even less laundry and have an excuse….

Thanks all.

Garages can be a problem for some condenser driers – it might be those with a heat-exchanger, but I can’t be certain. When it gets cold the drier stops being able to fully dry the clothes and runs on for ages, so download the user manual of any condenser that you are thinking of buying and give it a read through.

I have an AEG heat-exchanger condenser in my bathroom – it works very well if you remember to clean out the filters and is cheap to run.

Condenser machines are hugely more efficient – they generate very little waste heat and cost very little per load to run. But they cost much more to buy, so much so that unless you’re using them a lot then it’s not clear you get payback on them

Much better for the environment though.

I was in exactly the same situation as you (including expensive men in space suits to remove nasty AIB from the ceiling lining).

Garage is now moderately insulated, and a condenser dryer is acting as very effective “free” heating over winter – a vented dryer would just waste the majority of the heat down the hose. When cold I tend to time wash loads to coincide with working in the garage.

It condenses very well and the expelled heat is surprisingly “dry” so no issues at all with moisture, condensation, rusting tools etc. Emptying the tank also not the hassle I imagined it would be. We don’t use it very heavily (mostly just for towels and sheets) so went with cheapest Beko which has worked fine for a year or so.

cheers mick_r – that’s the ideal answer!

The drier opening starts at exactly 4 feet so don’t let the height put you off… can’t stress how chuffed I am with my Bosch stacking kit.

The drier opening starts at exactly 4 feet so don’t let the height put you off… can’t stress how chuffed I am with my Bosch stacking kit.

Don’t worry, I’ve got one of these in the garage:

Got a gas main in the garage?
Get a gas one. Much more efficient. British made by British company.

Got a gas main in the garage?

Nope. No mains gas in the village. Hideous bottled LPG for the price of several unicorns a month in winter….

(Yes, we have a log burner.)

+1 for Bosch

On condensers – on normal ones you can pull the heat exchanger out and give it a good clean. The ones with refrigerant cant do this for obvious reasons, meaning the heat exchanger will gradually fill up with fluff through time. i have one like this and wouldnt consider getting one again, the environmental benefit will most likely be outweighed by the material cost removing the heat exchanger and either putting a new one in or scrapping the drier.

On a lighter note, a drainage kit means you need never empty the reservoir, totally recommended!

And gas isn’t more efficient, it’s just cheaper, big difference.

Panasonic flashy heat pump one here. It cost a fortune to buy and in the first year or so had to be repaired a number of times. So we were not impressed. However, the replacement hasn’t missed a beat in the following 18 months or thereabouts and it gets used a lot (small child). Plus apparently it uses very little energy. And it has all manner of fancy functions, like steaming things. I can’t honestly comment on whether these functions actually do anything useful.

Oh and I plumbed it in. 5 min job, no vents or emptying required. This I do like but you don’t have to spend £500 to achieve it.