Confused,

Our condensing one is buggered, its done probably 9 years service so it’s done OK in my book.

We went to get another though, what is a heat pump version and is it really worth an extra £150 for seemingly lower power consumption?

We just went for a cheap White Night or something. It gets hammered this time of year but us still going strong.

Would recommend using ao.com, used them a few times, decent value, reliable and helpful delivery service

We have just done the same after 10years service from an old condensing one. The old one was great and dried stuff very quickly. Replaced it with a John Lewis heat pump thingy. Observations so far – it’s really noisy and takes ages to dry stuff – 3-4hrs for a full load. Also produces lots of condensation in the room, and a lower water load at the end than I’d expect. A bit shit imo.

Recommend considering the gas ones produced by whiteknight

We replaced our Whirlpool condenser dryer that packed in after nearly 10 years service. Replaced with an LG heatpump dryer. With loads of different settings we just stuck to the basics at first and drying times weren’t anything spectacular. Now started to mess around with the different programmes and drying times are much quicker. No more noisy than the previous one and no condensation like Yak states. It’s self cleaning so you don’t need to remove the condenser unit to rinse out like the old one, which I’ll admit I didn’t do enough. only down side has been the door opening side isn’t changeable.

I’ve got a gas one. Recommended. Just changed it out with a replacement after 15 years. The only issue you might have is installation. I didn’t have a problem first time round, but I tried 2 plumbers second time round and they said they didn’t have the right approvals to install. I ended up with a commercial plumber as gas tumble dryers are used more for commercial uses so he had all the right approvals and issued a certificate afterwards.

Vented FTW

Just been researching same subject as our vented one was getting long in the tooth (failing to turn on occasion and bearing noisy)

From what I could gather, heat pump ones are basically more efficient but take longer to dry stuff.

Regarding ROI on that higher price vs lower consumption… somewhere in the range 5 to 10 years appeared to be the general view but I didn’t go into the numbers in detail.

CBA emptying the tank on a condensing one.

Also read some reports that any type with moisture sensors can be either problematic or shut off too soon before stuff is dry.

In the end, just bought another basic timed vented drier (£170) with biggest drum and load capacity (8kg) that I could find.
Run it for 10 years and then throw it away when it goes wrong.

With loads of different settings we just stuck to the basics at first and drying times weren’t anything spectacular.

Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. Going to turn it up to 11 now and see if that helps.

We have a condensing one with sensors. It dries well and also heats the kitchen but I wouldn’t bother with the sensors next time around. Definitely would buy from AO though.

Ours in a Zanussi condensor which senses how dry stuff is. Works fine, but UI is terrible, about a 2 sec lag on responding to a button press and you have to power cycle it to change program if you take the clothes out mid way through a cycle as there is no cancel button.

Just got one of these last month….http://www.hughes.co.uk/household-appliances/tumble-dryer/hoo-vtc791nb/product

I don’t know how we live without it now

Another recommendation for ao.com.

I’d personally go with a vented dryer unless you don’t have an outlet for the vent. In that case go with a condenser dryer.

I’m not convinced about these new heat pump dryers. Too much extra tech to break or go wrong. I haven’t noticed our condenser dryer adding a significant premium to our electricity bill but then we are only a household of two and don’t tend to run it that often.

I’d personally go with a vented dryer

So much this

Apologies for the hijack*, but a very quick question for those who know: what’s the max length vent hose useable on a vented drier? (When we redo our kitchen next year I want the drier to go into the garage along with the washing machine – I want to have a vented machine but the location won’t be immediately next to an outside wall).

*Though I am interested in getting a new device, so a useful thread..!

Ref the vented hose extension – I used rectangular plastic ducting for around 12 feet – no problems – it must slope down – expect condensate to run out of it- and push fit is good as it will need a little tlc to clear fluff .
Also where it exits you need something animal proof as otherwise things will get in.

we’re on our second WhiteKnight gas one….first one lasted about 12 years, this one is about 10 years in. Very good, but the problem is finding someone to fix them if the go wrong – last time ours stopped igniting I eventually found someone who said he could, he came along, looked at it, pulled it out and said it was beyond him.
Pushed it back under the worksurface and it worked perfectly…

White Knight

As recommended by our old school proper Hotpoint machine fixing bloke. As British as you can get these days, simple electronics (it’s the leccies that kill machines) and cheap.