Do condensing washer dryers work as well as vented?

[minibeast70]

I'm working on a construction project for an old building and need to install washers and dryers in each unit. The building is very old and it will be hard to vent. I saw an earlier post about ventless dryers. Has anyone used these machines? Do they work?

http://www.thorappliances.com/site/thorModels/apex.php

Thanks.

 

[IRstuff]

Don't see why not, although have warm water residue with bits of organic material in it is not exactly desirable. Unclear whether ALL of the water is completely drained away, but that's a more of hygenic issue rather than a performance issue.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[Pud]

We have had a condensing drier for years - just have to clean the heat exchanger occasionally. Not a problem.
Very common in the UK (and I guess, Europe).

(Warm water with residue goes down the drain.)

H

http://www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk

 

[zeusfaber]

They work - although combined washer-driers always suffer from the problem that they can never dry as large a load as they can wash. Provided that you let them run through to the end of their cycle (including the ten minutes of cold air circulation at the end), they leave the clothes as dry as an open-circuit dryer.

Reliability can be an issue in cheap models: you've got a drain pump running, and a solenoid stop valve (for the cooling water inlet) energised, continuously. This is a significantly more arduous duty cycle than in a washing machine, yet the same components are often used. Once you lose cooling water, you can get consequential damage to the blower.

A.

 

[dgallup]

I had a combination washer/ventless dryer in an apartment in France (that's right, one unit did everything). It was of German origin so I could not read a word of the instructions. Once I figured it out it worked well but took 3 hours to wash & dry a pair of sheets.

 

[KENAT]

I used a couple different washer/dryers back in the UK.

As others have said they work pretty well but overall probably not quite as well as your typical American separate washer & drier combo.

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[Pud]

Zeus: Never had one that requires cooling water...

H

http://www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk