Talk:Clothes dryer

"(Remove references to wardrobes, which are not a safe environment to leave a dehumidifier permanently switched on)" Would you like to tell us the basis for this? Surely a built in wardrobe and cupboard are the same thing? NT 14:07, 26 January 2007 (GMT)

A bunch of questions I'd be interested to see addressed in the article:

Advantages compared to tumble dryer ... Much less energy consumption than a tumble dryer

is this comparison to a condensing or non-condensing tumble drier?

Much lower run cost

(running cost surely?)

again is this compared to a condensing or non-condensing tumble drier?

Sources and prices of dehumidifiers

can you give some ideas? and maybe also how prices compare with tumble driers?

Noise

are dehumidifiers really quiet enough to have running in a bedroom (which is where one tends to have wardrobes (other than those leading to enchanted worlds :-)).

In general it sounds like a good idea but I wonder about the straight-to-wardrobe idea. In our house not everything goes into a wardrobe anyway: some stuff goes into chests-of-drawers, some into the airing cupboard; and that's without factoring in his & hers wardrobes! Also if you put a load of damp stuff into the wardrobe sod's law you'll want something else out of there half-an-hour later and it'll have been sitting next to something damp and be damp itself. Plus whether a mains supply and condensate waste are available in a bedroom wardrobe.... I could see it being better to have a purpose drying cabinet, in which case it would seem to come down to being a sort of DIY condensing (non-)tumble drier. And none the worse for that: it could easily be vastly larger than a t-d and most of it could be made of renewable materials.

--John Stumbles 19:49, 6 February 2007 (GMT)

Just noticed John's comments - and would concur - a wardrobe (unless specifically dedicated to the task) does not seem like an ideal place.

However, the point of the post; why has the safety related info regrading making sure the machines max temperature is not exceeded, and the use of one shot timer been excluded? This seemed like a sensible set of precautions. --John Rumm 04:00, 14 April 2009 (BST)

There are several locations that can be used. Whether theyre ideal for each end user or not is a matter of preference, and surely the options should still be mentioned.

That was kind of my point, there are no options mentioned - just a wardrobe. A drying room or a (unheated) airing cupboard would seem preferable. If you are using a wardrobe, then one used just for that purpose would be better than a general purpose one. Also avoiding the use of a decent bit of furniture would be a smart move, since it is unlikly respond well to the big swings in humidity on a frequent basis.

What alleged temperature related danger are you referring to? AFAIK there isnt one, and none of the material about it that was once here checked out on google, or aligned with standard consumer product safety design practices. NT 10:21, 15 April 2009 (BST)

Well the makers do specify a maximum operating temperature for the devices. (the Ebac 2000 series one I have the manual for in front of me, states 35 deg C). If you stick it in a confined space, then the space it going to heat (my unit adds 3 deg per air pass) - quite possibly to over the maximum temperature of the device. Also beyond 25 degrees, their efficiency typically falls. So at best, it will perform less well than it should and hence waste energy, worse it might suffer damage as a result, and at worst might cause a fire.

The other point about the one shot timer also seemed sensible, since part of the attraction of a device used for this purpose is the energy saving over a tumble drier. Having the thing run when there is no need for it (as it will when left on its auto setting), would seem to lose some of the advantage. Perhaps adding the advice that turning the unit completely off when not in use would help. --John Rumm 13:43, 15 April 2009 (BST)

Dehumidifier temperature specs are not a safety issue. Compressor and fan are both protected by thermal cutouts, and there are cirucmstances in which these can operate, safely.

Are you sure the thermal cutouts in *all* units are autoresetting rather than thermal fuses? Will the cutout stop the fan on all models rather than just the condenser? (i.e. if you partially cover the units air intake with a coat or similar, are you still sure it would not overheat and risk damage just from the fan motor alone)?

The unit doesnt run when not wanted if the humidistat is set so that it doesnt. A 1 shot times may be useful for non humidistatic units. NT 03:44, 16 April 2009 (BST)

The range of settings on most of the humidistats is limited (often just a few discrete levels) - and these are calibrated for typical humidity levels you would expect to find in a house. So yes, they will kick in in the presence of damp washing, however there is no guarantee they won't at other times either. Much the same with humidistat fans - one some days they will run and run just because of the weather - and they tend to have a much finer humidity control. --John Rumm 22:46, 17 April 2009 (BST)

Bear in mind that fans pull in outdoor air (indirectly), which is saturated, whereas a dh in a room or wardrobe dries the air out to a crisp, so the latter wont run long even if set wrong NT 01:31, 18 April 2009 (BST)