[carboy]

Originally Posted by ads11

And that's perfectly normal, I don't blame you.

How do I tell if my current dryer (IFB) is of what type?

[ads11]

Originally Posted by carboy

How do I tell if my current dryer (IFB) is of what type?

Well a simple way would be to check if on any of the labels on the back have any note of a refrigerant, the same as the back of your fridge will likely have a label for the kind of coolant fluid that's been used for disclaimer purposes.

But even simpler still would be just to check the model number against the specifications online or any user manual.

I'd say that's how I'd check, I don't think externally it's terribly easy to tell them apart. A heat pump dryer as far as I'm aware won't have a big vent at the back for exhaust air.

[ramki067]

Dear BHPians,
I purchased Samsung SBS refrigerator of 653 lts (thisone), recently. Wanted to purchase a stabilizer for this. Can you pls guide on which one to choose for added safety as power fluctuations/outage are rampant this summer at my place.
Thanks,
Ramki

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by ramki067

Dear BHPians,
I purchased Samsung SBS refrigerator of 653 lts (thisone), recently. Wanted to purchase a stabilizer for this. Can you pls guide on which one to choose for added safety as power fluctuations/outage are rampant this summer at my place.
Thanks,
Ramki

I have V-guard stabilizer for my 500ltr fridge for past 10 yrs and quite happy with it. For higher capacity this is the one listed on Amazon which may suit your requirements

https://amzn.eu/d/cC3PnPL

[ramki067]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I have V-guard stabilizer for my 500ltr fridge for past 10 yrs and quite happy with it. For higher capacity this is the one listed on Amazon which may suit your requirements

https://amzn.eu/d/cC3PnPL

Yes saw it but it's capacity is mentioning as 6 amps but I am connected to 16 amps socket at home. Will this work?

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by ramki067

Yes saw it but it's capacity is mentioning as 6 amps but I am connected to 16 amps socket at home. Will this work?

It's meant for 600+ ltr fridge so should work fine I think. Wall socket size might be 16 amp but fridge may not need 16amp (just the plug is equivalent size of 16 amp). If in doubt,, do check in local store or call customer care. Although I see many reviews have mentioned that they have used it for 600+ ltr side by side refrigerator.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by carboy

How do I tell if my current dryer (IFB) is of what type?

Originally Posted by ads11

Yes the time taken is much longer but primarily the energy savings are night and day. Heat pump tumble dryers barely use half the electricity of typical condenser ones.

Also, they're WAY quieter than run of the mill condenser dryers. Mum had an old Bosch that would sound like a helicopter in comparison to the new one. Admittedly heat pump dryers are a fair bit more expensive

If you are talking about the entry-level IFB one, it is a Vented Tumble Dryer. At least that is what I could make out by looking at the design and the fact that it comes with a hose to vent out the air/moisture.

However, I am not sure if that is the same as the heat pump dryers ads11 is talking about. Because, my IFB dryer is loud, cheap, and takes only about an hour to dry.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by ppc_rgs

We are using Faber (4 burner one) for the last one year. No issues. We found only this particular model is well spaced out. We can actually use all 4 burners at the same time, if we need to.

Originally Posted by Aroy

If space is not constrained, get a 4 burner stove. The best configuration is
. Big burner at front
. 2 Medium burners at the back
. Small burner at front

Thanks folks - updated Home Minister (wife) on the same but she prefers a 3 burner. We have shortlisted the following Elica Model here : Amazon - will pick up at offline store though...



Model: Elica Slimmest 3 Burner Auto Ignition Gas Stove with Double Drip Tray and Forged Brass Burners (773 CT VETRO (TKN CROWN DT AI))

Any feedback on it? I see some of the Review Comments saying that the Auto Ignition is tricky - should I be worried.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

If you are talking about the entry-level IFB one, it is a Vented Tumble Dryer. At least that is what I could make out by looking at the design and the fact that it comes with a hose to vent out the air/moisture.

However, I am not sure if that is the same as the heat pump dryers ads11 is talking about. Because, my IFB dryer is loud, cheap, and takes only about an hour to dry.

Just going off memory, I don't think IFB sold a heat pump dryer when I checked last year. When we first moved to India we had an IFB dryer which I sure remember being very loud and fairly cheap. Would feel like a sauna going into the utility room after it had been on.

FWIW, here's a grainy image of the one I got my mum next to the old vented Siemens unit (which has some bearing loose or something because it sounds like nails on a chalk board sometimes). Beyond the label on the door, it's not really easy to tell the type of dryer apart at a passing glance.


Oh I will add one neat thing about having the tumble dryer and washing machine speak to each other via Samsung SmartThings is that the dryer will automatically prime the appropriate drying mode based on what cycle the washing machine just finished. It's quite handy not just in terms of being able to manage it from your phone but in terms of only needing to really worry about setting the washing cycle and just chucking in the laundry into the dryer once done. But that's very much a nice-to-have feature than a critical one.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Living in a place where there are only a couple of weeks a year when outside drying is not easily possible, I haven't even thought about driers for year. I have not heard of a "heat pump" drier. I have heard of a condenser drier, which needs no vent. Similar? Different?

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Living in a place where there are only a couple of weeks a year when outside drying is not easily possible, I haven't even thought about driers for year. I have not heard of a "heat pump" drier. I have heard of a condenser drier, which needs no vent. Similar? Different?

They're not the same. I guess the easiest analogy is a vented dryer is essentially like one great big blow dryer (like you have for hair), the moist air is ducted outside.
A condenser dryer is the same as above but instead of just immediately ejecting the moist air, it has a condensation tank to try and extract some/most of that moisture.
At it's simplest a heat pump is what you have in your fridge or AC, it's a heat exchanger. In a heat pump dryer it's using the heat exchanger to maintain the temperature in the drum instead, meaning you don't constantly have to reheat fresh ambient air to higher temperatures to then input into the dryer. Thus you can have lower drum temperatures and significantly lower energy use. The caveat lies in increased time to dry and initial outlay.

That's it really. At the end of the day air drying is best but if needing to line dry indoors, and you don't want that mildew-y smell, you'll end up needing some kind of dryer. (Another caveat is that if you're needing to regularly tumble dry your clothes, heat pump dryers are much gentler on clothing, because of the lower temperatures).

Link

On a wider note, part of me wonders if at least in northern & north-eastern India there's room for air source heat pumps as part of integrated HVAC systems for homes (not sure how much heating demand there is in winter), but that's a separate and much more involved appliance so to speak.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ads11

They're not the same. ...

Thank you very much for your very full reply and explanation. It will benefit everyone interested in these machines.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by ads11

old vented Siemens unit

Looks like a condenser dryer to me. Appears to have a condensate tank near the bottom, like some other BSH dryers (as someone who uses a stacking kit, I envy that), and there is also a panel behind which - if my assumption is correct - the condenser lies. As far as I've seen, BSH vented dryers don't have that panel, and obviously not the container.

I can also find a product page for an identical condenser unit.

Originally Posted by carboy

How do I tell if my current dryer (IFB) is of what type?

If it's an IFB, it's vented without a second thought. They simply don't have the budget to develop other types of dryers because of the low demand, and every unit they have sold so far uses a 25 year-old Australian design (from Electrolux subsidiary Simpson) that probably predates the invention of condenser dryers.

Originally Posted by ads11

At it's simplest a heat pump is what you have in your fridge or AC, it's a heat exchanger.

All condenser dryers have a heat exchanger. Heat pump dryers are just a subset of condenser dryers. If you take off the panel at the bottom of the front of your Siemens unit, unlock the two tabs and pull the handle, you will find a large heat exchanger there (beware of water). The difference with a heat pump is that after the hot, humid air passes through the condenser fins where the water condenses out, the resulting dehumidified air is reused for drying, i.e., the air is in a closed cycle while in a traditional condenser dryer fresh air is continuously drawn in (it is open to the atmosphere).

To sum up:
A vented dryer exhausts humid air
A traditional condenser dryer dehumidifies the air through a heat exchanger, then vents it
A heat pump condenser dryer dehumidifies the air through a heat exchanger, then reheats and reuses this drier-than-ambient air

[itwasntme]

Excellent timely conversation re. tumble dryers. We had a IFB vented dryer which was noisy and rough and did the job, albeit not in a refined manner. It is a purely analog machine with zero sensors to measure anything. The only controls are temperature and time, i.e there is no crease control function. As a result, a mixed load of clothes usually either stayed damp or were over-dried.

We recently replaced the IFB with a Galanz vented dryer machine, and the latter is better than the IFB but not great either.

We have our Samsung washing machine and Galanz dryer mounted vertically in our garage, and hence ventilation is not an issue. Any thoughts what type and brand of dryer I should go for?

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Any thoughts what type and brand of dryer I should go for?

Consider the Bosch Serie 4 Condenser dryer. We used one at at Air bnb recently and was mighty impressed by its silent operation and ability dry even under low heat application. This one did not have a transparent window so you can't see what's going on but I don't think you'd care. The design of the lint filter is also well thought out and is placed right below the front door opening. You don't need to reach back into the drum for the filter. This unit had no external vent.

You have heat pump options too, if that works in your budget.

Check serviceability before buying. While these things don't fail, its best you have some back up or a good warranty atleast.