Condenser laundry dryer pump

[@Multi-Skill-Bill]

The patina on your bench is coming along nicely. My favorite is the staple burn from the plastic welder! 🤣 Another great video, Thank you!

[@robinbrowne5419]

Me too. That's my favourite too 👍

[@idjtoal]

@@robinbrowne5419 I've always liked the spilled flux that looks like a lion. Probably easier to see in the earlier videos.

[@robinbrowne5419]

I like the big explosion mark near the top right.

[@thermonuclearwarhead]

Oh Internet, never change.

[@phils4634]

Plenty of scars from burning rechargeable batteries too! The ALDI Battery fire!

[@mazzg1966]

Clive the renaissance man...not only is he a master electronics engineer and reverse engineer, he is also a mechanical engineer! I love that you are into anything mechanical or electrical, this is what keeps me coming back videos like this that are not the typical electronics deep dive!! Thank you Clive you always make it interesting!!

[@mattsgreen]

I'd say an Engineer is an Engineer - you just have areas of engineering that you've got a lot more knowledge in! An engineering mind is more about how someone's thought processes are wired.. And I echo the sentiment about Clive's videos 👌

[@lukasgayer5393]

This is practically very similar to those little fish tank pumps that circulate water. All washing machines use this type of pump. I remember our first washing machine. It was a Czechoslovakian TATRAMAT brand an when it finally gave up the ghost in the late 1990s I dismantled it and took the pump because it was working just fine. It was strong enough with enough pressure to serve as a garden pump for filling our water barrels.

[@mjouwbuis]

Washing machine pumps usually use shade pole motors. Asynchronous without a permanent magnet rotor.

[@davelowets]

The air pumps for a fish tank are a whole different thing altogether.... The fist time I opened one many decades ago, I laughed hard when I plugged it in and saw how it worked... 😂

[@gs425]

Clive you are turnihg into Tim Hunkin. And im sure youll take that massive compliment!!!!

[@MeteorMark]

I think Clive can make a fun game for Novelty Automation, that's well worth a visit! 😉

[@mikenielsen8781]

Ok, so here I am on a Saturday night waching a video on how a clothes dryer works. And actually enjoying it! Nice work Big Clive!

[@sneakythumbs9900]

You are correct, these types of pumps are not very efficient, but are robust and capable of handling solids (as you say) and also entrained air - without needing to be re-primed. You will see a similar, rubber impeller on boat outboard coolant pumps.

[@ruben_balea]

During winter those dryers are the closest thing to a free energy device that you can purchase, all the energy used to dry the clothes is reused again to warm your house.

[@JustinKoenigSilica]

Especially if your house is heated via heat pump, then it'd much cheaper :P

[@kjetiltrondsen8242]

​@@JustinKoenigSilicasince it is energy already used to dry the clothes it is free heat inside instead of throwing the dryer heat out thru a went....

[@JeremyFoster-ve6kq]

To be really pedantic here, if you want to maximize the amount of heat, you'd probably want to let the water in the reservoir cool before emptying it.

[@AttilaAsztalos]

I'm cutting edge hi-tech. I heat my room with the waste heat of my CPU, GPU, NAS and HTPC...

[@bigclivedotcom]

I use mine as extra winter heating.

[@ElectraFlarefire]

Never knew these came in non-heatpump versions. Very intresting!

[@stevelloyd5785]

And is going cost a ton of money to operate just like the ones that blow wet air into or outside your house

[@ElectraFlarefire]

@@stevelloyd5785 Most of the ones in Australia are simple heat and blow the air into the house(or outside if you are lucky). The only advantage this one has is it doesn't get your house as damp. Good for cold climates with tightly sealed houses.

[@stevelloyd5785]

@@ElectraFlarefire Well being from NZ, I of course completely understand that. But the consumption of energy is going to be similar. The one benefit with this type is being able to dump the water instead of spraying all around the house, as you said. I had one of those crappy F&P front venting dryers in an apartment we owned and it was in a closet with the washing machine, and the tenants didn't know any better. End result was paint peeling off the ceiling due to the amount of water the thing pumped out. Stupid thing was the building has a ventillation system with a duct running to that closet, but the furniture pack specified was just idiotic. A real shame because As a KIWI I think Fisher and Paykel (Haier now owns it) make some damn fine products

[@McTroyd]

We have a similar pump on our central air conditioner in the US. Our crawl space split system is technically below ground, so we have a condensate pump that ejects the water from the air conditioning outside the house. When I took our old one apart to unclog it once, it was a similar arrangement, but the impeller had 3 wings, and the motor operated by float switch in a small reservoir.

[@Sparky-Tim]

Great machines when the weather's to cold & wet for the washing line. For best use, empty water tank & clean lint catcher in door after EVERY session, pull out & clean the condenser every few sessions & most of all, use in a cool well ventilated room. This last point improves the efficiency of the condenser, reducing running times & saving energy as well. Also, as Clive points out (if you are confident in doing so) remove the back cover too & check & clean the heating element, incase of lint build up. Had my Hotpoint nearly 20 years now & all that's failed is a heating element/ thermostat part( which was easy & cheap to replace). Thanks for the vid Clive. 👍

[@askild_eide]

This is almost exactly the same dryer that I got, mine has a different "brand name" and also it has a lcd display, where you select programs. As mine is next to a sink, I just drop the outlet hose from the pump into the sink, so I don't need to empty the water container. A couple of years ago, it stopped pumping out water. Opened it up, and the rubber impeller in the pump had cracked open at the motor shaft, so no pumping was happening. I just replaced it with two zip-ties, and it has run happily ever since. Also, I think mine don't run the pump continuously.

[@andyjdhurley]

Interesting to see this broken down like this. We have a very similar machine but the water collection tray is at the bottom (identical condenser section), as a result there is no pump but yours would have the advantage that you COULD feed the output into a drain and avoid having to empty it. To do the same on ours your drain would need to be below the floor level.

[@umbrellacorp.]

I just have a regular standard top lid machine, I never thought so much effort went into a dryer. Amazing.

[@donchaput8278]

Nice, very interesting. Here is the USA I believe all the vent-less dryers are heat pumps. They have the container for the water or you can just run the tube to the washer drain. They are super efficient but but take a little longer to dry. You also don't suck hot/cold dirty air into your house with a vent-less dryer. We love ours.

[@drfrankensteinscreations]

I was just thinking that you could let it drain into the washer drain. I've never seen one of these but may have to look into them.

[@wtmayhew]

My first dryer was a hand-me-down GE from my parents who got it in 1964 and it lasted to about 2010. I had to get rid of it because the motor bearings wore out and were not made to be replaceable; I could not find a replacement motor. My second dryer is a Kenmore/Whirlpool which has had zero maintenance. These are classic tumble dry design heat coil with a blower which vents to outside. They aren’t very efficient, but they are insanely reliable and inexpensive. It would take a long time to make the electricity saved by a high tech dryer worth the price differential.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

Here's a fun tip, the water out of these dryers (and de-humidifiers too) make great water supply for steam irons. Most folk would fill their irons with tap water, but in the UK, a lot of tap water contains salts which don't behave nice with steam irons. The water out of these dryers is close to distillated water, but at zero cost.

[@PainterVierax]

It only applies when the dryer is not designed to be connected to the evacuation plumbing. Most if not all dryers in continental Europe automatically purge the reservoir to the sewers.

[@janne_kekalainen]

@@PainterVierax Some models have the option to connect a drain hose, but not all. (North Europe)

[@steves8083]

The collected water might be close to distilled, but I have found often contains lint dust from the laundry being dried. Before using it for steam irons, I pass the water through a coffee filter paper. This works a treat and I never have to descale the iron. Great video, Clive!

[@PainterVierax]

@@janne_kekalainen Maybe this option is more popular in less cold regions or less rural areas. I do laundry for 30+ years and I've never seen such an "off-grid" device in Belgium or in France.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

@@steves8083 I use my dehumidifier in the colder months, I have noticed small specks of lint in the water, so I clean the filter regularly. The water sits in a clear bottle and so far I have never noticed any bad smells when ironing. I feel pretty confident it’s clean.

[@phonotical]

Hey, thank God you sanded the squiggle! That's all people have been mentioning, I was seriously going to send you sandpaper in the mail 🤣

[@strehlow]

I kind of liked it...

[@phonotical]

@@strehlow was all I could see in the background 😅 distracting

[@BRUXXUS]

😂

[@mrbyamile6973]

I didn't think it was a big deal but for some reason that squigle was marginally distracting to me (and obviously many others)

[@teslatrooper]

RIP squiggle 2024-2024 you will be missed

[@keltian]

I'm in the US, and that's exactly how the dryer in my apartment works. Mine is from LG (so it plays a silly jingle when it finishes), the same as the washer set up below it. The only difference is the water chamber never gets filled up. I never installed it, but I suspect that it's actually draining out to the same outlet pipe the washing machine uses to drain water. This is nice because it's one less thing I have to do. It's also an electric dryer, so it runs on a 240-volt circuit.

[@ThisIsReMarkable]

I've got one of those too. LG DLHC5502. No reservoir because it uses the same drain pipe as the washing machine. I love how energy efficient it is and that there's no vent to the outside.

[@keltian]

@@ThisIsReMarkable Yours is much newer than mine. I have the LG DLEC888W. The venting indoors is nice in the winter because it provides an extra source of heat, but in the summer, it's awful because I have to run the AC more to keep the apartment from getting too hot.

[@keltian]

@@CM-mo7mv Not having to move clothes from the washer to the dryer sounds nice. If I'm ever in a situation where I have to buy my own appliances, I might consider getting one myself.

[@cardboardboxification]

@@keltian smart money would have a electric damper so it dumps the hot air outside if the inside is more then 75' , but that just the control expert that I am

[@saumyacow4435]

Yeah, we have an LG washing machine and it sounds so smugly self-satisfied at the end of the cycle :)

[@jhsevs]

On my Miele, the hose in the back is extra long and goes in a loop, you’re supposed to be able to pull it out if you want it to drain to the sewer instead. Mine only draws 1300 watts iirc.

[@tomteiter7192]

Also very interesting are modern dishwasher pump/heater units. I was quite surprised when I recently repaired one. The heating element was a stainless steel ring with a heating foil element around it, that was also the body of the pump

[@tomteiter7192]

@@chrislee6650 Yes, that is really annoying. Especially if the heater is very easy to replace like in my case! The rest of the pump seemed quite indestructible, too

[@atmel9077]

We recently had to repair our Siemens dishwasher because the drain pump was clogged by anpiece of plastic. The heating element seems to be part of the pump assembly. Interestingly, both pumps are BLDC motors.

[@tazz1669]

My Bosch one has a humidity sensor so it cuts out of the clothes each the correct humidity so you don't run it to long, you can set it for iron dry, cupboard dry, very dry and has different heat levels for cottons, easy care

[@randycarter2001]

We have a front load clothes washer that has 2 of these type pumps. One is for drain and one is for recirculation. As you can see they're very cheap to make. Our pumps don't have any shaft seals to leak. The impeller and magnet are in a flooded plastic chamber. The coils spin the rotor from the outside. Controls are simple, want pumping action, just turn it on. No valves needed.

[@redpheonix1000]

We bought one of these condenser machines a few years ago (probably 8 at this point?), and me and my brother chose it back then as a gift to my mom specifically because it did not need a vent and instead just collected water in that comically long drawer reservoir, and I've always wondered exactly how it works. Turns out it really is stupid simple! I thought there would be something more complicated because of that strange "pump" noise, which for some reason I never really associated with _being_ an actual pump similar to washers! I've had to take a screwdriver to it once because water was condensing in the wrong place and tripping the breaker (the heater lol), but I didn't get an opportunity to explore it further. Besides that, it has been incredibly reliable, and yes, as soon as you pulled up that picture of the machine and said they all look the same, I can confirm that it looks exactly like ours.

[@billykirk9139]

These particular pumps (hotpoint group) make a hell of a racket when the impeller starts to wear out

[@jeffdayman8183]

I notice that the pump has apparently pumped some bench restoration chemical solution to partly erase the plastic welding burned squiggle. 8^) Nicely done. Neat little pump, thanks for the teardown / tutorial. Cheers!

[@hillppari]

Heatpump condencing dryers are nice when you can use them with the same 16amp socket as a washing machine when it only uses like 500watts to dry your clothes

[@mrlor3d]

Mine peak power was around 600W. I really love how efficient hey are.

[@pigeonpallz1733]

I wonder if I can get them in the US. I've never even heard of them lol

[@thebrowns5337]

​@@pigeonpallz1733 efficiency... US... the two don't mix. You can probably find a V8 dryer though.

[@stephenj4937]

@@thebrowns5337 In the US we have combo washer/dryers that use a heat pump. Even more efficient than these condensing dryers.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

I bought a heat pump dryer during last year's 'Black Friday' sales and it's awesome! As mentioned is peaks at 600w and uses sensors to tell when the load is dry rather than these wasteful 'set a timer and hope it's right' machines. They're gentler on the clothes (as they don't heat so fiercely) and use far less power than conventional dryers. The only downside is they take longer to dry the clothes but that's only a downside for people who aren't organised. ;)

[@nate_0723]

I haven't seen this type of dryer in the US before. The standard electric with an exhaust vent is by far the most common. Newer heat pump models are starting to come one the market though.

[@neilgillies6943]

Greatest machines other than clothes lines - far better than those older machines that had a hose you hung out the window or through the wall. As an aside, I seem to get inundated with 'shorts' that show American tumble driers that go on fire or have extremely long exit hoses to the roof that get filled with fluff - a guy getting paid to 'scoor' them out with what looks like an electric drill and vacuum cleaner 😁😁 Thrilling stuff

[@thatsunpossible312]

Ha! I just had to vacuum out our dryer vent. Fortunately the modern LG dryers tell you exactly what percent occluded your vent is. I wait until 100 😀

[@vkristof1]

Yeah, I assume that's a KZbin thing. I've had to deal with our (USA) vented dryers a number of times. Last incident was last month AFAIK, these dryers have had thermal, one-shot, fuses in their internal exhaust ducti for the last 30? 40? years. I replaced one in my neighbor's dryer, wondered why it had blown, and then discovered that their outdoor vent gizmo was totally clogged.

[@theodorgiosan2570]

They have retrofit devices for electric dryers that collect the water and no outside hose is required. I had one at my last house, have no idea why everyone doesn't use one, I liked that setup much better than the stupid outside vent. I might put one in at the dryer in this house and put back the window the previous owners removed to put the vent in.

[@Uncle-Duncan-Shack]

In submersible fountain pumps the magnet spins in the water and the stator is expoxy resin encapsulated, a very simple design that works well for these low power pumps.

[@samuelfellows6923]

Same thing with aquarium/fish tank & fish pond pumps

[@amorphuc]

Thanks Big Clive. I've not seen these before. I have a 20+ year old Kenmore dryer (solidly reliable) here in the states. Like you said, this would be nice in the winter though my basement never gets up to 70° F (21°C)

[@vernoncox9598]

Clive, as a retired Hotpoint engineer, I found your explanation very good and concise. However, regarding the microswitch function, when the reservoir is full, it turns off the heater and the drum still turns with front indicator neon illuminated.That being said, it shouldn't happen very often so users probably would not be aware of it. Another foible was the float sticking on full which of course resulted in no heat. The give away being the water light being on. Keep up the good work!

[@Kaboomf]

Isn't the reason for shutting off heat but keeping the fan running to prevent fires? Very hot, slightly damp clothes in a dense pile can sometimes auto ignite if they're left to sit like that. The manual for our dryer warns to always spread the clothes out so they can cool off quickly, if for whatever reason the dryer gets stopped while hot. The drying cycle always ends with a few minutes of cool air tumbling. To my understanding, what can happen is that some fabrics can begin to oxidise in a slightly exothermic reaction if the heat and humidity is just right, and if they're left undisturbed in a dense pile inside the tumbler then the heat cannot escape so the reaction slowly accelerates as the temperature increases until it starts burning. Same thing can happen in damp haystacks, where the initial heat comes from biological decomposition.

[@ecash00]

Clive, Want some fun. LG is going to court. For the last Bunch of years they are using a Condensor Pump on refrigerators. REduced size, that Fails within a few years. The Exterior of the BOX and inside the manual WARN about the Court case and HOW you have to deal with NOT going to court about this. Might be nice to find this part/used part. And a good examination of the failure point. Funny part is that a FEW other companies have been Using this SAME LG reduced size condensor pump.

[@bigclivedotcom]

That'll be the bean counters making bad decisions again.

[@djenson]

Are you sure you are not mixing this up with LG's linear *Compressors*, rather than the condensers seen here.

[@ZeedijkMike]

And you get a free source of de-minralized water for your steam iron. Do need to filter the water through a coffee filter to get rid of some floff (lint)

[@dcallan812]

I use the water from my de-humidifier too. thats nice and clean. I dont think you would need to filter the drier water, but it depends how much ironing you do, I dont iron so blocking the irons nt an issue.. ( I do iron just not very often t-shirt's etc I dont iron)

[@ZeedijkMike]

I must admit I do not iron a lot either, furthermore my own iron is not even a steam iron, just a simpel oldfashioned one (bought it in the early 1980s when I was still studying🙂) The "clean" water can of course still be handy for other household tasks. @@dcallan812

[@paulschonewald4735]

I use mine in a steam engine for this very reason.

[@throttlebottle5906]

all condensed water from refrigeration/dehumidification is full of nasty things from the surrounding "air" passing through and collecting. it's most always acidic and very dirty, adding to that fabric softeners, laundry detergents, clothing lint and whatever dirt is left in your clothing(there is lots).

[@bmay8818]

​@@dcallan812I don't understand why people think water from dehumidifiers is a good thing to use. I think people confuse dehumidification with distillation. The water in a dehumidifier is gross, just water pulled out of the air with whatever junk was in the air plus whatever dirt is on the coils of the dehumidifier. Tap water is far far cleaner.

[@saumyacow4435]

It should be pointed out that a condenser dryer and a heat pump dryer are two different animals. The condenser dryer still uses an electrical resistance element to provide heat. The heat pump dryer uses a compressor and refrigerant to provide heat. Condenser dryers are inefficient and are often less efficient than a regular "blow steamy hot air into the room" dryer. Heat pump dryers are on the other hand quite efficient. Mine runs at about a third of the energy as the old dryer. Incidentally even most heat pump dryers could be improved with an additional fan. You need a large airflow around the clothes, but the heat exchangers would work more efficiently if there were a slower loop of air. So the system should pass air around the clothes and then another fan bleeds off some of that air to pass it through the heat exchangers.

[@dant5464]

My Beko condensing dryer cycles the pump on and off as required, but it's a more fancy (things to go wrong) electronically controlled one. Also the evaporator delaminated slightly inside, resulting in some of the collected water flowing out of the tray it slides on to and ending up in the floor under the machine. "Fixed" by dremmeling out a notch at the back of that tray and adjusting the front feet to tilt the machine back slightly, so that the escaping water goes to the sump at the back where it would have originally. The part cut out is a lip for the seal of the condenser to mate against, without that it would have been a straight path from that tray to the sump. A new condenser on its own was around a third of the cost of the machine at the time and it was only three or so years old. Around two years later and it's still running ok.

[@wisher21uk]

I’m doing a service on mine next week, I strip it down and clean the machine out and lubricant moving parts Thanks Clive 😊

[@Toobula]

Hi Clive, good video. Did not know about these dryers. You should cover a bit more about how small synchronous motors start.

[@JohnHiesey]

These aren't too common here in the US, but I have lived in two apartments with small in-unit stacked washer/dryers that had condenser dryers. One had the same type of water collection tray as yours; the other (a Bosch) was plumbed into the drain along with the washer. Here these use the same 208V/240V 30A plug that conventional vented dryers use.

[@piratetv1]

There are a lot of them coming out this year. We've had the bosch a while, but now GE, samsung have them. Some are washer/dryer combos. The new ones have heat pumps that work really well on 110v

[@sypernova6969]

I`m from canada, and went to france and used one of those in a rented unit. I didn`t know abouttit`s functionning until I realised it kept stopping. I looking into it and realised it had to be emptied... I`m guessing all the other tourists also didn`t know. VERY cool design if you as me!! a good way to also NOT vent all that hot air outside, in winter.

[@ManWithBeard1990]

I suspect the rubber impeller is such that the vanes can sweep in the right direction, because single phase synchronous motors spin in a random direction when they start, don't they? Interesting choice to do it that way, instead of going for a shaded pole motor. I imagine the price difference is very small but it's still probably the reason.

[@dcallan812]

Interesting pump arrangement using the one motor for everything. 2X👍

[@MrTubeman007]

Nice to see a place provided for the 3 pin plug in the back of the machine, more equipment should have this just for the convenience sake. There's always the flapping snake getting caught around your legs when you carry a piece of equipment from one room to another.

[@DeanBelfield]

Yes, we had a condensor dryer fitted in our previous house as we were unable to route a damp air vent outside for a regular dryer. Ours was a Bosch/Siemens. The pump sat in the reservoir and contained a float (ball in a tube) that acted on a switch. It would only switch the pump on when the level in the reservoir reached a certain level. The problem was that the reservoir would gradually get damp lint in that would stick to the ball causing it to stick, and the dryer would throw an error. I think that was time based - if it didn't sense the pump switching on after a set amount of time it would cut out rather than overfill the reservoir. Long story short, every couple of years I had to take the pump out to service it.

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

I had one of these combo machines with the condensing dryer, it was a Whirlpool and about 2 years old. One time I set the laundry and went out to run some errands. When I came back, water was pouring down through multiple floors because the fill sensor apparently decided on an early retirement and apparently it's not designed to be failsafe. So remember: modern appliances = total crap. Moved into a new house with 20 year old washer and dryer and they work great. Now I'm designing modern control panels for them using Arduinos that will add customizability _and_ be failsafe (and not reliant on a horrible app like Whirlpool's).

[@kevvywevvywoo]

My hotpoint vented dryer is 28 years old this year, still works perfectly, never broken down and takes a full load 50mins to dry including cool down time. Dont fancy a modern plastic affair

[@thatsunpossible312]

We had one of these condensing dryers while visiting London. It took so long to dry that I could have installed the vent and hooked up a vented dryer in less time 😂

[@grandinosour]

I agree....I can use my big honking American clothes dryer to dry a large load of laundry in 30 minutes instead of 2 hours of drying just one complete clothing outfit in these goofy condensing dryers. Looking at the total energy usage and the run time and the actual amount of clothes dried....The American system is better in the energy department. The American dryer has just 1...yes...just one electric motor....fewer points of failure.

[@cardboardboxification]

running the electric motor 4x longer don't save any energy , just someones wet dream

[@dave0smeg]

@@grandinosour We inherited a condenser drier so got rid of our vented one. The vented one would dry a 7Kg load in just 80 minutes. The conder is lucky to dry a 6Kg load in 3 hours.

[@MrDuncl]

@@grandinosour The ones in U.K. Launderettes are like that. However, you soon get fed up with feeding them 20pence coins (fully expect someone to say they are 50p or £1 now).

[@kevvywevvywoo]

@@MrDuncl most uk laundrettes use american made Speed Queen / Huebsch Originators gas dryers that vent straight outside.

[@flabdablet]

Old-school dial-style 24 hour appliance timers use a miniature version of the same minimalist synchronous motor. To get around the motor not having a preferred direction of rotation, the gear train includes a tiny pawl and ratchet that physically stalls the motor if it starts up backwards. Tearing down one of those would make for an interesting video.

[@thatsnotright]

You sure make a very enjoyable 11 minutes! Thank you!

[@Shaun.Stephens]

Thanks for this Clive. I wondered how these condenser dryers got their heat gradient to condense the water. That said I prefer my heatpump dryer (which uses a similar uplift pump system to this except it's switched rather than always on). It uses much less electricity and is kinder on the clothes (less aggressive heating). Cheers.

[@andyarchitect]

Its a lot like a pond pump... just without all the epoxy poured around it. Really interesting video 😊

[@MostlyInteresting]

In outboard motors the water pump has flexible veins . They shift from displacement to centripetal to regulate the pressure and flow over a wide rev range. A really genius invention.

[@PaulG.x]

I have flexible veins too. Some of my arteries are getting less flexible as I get older. I think the pumps you refer to have vanes.

[@tonynicholson3328]

​@@PaulG.xYour response is somewhat vain...

[@howardosborne8647]

All Jabsco brand water pumps work on this flexi-vane principle.

[@mattyb7736]

​@@tonynicholson3328but it is along the same vein 😂

[@PaulG.x]

@@tonynicholson3328 Yes, alas it was in vain

[@sorin.n]

That propeller was the first thing to fail in my dryer after a couple of months of use. After replacing it twice I just removed the motor and connected the water collecting tray to the plumbing. No need to empty the water reservoir and no more noise (it is actually quite a noisy motor).

[@MickHealey]

8:50 shows that someone at the factory doesn't take pride in their work. Those crooked labels at 1 o'clock and 5 o'clock positions around the drum were playing havoc with my OCD. Nice explanation Clive, I've often wondered how our condensing dryer works. Mystery solved, thank you.

[@seanseoltoir]

A few years ago, my wife and I were visiting some relatives of my wife who were temporarily living in Paris and their apartment had one of those... It was located in the *kitchen* -- which definitely surprised me... According to her relative, those dryers are supposed to be more efficient than the typical dryer that we use in the US, but they seem to take *forever* to dry the clothes... He said that you could get maybe one load of laundry done PER DAY... Although you might claim that it is a "simple design", it is a lot more complicated than your typical US electric clothes dryer...

[@cjwallwork]

There must have been something wrong with that machine - we have one (over 20 years old now), it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to dry "difficult" loads (cotton towels), less for easier ones. Perhaps the heat exchanger was blocked by lint - as Clive mentioned, they do need removing and rinsing through occasionally.

[@stevenfox7378]

Hi Clive, I have the same model as shown. We had a safety modification done where lint could build up around the heating element. This involved fitting a brush arm to the rear of the drum which sweeps lint from accumulating preventing a fire. It was a manufactures recall mod and it works fine. I did have to replace the heating element due to the sump blocking up at the rear causing the rear fan blades slashing water onto the element so shorting it. I would suggest checking the sump drain hole to the rear tank every now and again so this does not happen again. Great video as always.

[@MrDuncl]

You have to be rich to afford the luxury of a utility room in Europe. I find it equally surprising that in Poland the norm seems to be to have your washing machine in the bathroom.

[@seanseoltoir]

@@cjwallwork -- I think it was a unit that washes AND dries, because I did not see two units in the apartment... If there was something wrong with it, then it was something that was wrong with a brand new unit because he said that they had needed to buy it when they moved into the apartment because apartments there don't come with appliances like that... When they moved back to the US after a year or so, they most definitely did not get that type of washer / dryer...

[@seanseoltoir]

@@MrDuncl -- In that apartment in Paris, there would not have been room to put a washer or dryer in the bathroom... Hell, apparently they don't even use shower curtains over there...

[@imark7777777]

I started to hit the market the last few years like the last 10 years. We have option of Bosch I think whirlpool and I can't remember the other brand but they're pretty much the European brands trying to hit the US market. We got one probably five years ago and it's kind of nice not putting all that heat out to the outside. Although I still think a gas dryer nothing beats it. What's nice is we got the washer as well and stacked them and then the washing machine just plugs into the 240 outlet on the back of the dryer which plugs in the 240 outlet on the wall. so one socket! I should probably say that the model we got has a hose off the back so no tank. It works reasonably well although occasionally the drain will get clogged up and then you put your laundry on and you come back and hour later to find that it errored out on a clogged drain.

[@Harekiet]

I've got a combi washer/dryer and it's using water for cooling the hot air and washes away any lint down the drain, best thing ever.

[@djenson]

Wait until you get the water bill. It near constantly adds cold water, as the water heats up and becomes ineffective

[@aaronmdjones]

@@djenson Not everyone has a water meter. I pay a flat £400 a year whether I use no water at all or I leave every tap on 24/7.

[@djenson]

@@aaronmdjones Not sure where's your from. In the UK, many water companies already have the power to force a water meter on you.

[@aaronmdjones]

@@djenson I live in Gloucestershire.

[@youtubeviewer7077]

In Canada, they just port the moist air outside rather than recirculating it inside the machine. I really like when it's cold out and I walk past someone's dryer exhaust hole, it usually smells nice and is warm.

[@marcaxe]

When I get a warm draught from someone's exhaust hole it doesn't usually smell nice...

[@kapegede]

The drawer that holds the water often has also a hose connector, so you can let the water pour into a gully or bathtub or something like this.

[@flagpoleeip]

Very informative video. I believe there are some that use a heat pump now. I await an updated video in ~10yrs 🙂

[@dave0smeg]

Our condenser is slightly different in that it has electronic timers and activates the sump pump at regular intervals as well as having a float switch to tell it that the sump is full. You can hear it click in the motor. Sometimes it gurgles happily, sometimes it sounds like it's trying to spit out bitter lemon.

[@JustHere999dl]

Really efficient looking dryer, nothing like our free one that needed a vent hose. I just dealt with a similar pump to this on a dishwasher. Goofy thing had an electronics board and would probably still work if I could buy just the board.

[@Mikej1592]

interesting, it sounds like it functions like a de-humidifier. We had a washer/dryer combo that would wash then dry without needing to swap machines but it was horribly inefficient took 5 to 6 times as long per load and never really dried that well. it did not have a tank to empty it just vented the air into the room from somewhere I never knew where the outlet was. So glad to be back to normal separate washer and dryer

[@dgriff-can]

More common in Asia than Canada but we bought an LG - all in one that washes and dries in the same machine and it’s very convenient. Just turn it on and wait until clean dry clothes come out. Works well unless overloaded. Better to do a few small loads rather than one big one.

[@chrishartley1210]

I've got the same. They are more efficient because they use a small amount of water to cool the hot air and any lint is flushed away in the next wash. Of course, they are not portable.

[@v8snail]

Being a synchronous motor it will likely start randomly in either direction. The flexible impeller will still conform to the best shape based on direction, on top of the other perks this design possesses.

[@eDoc2020]

It will likely choose a random direction, but also if blocked it will change direction. I don't know how effective that is in this particular application but with a gearbox it would help.

[@JonPMeyer]

I would not have guessed that such a simple pump could move water up by about 30 inches. That pump is really reduced to its minimum number of simple components, but in way that considers the likely failure mode. We just switched to a heat pump condensing dyer in a US condo and it does seem to be more efficient.

[@steveroberts1861]

I always presumed that heat pump dryer meant a refrigerent inverter type setup. My reason was that they're meant to be much more efficient than the basic resistive element dryer but if this still has a 2000 watt element in it then it's not efficient.

[@pizzablender]

This is not a heat pump dryer. This uses 4 times as much energy as a heat pump dryer...

[@volvo09]

This is still a resistive heat dryer, it just doesn't need to be vented as it's a closed system. Probably the same (or worse) than a regular vented electric dryer. Only benefits is you are dumping the heat into the room, so if you need heat it's a plus.

[@brendonwood7595]

Here in australia we have dryers that just dump the warm moist air into the room. You can also get more expensive condenser ones if you want but most aren't.

[@mattmoreira210]

0:33 it's got a RUBBER... impeller. Lol

[@Richardincancale]

My heat pump drier has a similar drawer arrangement for the water but also has a reservoir that it uses to wash the condenser/heat exchanger from time to time to get rid of fluff and dirt. When it's finished it pumps the water to the water drawer, or you can unplug the pipe and just route it into a drain or sink to avoid the emptying kerfuffle!

[@tschuuuls486]

FYI I just taken ours apart and cleaned the condenser with a garden hose for 30min :D Take the cover off and clean the lint out from time to time :D

[@m.s.8112]

Great way of blowing microplastics everywhere.

[@tschuuuls486]

@@m.s.8112 I cleaned it with water and it drained into the public sewer system.

[@thebrowns5337]

​@@tschuuuls486 great - so microplastics straight into the nearest river then

[@tschuuuls486]

@@thebrowns5337 better than putting it straight into the river, as it goes through an actual treatment plant and a bunch of that will get caught in the sludge and gets removed. It isn't perfect, though. But that problem also happens with a vented dryer as those vent outside. The fix would be to not buy any synthetic clothes, or simply stop washing them.

[@christastic100]

Really enjoyed watching this as I haven’t had one apart.

[@neo_265]

I’ve got a heat pump condenser dryer, it works pretty much the same way other than it uses a heat pump to produce the heat and uses a lot less energy. Average cycle uses about 500-700 watts. It takes a bit longer over a conventional resistive heated dryer but runs at lower temperature and isn’t as hard on clothes.

[@mrfrenzy.]

I have a Bosch dual machine (WNAD62) that does both washing and drying. It uses cold water instead of air for cooling the condenser. After the cold water is used it is repurposed to wash away lint from the condenser which makes it completely maintenance free! There is no lint filter or condenser to clean.

[@frankowalker4662]

My friends have one of these. Great at heating the landing in winter, far too hot when they use it in summer. (emergency drying)

[@simontay4851]

In summer, they can dry their clothes outside on a line.

[@frankowalker4662]

@@simontay4851 If it was work or school clothes they needed to wash and dry in a hurry, they would use it in summer. Also it can get really hot here in UK but still be raining. LOL.

[@NickAskew]

We have one like this from Miele. It has the option of the drawer but you can also put the drain pipe down a drain if one is available. It does occasionally tell us to clean the lint filter. I'm not sure if that is on a timer or if it detects a restricted flow. I found that they tend to leave clothes a little damp but the solution is to get stuff out while it is hot and let it air for a few moments.

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

Detects restricted flow. Also, you should routinely clean that filter every few cycles anyway (especially after drying towels and linen).

[@NickAskew]

@@AnotherPointOfView944 My bad, the main lint trap is just inside the door just like in the video. That one we clean each time. But there is another one just before the condenser and that one needs our attention every few weeks.

[@tonyweavers4292]

From memory, the pump only runs when the drum reverses. To save wear or cuts in and out during the cycle. I have taken many customer condensers out in the garden to flush through with the garden hose.

[@bigclivedotcom]

My old White Knight machine just runs the pump after a drum reverse. This one seems to run all the time.

[@pizzablender]

@@bigclivedotcom My AEG/Electrolux dryer seems to have a float switch. It only runs when needed. Suppose every bit of electricity counts for an A+++ machine.

[@kjetiltrondsen8242]

As a repair man i have not yet seen a pump running constant. The two ways i have seen it done is: -running by time interval (together with reversing or seperate) and any activation of float Switch will halt the program and indicate full container. - activation of the float switch starts the pump. If the switch is still active after a preset pump time it will stop the program and indicate full container.

[@bigclivedotcom]

@@kjetiltrondsen8242 I'll have to check that out, but the pump has always been the noisiest bit on this machine and my brother's similar unit.

[@dolbyman]

We just bought a LG washtower with heatpump dryer 6 months ago, so far pretty good Significant less energy use during drying (vs the resistive vented dryer we had before)

[@fir3w4lk3r]

It is a common motor used for the waste water pump in many washing machines as well.

[@DelticEngine]

The waste water pump in a washing machine is a shaded-pole motor, not a synchronous motor.

[@fir3w4lk3r]

@@DelticEngine It used to be, Now it is quite common for a permanent magnet one. Just google image search "washing machine pump".

[@bigclivedotcom]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oISofICbdttnptU

[@Michael75579]

My washer/dryer works slightly differently. There's a condenser that fills with cold water from the mains supply and the hot moist air from the drum blows across it. Condensate and the water from the condenser when it starts to warm up a bit just flow into the system that pumps the water from the drum at the end of the wash cycle. There are some sensors that measure the amount of condensate produced so the autodry program knows when the clothes are dry and shuts the machine down.

[@actuallyusingmyrealnameher5061]

I’d never encountered one of these dryers until visiting relatives in the IOM, now I understand why they get so much crap in the door filter tray thingy and why it needs emptying so often.

[@SomeRandomPerson]

I got a new dryer last year, but its a heat pump dryer. Its got some fancy self cleaning thingy that uses the condensed water to rinse the coils. Unfortunately because the fans and drum are run off the same motor, it can't run in reverse for long.

[@alvaros.]

"Our" washer-dryer machines (the same machine washes and dries the clothes) are similar, but with 2 big differences: they use water from the tap instead of air to cool the condenser; and they doesn't collect the condensed water in a tank, they discard it through the drain (as they do with water used to wash / rinse).

[@bigclivedotcom]

I had one like that for a while. A Hotpoint. It was very problematic. I had to repair it a lot.

[@KF-bj3ce]

Same type of construction as the washing machine pumps with the exception that the rotor runs sealed in the water stream. You find that this motor is a shaded pole motor hence self starting.

[@inventorkr1]

I liked ⚙️

[@TurboTel68]

Have you checked to see if your machine is part of the recall, Clive? A lot of earlier versions were recalled because the fluff would build up around the rear felt/foam bearing and eventually drop into the heater and catching fire. Common failure on that pump is the rubber impeller gets softened by residual detergent and conditioner coming out in the condensate, eventually falling off and no longer pumps the water.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I bought mine a while after the recall. I do clean the hot air path from time to time. I did a hunt for the rubber impellers on eBay and they are very easy to get for about £3 shipped.

[@Equiluxe1]

That's very similar to the Bosch unit I have except the water container hangs on the inside of the door. The Indesit unit I had previously had the water container draw at the very bottom of the machine and an extremely loud buzzer that sounded if it became full.

[@scubamech707]

Didn't even realize they had such a dryer. Pretty cool for a setting you can't vent.

[@patriottothecore6215]

The windings on that motor are interesting. Wonder if you could make a guitar pickup out of them?

[@anoimo9013]

Interesting to know how the single phase synchronous motor starts. May be some kind of magnetic flux circuit asymmetry like classical shaded poles?

[@spokehedz]

Reminds me of the thing that they slap on the AC unit that cools the house. "AC Condensate Pump" is a good search term for them.

[@SchwaAlien]

One of those dryers with an option to divert the warm air outside in the summer like a traditional dryer seems like it would be ideal.

[@michaelsimpson9779]

Thanks for the content Clive. Just for the algorithm

[@TheMrMaxx]

There are also dryers which allow you to unplug the hose from the water container assembly, so that you can just hang it down the drain or a waste water pipe. In this case you do not need to empty the water container anymore.

[@NoahErickson]

I have not seen these in the USA, or heard of them before. To the extent that I false-invented them several years ago. Not due to only needing a regular circuit, but thinking that not using heat could enable you to dry more kinds of fabric.

[@TheDeeGeeNL]

The one i have empties itself in the same drainage pipe as the washing machine. Though it does allow for manual emptying as well incase these is no drain nearby.

[@johnslugger]

*Clive, I would love to know if it can be made into a power generator if turned?*

[@bigclivedotcom]

It should generate power.

[@jamesbrett6518]

Once at a MoD site, someone warned me the dryer wasn't working. So I emptied the water container. Still didn't work. I pulled the heat exchanger and it was a solid brick of lint. Needed a good blast in a Belfast sink. I could then dry my clothes.

[@picobyte]

Dual coils for one pole pair. The long coils also make the design stall proof.

[@theodorgiosan2570]

In the US we have retrofit devices that collect the water from an electric dryer so you can use it without a hole in the wall. I've had them in various houses with thick stone basements where a hole couldn't be drilled in the wall. Current house the previous owner took out a basement window for the vent. Don't quite get the point of doing that unless it's a gas dryer.

[@ProlificInvention]

I wonder if you could modify one of these to run off the heated exhaust air from a regular gas or electric dryer; i.e. heating the condenser. It could be used for additional drying or gentle drying

[@stevejagger8602]

Particularly useful in winter because the heat input is not wasted but recycled into the room.