<snore> condenser dryers... get a cheapy and replace every two years or go Bosche or Miele in the first place?

[NappiesGalore]

and if you think 'buy a good one to last' (if you think any of them actually do), which machines/manufacturers are best?

or should i just get white knight and accept i need to replae often-ish.

if you can bear to keep your eyes open to do it, your input i s welcome

[MrsBadger]

I have the Which for these somewhere as we have just bought a non-condensor one
hang on
[rummages]

[NappiesGalore]

ooh, ta mrsB

(i have which membership but im buggered if i can ever remember the required essay worth of details to get in and actually look anything up)

[Zazette]

If you can afford a Miele or whatever in the first place, I can't see any arguments against getting one - in the long run, it's cheaper, less hassle, and much better in terms of environmental impact. I have just bought various new appliances, and have been universally recommended Miele as much more long-lasting than any other brand. Don't know anything specifically about their dryers though.

[MrsBadger]

Best Buys

Miele T7644C Novotronic
Price: £580
Score: 70%
Type: Condenser
Swift and very even drying, very quiet operation and good energy efficiency, coupled with Miele's above average brand reliability make this a worthy Best Buy condenser tumble dryer.
It is sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg, and it takes 98 minutes to dry a full load of cottons. The condenser function works well, and the automatic sensor chooses the drying time for you.

John Lewis JLTDC01
Price: £499
Score: 69%
Type: Condenser
This excellent condenser tumble dryer from John Lewis is a Best Buy because it dries swiftly and evenly and is very energy efficient.
It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg, and takes 113 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully.

Miele T8422C Honeycomb care
Price: £707
Score: 69%
Type: Condenser
This Best Buy condenser tumble dryer from reliable brand Miele combines swift and even drying, with quiet operation and good energy efficiency.
It's similar to the Miele T7644C and T7744C but has a honeycomb drum and additional special care programs for silks and outerwear. It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6 kg, and it takes 97 minutes to dry a full load of cottons.

Siemens WT46E387GB
Price: £450
Score: 68%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from Siemens is a Best Buy as it dries swiftly, evenly and has an excellent condenser.
It also uses less energy than most condenser dryers. We don't know about the reliability of the Siemens brand, but sister brand Bosch makers dryers with average reliability and Siemens are offering a five-year guarantee on this model until January 2007.

Bosch WTE86304 Exxcel
Price: £400
Score: 67%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from Bosch is a Best Buy, which dries swiftly, evenly and using less energy than most condenser dryers.
It's a sensor dryer with a large maximum capacity of 7kg. It takes 118 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully. The sensor worked perfectly in our tests, stopping drying at just the right time for ironing or popping in the cupboard.

AEG-Electrolux T57830 Lavatherm
Price: £468
Score: 66%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from AEG-Electrolux is the latest in a long line of Best Buys from this very reliable brand. It dries quickly and evenly, is particularly quiet and dries more economically than most.
The effective condenser means you can site this dryer in any room without providing extra ventilation. It's a sensor dryer and takes 138 minutes to dry a 7 kg load of cottons fully. The drying sensor works perfectly to choose the drying time for you. You can delay drying by up to 23 hours so it comes on at a time to suit you.

AEG-Electrolux T59800 Lavatherm
Price: £515
Score: 65%
Type: Condenser
This A-rated condenser tumble dryer from AEG-Electrolux is one of a new generation of dryers with better energy efficiency ratings. It uses heat pump technology, somewhat like a fridge in reverse, to provide the heat for drying.
This results in excellent energy efficiency, without any negative impact on the drying times.

Miele T234C Novotronic
Price: £525
Score: 65%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from Miele is a Best Buy because it dries evenly and has an excellent condenser.
It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg, and takes 120 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully. The sensor worked perfectly in our tests, stopping drying at just the right time for ironing or popping in the cupboard.

Miele T4262C Honeycomb Care
Price: £500
Score: 65%
Type: Condenser
This Best Buy condenser tumble dryer from Miele is expensive, but a great choice if you demand a dryer whose special features work exactly as they claim to. It's efficient, the sensor and condenser work well, and it's very quiet.
It's a sensor model with a maximum capacity of 6kg, and it takes 121 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully.

Miele T4809Ci Honeycomb care
Price: £866
Score: 65%
Type: Built-in condenser
This is the only built-in dryer that is good enough to be a Best Buy, because it dries swiftly and evenly and is economical; unfortunately it's noisier than freestanding Miele dryers.
It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6 kg, and it takes 105 minutes to dry a full load of cottons. The condenser and sensor functions work well.

Bosch WTE84102 Classixx
Price: £349
Score: 63%
Type: Condenser
This Best Buy condenser tumble dryer from Bosch is a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg. It takes 112 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully.
The sensor works well for getting things dry enough to store, but over-dries slightly on the iron dry setting ? the Achilles heel of many sensor dryers. It is otherwise a good condenser machine, which dries evenly and quietly.

Miele T7744C Honeycomb care
Price: £371
Score: 63%
Type: Condenser
This Best Buy condenser dryer dries quickly, evenly and economically and Miele have above average reliability in tumble dryers. It is sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6 kg, and it takes 100 minutes to dry a full load of cottons.

It is very similar to the Miele T7644C but has a honeycomb drum which is supposed to care for clothes better. The condenser function works well, and the automatic sensor chooses the drying time for you effectively.

AEG-Electrolux T56800 Lavatherm
Price: £435
Score: 61%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from AEG-Electrolux is a Best Buy. It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg, and to dry takes a full load of cottons fully will take 110 minutes.
The sensor worked perfectly in our tests, stopping drying at just the right time for ironing or popping in the cupboard. You can delay drying by up to nine hours so that it comes on at a time to suit you.

AEG-Electrolux T56830 Lavatherm
Price: £369
Score: 61%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from AEG-Electrolux is another in a long line of Best Buys from this very reliable brand; it dries quickly, evenly, and quite economically. It is similar to the T57830, but has fewer special functions.
The effective condenser means you can site this dryer in any room without providing extra ventilation. It's a sensor dryer and takes 138 minutes to dry a 7 kg load of cottons fully.

Whirlpool HDD6700 Series 6
Price: £313
Score: 61%
Type: Condenser
This condenser tumble dryer from Whirlpool is a Best Buy because it dries quickly and evenly and has a good condenser.
It's a sensor dryer with a maximum capacity of 6kg. It takes 113 minutes to dry a full load of cottons fully.

Zanussi-Electrolux ZDC67550W
Price: £299
Score: 61%
Type: Condenser
This is the first condenser dryer from Zanussi that has been good enough to earn Best Buy status; it dries quickly, evenly, and quite economically.
The effective condenser means you can site this dryer in any room without providing extra ventilation. It's a sensor dryer and takes 140 minutes to dry a 7 kg load of cottons fully.

John Lewis JLTDC07
Price: £359
Score: 60%
Type: Condenser
This condenser dryer from John Lewis is a Best Buy with plenty of features, but it's let down by noisier drying than other best buys. Drying times are good for synthetics, but slower for cottons and it takes 146 minutes to get a full load dry.
The JLTDC07 uses a sensor to determine drying times for a wide range of fabrics, but it also allows you set program times yourself if you prefer. However, this method isn't very flexible as you can only set the timer in 30 minute increments.

Don't Buys
There are many mediocre condenser dryers on the market - stay away from our Don't Buys, which are very poor at collecting water from your damp clothes.
Models to avoid are:
Candy CDC266 and CC 217 Smart
Creda TCR2
Hotpoint CTD80 Ultima and CTD 40 Aquarius
Indesit IS70C and ISL 70C
White Knight CL 767
They are all among the least efficient models and they often dry synthetic fabric loads slowly. Worse still, nearly half of the water from their load disappears during the drying process ? more than enough to fill two wine bottles each time we used the full capacity of the drier.
This could cause problems with condensation, so steer clear if you don't want your house to feel like a rain forest.

[Lilymaid]

I have a small non-condensing tumble drier that has lasted us for 20 years through two children, four house moves etc etc. Perhaps the condensing ones are less reliable?

[saltire]

If it's any help my friend had White Knight one that lasted her 16 years without any problems at all - and it included 6 house moves, one of which was Germany and one Cyprus.

[NappiesGalore]

ah, yes but they dont make then like that anymore, do they?

we had the one machine, my dad occasionally tinkered with, for my entire childhood too... but they just dont seem to be built to last anymore. arent all these things preprogrammed to last only 4 years or whatever, so you have o go back and buy another?

or are the gooduns still made well and therefore worth the money?

(wow to the 20yr white knight btw!)

[NappiesGalore]

oops, forgot to say: ta mrsB, am off to browse thru the list

[stealthsquiggle]

The middle path - Zanussi - has done reasonably well by us - it is 5 years old (it is a condensor) and it is still going, although the belt has gone once and the bearing sounds as though it is going now..

[stealthsquiggle]

oh and we managed to replace the belt ourselves so that only cost us about £5!

[oregonianabroad]

there's a free website that does product reviews called ciao, better than which, imo. (more products, democratically reviewed, free, no registration).

Costco have a whirlpool one on offer next month that i'm thinking of getting. plan to offset this ecologically by investing in re-usables, are you the person to ask about all of that?

[DoubleLife]

I've got one recommended by which? It's brilliant but a little bit on a loud side

[grouchyoscar]

Got an indeset one. It's been OK and our local repair shop have fixed it for under 50 quid when it went on the blink

[NappiesGalore]

hmmmm....

am going square eyed looking at this problem... will consult with dp and see if he has any strong feelings either way.

frankly, a vented tumble dryer is a much cheaper, simpler option with less to go wrong, hence last longer. but tis dp who insists on a condenser, so a condenser it is. they do keep the clothes a bit softer/treat them more gently (apparently) so tis ok by me i guess.

re the reusable nappy question; actually my name is a little misleading there - just refers to the vast number of anppies i was changing per day at the time i joined mn (had 2 under 3 and another on the way) i do have arecent fascination with reusables, mind... but your best bet for info are the nappies/potty training boards... you want nappyzone, flamebatfink, nappyneeds or or... um, theres one with a non nappy name who is also an independent dealer. no doubt, ill stick my oar in to any threads you post on there anyway

[oregonianabroad]

sorry ng, i thought it was you. good luck finding your soulmate drier!

[fizzylemonade]

I has white knight condensor abused it lots and it lasted 5 years, now have mid price AEG sensor which is better as it tells me when the clothes are dry by singing at me.

In MrsBadgers list it is

AEG-Electrolux T56830 Lavatherm
Price: £369
Score: 61%

would have bought more expensive one but mine broke just before christmas and just after v v expensive car service.

It does the job, wish it would give me a better timer delay option as it only gives me 3, 6, or 9 hour delay. I like to take stuff out as soon as it is done, fold it and put it away so no ironing.

[fizzylemonade]

I has - gosh I sound drunk, I meant have

that will be only having 4 hours sleep as ds2 has just cut a molar through, wish it was from nice drink of wine, sigh.

[marthamoo]

We just bought that John Lewis one in Mrs B's link - it's the only tumble dryer we could find that has an A rating for energy (and was Ideal Home's Best Buy, Good Housekeeping's number 2 best buy). Prior to that we had a Creda condenser which lasted 8 years but had to be repaired 4 times.

I'm already astonished by how quickly the JL one dries the clothes compared to the Creda one - hoping to see a reduction in our electricity bills. And it sings to me when they're dry too

£500 was a lot of money to pay for a tumble-dryer when you can get a White Knight one for about £120 but, so far at least, I'm thinking it will work out cheaper in the long term (5 year guarantee on the JL one atm too).

[marthamoo]

(sorry, the first one in Mrs B's list - just noticed there are two JL ones)

[Anna8888]

I have a Siemens condenser dryer and it is fantastic. Have had it two years, no problems at all.

[Budababe]

Bit of a dumbo here - what is difference between condenser and vented?

[MrsBadger]

vented have a hose you have to route to a vent or hang out the window
condensor ones collect the water from the clothes in a bucket you empty

[Budababe]

Thanks MrsB!

Think I'll be looking for a condenser so.

[alycat]

We have the John Lewes JLTDC01. It is great, we always buy BOSCH/SEIMENS/Miele type appliances. It is more effective as it has a heat pump, not just condenser.

Read all the reviews and it came out high, but deciding factor for us was large load capacity, A rating and door hinge being on the correct side without expensive special order!