Condenser Tumble Dryer?

[Teenminds]

I've never owned a tumble dryer, never had space for one. I moved recently and now have a conservatory, a friend suggested I should get one and put it in there, I'd just assumed you needed some sort of vent/outlet for these and so didn't consider it before, but apparently I need a condenser tumble dryer!
Just trying to find out a bit more about them, can I just plug it in, how much heat does it produce, do you need space around it, that sort of thing, like I say I've never used a tumble dryer!

You just plug in and go, I have had both and not noticed a difference. You have to empty the water tank after each wash as well as the fluff trap on the condenser which is annoying if it’s not in the same room as a sink.

I've got one, you just need to empty the water tank every couple cycles and clean the fluff filter, you get used to it quickly it's not a big deal at all. And you don't need any extra space around it or anything, I've never had any problems with mine it's always worked perfectly.

Yep, just plug and go. You don't need extra space around it.
The trick to using it effectively is to do an additional fast spin before you tumble on anything that's robust enough to take it (especially cotton towels, sheets and jeans, which absorb a lot of batter) and to split out your tumbling loads into cottons and synthetics because they dry at different speeds and if you put them in together it confuses the sensors.

If you can afford one, get a heat pump dryer. Much more energy efficient.

Although most are out of stock everywhere right now!

Great thanks, I'm a bit excited now, I can't imagine being able to wash and dry stuff on the same day in the winter! and not have permanent clothes hanging everywhere!
The conservatory can get quite cold in the winter, does that matter?

The condenser is a self contained unit and it makes absolutely no difference whatsoever whether it’s in a cold or hot environment. They’re brilliant. We use ours (a Bosch series 4 one) every day, several times a day all year round we have multiple disabilities in our house which means we have a lot of washing!

We have a series 6 Bosch heat pump one. I love it because it could be plumbed in and is self cleaning so apart from the fluff filter I don’t have to do a thing. It was fairly expensive but so much better than the ones I’ve had before it’s worth every penny.

Heat pumps are more efficient but take longer to dry, so you need to plan ahead a bit more.

@Teenminds

Great thanks, I'm a bit excited now, I can't imagine being able to wash and dry stuff on the same day in the winter! and not have permanent clothes hanging everywhere! The conservatory can get quite cold in the winter, does that matter?

Not at all, and the condenser dryer will actually heat up the room a nice bit while its working, so win-win :)

You can get a condenser without the stupid sensor which stops part way through if one item has dried quicker than the rest.

I mostly only dry cotton items in mine; towels, bed sheets, t-shirts, pyjamas and pants, etc. The majority of the synthetics or tricky fabrics go on the radiators, but I still didn’t want to take the risk with the sensor stopping the load all the time if a cami top had dried before a duvet cover.

@ZealAndArdour

You can get a condenser without the stupid sensor which stops part way through if one item has dried quicker than the rest.

I mostly only dry cotton items in mine; towels, bed sheets, t-shirts, pyjamas and pants, etc. The majority of the synthetics or tricky fabrics go on the radiators, but I still didn’t want to take the risk with the sensor stopping the load all the time if a cami top had dried before a duvet cover.

Noted, it was the sensing ones I was looking at!