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Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:56 am
by billshurv
Checking conversion again closer to $190. Electric dryers are cheap here. you can pay a fortune for a phone controlled Internet of crap one, but I want a basic vented model.

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 8:43 am
by mediatechnology
They start at $400 here in the US for a basic electric model.

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:03 am
by JR.
Probably just the heating element not both, unless you noticed other problems with temperature management. I'd be more inclined to attempt repairs on an old school dryer than old washing machine (with more moving parts, like mine that was making bad noises). Dryer parts (like heat element) if available should be cheap, while if the machine is old enough it might not still be supported.

When my wall oven thermostat broke, replacement parts were no longer available.

My dryer is long in the tooth but still working.... Just for chuckles I searched high efficiency clothes dryers and they have new models using heat pump technology that claim 60% energy saving and are ventless...

Not cheap looks like $1k to $2k vs only hundreds for old technology. I wonder how many years the break even is for electricity cost savings?

JR

[update] last time I bumped this thread I was whining about my weak cell service. Right around christmas, my signal strength magically cranked up and has remained solid ever since. I was considering raising my outdoor antenna higher, but for now problem has resolved itself. [/update]

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:48 am
by billshurv
Low heat mode has been dicky for a while. I'll pull it out tonight and do basic checks as we have a laundry backlog!

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:10 am
by JR.
As if the heat pump dryer isn't clever enough, DOE funded a prototype ultrasonic dryer that uses even less energy.

At one load of laundry a week I estimate my breakeven for energy cost savings at several decades after I'm worm food. :lol:

JR

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:25 pm
by billshurv
well its not the heaters, not the thermal trip, not the thermostat. So next step it to turn it on its back and check the wiring back from the motor.

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:35 pm
by JR.
well so much for something simple.....

JR

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 5:43 pm
by billshurv
Ugh. Unpowered everything checks out but when running only a few volts to the heaters. I hoped it was the relay, but that's fine. Unless I have missed something the timer has a worn/dirty contact that can't take any power. Of course that part is £60... And I am not taking a clockwork apart to try and mend. well not yet !

Re: Entropy

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:10 pm
by JR.
may be time for a new dryer.... good luck.

JR

[edit- I am intrigued by the use of heat pump technology inside a clothes dryer.... Heat pumps have a hot side and cold side, the hot side can be used to heat the dryer air, and the cold side to condense water out of the warm humid air.... clever. Too bad they cost 2x-3x conventional dryers with little chance of economic payback in my lifetime, not to mention perhaps new design glitches. [/edit]

[edit2- another feature is gentler on clothes... I found a whirlpool for around $1k that looks interesting. Still not cost effective but I may get points for being greener. :lol: /edit2]

Re: Entropy

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:56 pm
by JR.
for my next bonafide entropy episode, the rain overflowing my gutters caused me to fire up my sump pump for the first time since I put up the gutters.

I was hearing gurgling water sounds coming from the crawl space (no bueno) so today I dragged out the sump pump. The discharge hose, came up separately from the sump pump... before it was just leaking, spraying water all around, now it is completely detached.

New discharge hose on order. At least this will be cheap/easy to repair....

JR