Any Familiarity w. Bosch Condensation Dryer?

15 years ago

I have to replace my electric stackable washer and dryer in my Maui condo and it has to fit in a small closet. There is no outside venting for the dryer. It typically vents into a bucket of water that is kept on a shelf above the stackable W/D--so not all that convenient. You have to constantly climb up to check the water level to make sure it hasn't evaporated and clean the lint out. I want to get something stackable with the largest capacity I can that will still fit in the closet. Bosch has the largest capacity W/D in the size that fits into the closet. One dryer is the Bosch Axxis Dryer, model #WTV76100US and this would vent into the bucket of water like I have. Certainly do-able. The other option is a ventless Bosch dryer--a Condensation dryer, Bosch Axxis model #WTE86300US. Does anyone have any familiarity with either of these? I have never seen the condensation dryers before and I wondered how efficiently they dried clothes and if the owners liked them. I understand they can take a little longer to dry the clothes and energy useage is certainly a consideration. Getting rid of the bucket of water for the venting is very appealing, but the condensation dryer is even more $$$ than the already overpriced venting dryer and I want to make sure it does the job well. I am also concerned about the electricity useage if it takes longer to dry--how much longer? Please help--its alot of money and I want to spend it wisely. Thanks!

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Comments (7)

User
15 years ago
I've got one in an apartment I have as well as it's brother that vents normally at a residence. Can't tell you about energy consumption as I really don't care. If you're looking for green, efficient, cheaper, ect.... then you might as well get a clothes line for your yard, basement or bathtub. An automatic dryer is about convience and for that you just have to pay the freight.

The Bosch condensate drys fine, I think it does take a bit longer but nothing to get bothered about. You must also clean the heat exchanger box of lint every once in a while, depends on your use and laundry. Wash it out in the sink. Asko and Miele also make condensate dryer units so you may look at those too.

N.B. - the euro setups are going to be way more efficient than whatever American setup you have now. It's possible that you will see the same or quicker dry times with the Bosch condensate dryer than you have now.
wa8b
15 years ago
I have the Bosch Axxis laundry pair with a condenser dryer in a condo in Honolulu. It dries just as fast and efficiently as the vented dryer I have in my primary home on the mainland.

You will love it. Not only will it dry just as well and as fast as a vented dryer, but you will eliminate all of the humidity and dust that is spewed into your living space by the dryer setup that you have now. After seeing my Bosch laundry pair, many of my Honolulu neighbors have installed the same appliances. They all say that it's about a thousand times better than their old dryer setup with the bucket of water.

The only caveat is that the condenser unit on the dryer needs to be removed every few months (depending on how much the dryer is used) and thoroughly cleaned. A job that doesn't require any tools beyond a soft brush, and takes about 15 minutes. Believe me, this little chore is so worth the trade-off of getting rid of the humidity and dust....and is definitely easier than cleaning out the gunky bucket of water.
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I have a free-standing (i.e. non-combo) Asko condensation dryer. I've had it about 15 years and it is my only dryer. However, I do not dry my laundry in a dryer, I hang it out, so my dryer gets very little use compared to what most people would need. I mostly use the dryer for an initial 5-15 min tumble prior to hanging out and and on rare occasions when weather foils my need to get a particular load dry. This is more frequently in the summer, oddly enough, even though I live in a very cold northern area. Condensation dryers do work as claimed, but I would never choose one if direct venting was possible because I think they are less efficient than conventional models. Since you can't direct vent, that's a moot point. When I use the machine in the winter time (in a generally cooler than normal, woodheated - and therefore very dry farmhouse in northern NY) I don't see much degradation of efficiency because the ambient air is dry and cool, which improves the effectiveness of the condensation function. My machine also raises (by a modest, but measurable amount) the indoor relative humidity, and to some degree the indoor air temp during operation. But that's just fine in the winter, and I really appreciate not blowing my heated air out of the house as I would with a conventional dryer. However, that's not germane to your situation, of course. In the summer when I use the dryer (and that's usually on hot, rainy days when something I need to wear won't dry outdoors), the dryer is more problematical. Condenser dryers work by having double air paths. They have a "normal one" that enters the machine, is heated and then passes through the drum with the clothes, collecting moisture and carrying it off, just like a standard dryer. When that air is drawn out of the chamber, however, it passes across the plates of the condenser where the moist, heated air is cooled and relieved of most (but obviously not all to a perfect scientific degree) of the moisture it's carrying as it condenses on the metal plates in the condenser. The air then is discharged into the room and the resulting condensed water is pumped to a reservoir. The condenser itself has room air drawn through it in a sealed, separate, path which keeps the condenser surfaces cooler so that when the warm, moist air passes over it the water vapor it is carrying is released. (Think of how your glass of ice-cold soda -the condensation plane- gathers so much moisture on a hot day.) That's the theory, anyway. Where I can get into problems is when the ambient room temperature rises high enough, say 80+F, (whether due just a hot day, or continual drying if I accidentally leave the door to the laundry room closed) so that the temperature differential between the heated air path through the drum and the natural air temp through the condenser gets too close. Then little condensation occurs, even though the machine is running correctly. Also in a closed space such as closet, you might run into problems if the machine caused a small but steady rise in humidity. You would in effect be constantly re-condensing the same moisture out. I think the ideal situation for a condenser dryer would be in cool, and very dry climate. Then they would work like demons. If you air condition your home (and remove humidity that way) you will have less functional problems with a condenser dryer than I do on a hot, humid, but un-air conditioned day in Aug. in NY. However, you will put a small, but probably measurable increased load on your A/C to remove the fugitive humidity from the machine and any increase in room temp. The only other thing to report is that you must periodically remove and clean off the condenser unit to remove any fugitive lint or pet fur that has evaded the lint filters. My machine's manual says once every six months, but I've found that it's more like once every 10 loads, alas. This is by far the nastiest, slimy, gross job in my household and I simply hate it! However, other users of condenser machines on this forum report much less cleaning is needed and when necessary it's nowhere near as onerous. So, this may be a peculiarity of my particular machine, or model, or even my usage patterns. I hope I haven't discouraged you, too much. In a situation like yours you may have no choice if you can't dry clothes any other way. And a condenser dryer is definitely much better than collecting the moisture in a free-standing bucket. It will have drawer in the front which will make removing the condensate very easy. (Some con. dryers will also allow direct draining through the washing machine stand pipe. Don't know about that for Axxis.) Axxis machines are very nice, but IIRC they need 220V power. That's not a bad thing in my mind, as that gives them really good cleaning power from powerful internal heaters. My own washing machines are all 220V models and I would never have anything less. I would ask the dealer if he can give you the names of other users in your area that you could call and ask about how the machines work in your climate. I would be glad to come on an all-expenses paid trip to assess the location for you. How does January sound; it's really grim here in January and Mauai would be much better! Heck, I'd even ship my own machine out with me for a few tests runs. (LOL - I always get a little panic-y the first morning I wake up and see frost outside like this morning; I grew up in South America and Asia.) I hope this helps you make your decision. I suppose there's no way you can line dry? I found one of the best things about living in the tropics was great drying weather year-round except, of course, in the rainy season! No place is perfect, I guess. Molly~ PS: In evaluating condenser dryers keep in mind that "combo units" i.e. ones with a single drum where both washing, and then, drying takes place are very different things from free-standing (or stackable) units. Having a single drum makes things very complicated, and usually you can wash twice much as you can dry in a combo unit making for some awkwardness in load planning. A free-standing/stackable set like the Axxis will wash and dry the same sized loads, and work simultaneously, so your second load is in the wash while the first is drying. PS 2: You also might want to look at Asko brand machines if they are available to you, though the Bosch machines are nice, too.
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barbaraz
Original Author
15 years ago
wa8b, I heard that condensation dryers throw off additional moisture into the air--wouldn't this potentially be a problem in HI since it is already so moist and humid, possibly creating mold/mildew?? Does the inside of the dryer ever smell from always being wet inside? Does our climate here (I'm on Maui) with all that humidity cause the dryer to take longer to dry the clothes since our air has so much humidity to begin with? Do you find that the condensation dryer takes longer to dry your clothes than a vented dryer? I read somewhere, don't know which models, that their condensation dryer had a tendancy to shut off before the clothes were completely dry--has this been a problem for anyone with the Bosch Axxis model I'm considering? Is cleaning out the condenser unit a nasty job and where is it located--is it easy to get to? Sorry for all the questions but I don't know of anyone who has one of these dryers, especially in a warm, humid climate such as HI.
heimert
15 years ago
I'm not familiar with these models, but . . .

Why not put a drain on the bucket and have it drain into the same waste stack as the washer?
User
15 years ago
barb - do you read the followups ???

2 people have told you that it doesn't take much longer (if at all) for the condenser versions of that dryer to work than the vented one. You have stumbled upon a goldmine of info as the chances of someone haveing both models and you finding them are pretty slim and you've got 2. Now you're ignoring them or questioning their sincerity? One said your probably gonna have less dry time than your used to now. Anyway your just going to have to live with however long it takes to dry anyway if you want a condenser dryer to eliminate the humidity producing "box".

Of course it's going to take longer toi dry somehing in humid Hawaii thne it will in dry Montana or airid Phoenix, but you just have to live with that. It'll apply to any dryer choice you make. Will you be able to notice teh xtra time, doubtful unless you sit and time the cycle, and then you'd obviously have plenty of time on your hands anyway, so as to make the cycle time moot anyhow! The euro's have timed dry and sensor dry. choose more dryness in sensor mode or increase the time = dry clothes.

This is not new technology since a huge % of Europeans are highrise dwellers these types of units make sense for many. This design dind't just fall off the truck to dupe Americans in luxury condos.

Cleaning the condensing matrix is a 15 min job tops if you use brushes. I spray mine down in the sink and it's about a 4 min. task. Unit is accesible from the front of machine, clicks in and out. Are you paying attention?

The entire manual is readable at Bosch's website, why don't you give it a look.

Heimert - the tube for the water on a condenser dryer drains from the dryer into the wastepipe for the washer. The OP's current setup is a bucket o/water attached to the dryer vent pipe. The water has to be there to trap lint. That whole shotin match just vents back into the condo.
modernhouse
15 years ago
I have had a Bosch electric condensation dryer for the past 8 years, located in the sf bay area. I did experience a situation where there was a lot of additional moisture thrown off, but when I moved to another house, the situation went away. I previously had the dryer in an unheated mudroom where it became very humid when running the dryer. I now have it in a heated room, and there is no additional humidity. I am also now cleaning the heat exchanger as others have said, so maybe that is the difference. I only clean every 4 to 6 months.

I find that the dryer does not take a long time, but that is mainly due to pairing it up with the Bosch washer that has a 1200rpm spin cycle. Another issue is that clothes do not come out "bone-dry" at the "Normal Dry" setting. In my climate that is not an issue, and I can fold them without fear of mold. You can always set it to "Extra Dry". The issue you raised about prematurely turning off has to do with the lint sensor getting a false reading. This has never happened to me, but I clean the door lint screen before each use. One more thing is that I find the dryer a little noisy.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask any other questions...
wa8b
15 years ago
A condensing dryer doesn't release any additional humidity into the atmosphere. Heated air is RECIRCULATED through the dryer drum and then through the condenser unit. The moisture in the circulating air is condensed and pumped out of the machine and into the washer standpipe so it goes down the drain. No air is pulled from the room in which the dryer is located, and no air is released or exhausted into the room. The dryer cabinet does tend to get warm while the appliance is in use, but this is true of a vented dryer, too.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the Bosch Axxis condenser dryer takes no longer than an ordinary vented dryer. On the NORMAL dryness setting, clothes come out of the dryer still containing a VERY slight trace of moisture. This will evaporate away within a couple of minutes of removing clothes from the dryer. This is a BENEFIT, allowing you to smooth out garments and preventing wrinkles. If you don't like this trace of residual moisture, simply choose a dryer setting on the program selector dial.

The condenser unit is easily accessed from the dryer front and requires no special tools. You will definitely find it a less onerous task than dealing with your old bucket of water and soggy dryer lint.

BTW, I doubt that it's any more humid on Maui than it is in Honolulu.

Any Familiarity w. Bosch Condensation Dryer?

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Any Familiarity w. Bosch Condensation Dryer?

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