What Heat pump dryer do you have

Posted 26th Oct 2022
looking to buy a heat pump dryer to help with electricity prices as we're doing roughly 3 loads per day and our savings of roughly £3 per day would pay for the dryer in a matter of months.
whilst researching models and looking on YouTube, I've discovered that the heat exchangers are only accessible on one side and become completely clogged within a few years of normal use even with regular cleaning of the one accessible side.
I'm just wondering what models you guys have and how many years it's been working faultless or whether you've had to strip it apart and clean the exchanger ?
also are there any models with access to the back of exchanger via a side door maybe ?
doing 3 loads per day, I'm worried it will be clogged and giving us issues very early on and be a bad idea to buy.
any tips/ info would be appreciated.
TIA, Mark
Community Updates
New Comment

32 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. joxeruk2000's avatar
    I have a Samsung dryer it’s fairly new. I generally put it on for a 90 min cycle. Seems to be pretty good so far. Very quiet.
    I’ve cleaned the heat exchanger once so far. It tells you to do so when it needs it.
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    Which Samsung model do you have ? Ive been looking at the 5+ and 6 model, is that a full load of clothes that go on a 90 minute cycle ?
    Surely towels take much longer ?
    As people in this thread have commented towels take 3 hours plus in their models.
    Thanks for the input
  2. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    3 loads a day?

    That surely is not normal. Are you drying absolutely everything & have 5 kids & live in a flat or something?

    Maybe I am just thick. We only dry the thick stuff that is needed the next day. Maybe 3 loads a week when it is raining or freezing outside.. (edited)
    ashmac's avatar
    No we do the same , 3 loads is mental
  3. Pandamansays's avatar
    Have you looked into the benefits of a stand alone spin dryer - they still make them.

    Start here
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    Not for us unfortunately, it would just be another thing to do when our washer already spins them but I appreciate the help
  4. Bargainhead's avatar
    I had 2 exchanged under warranty, they wouldn’t collect water, repair men said something inside broke and just replaced with new as it was cheaper than replacing part and fixing. The 3rd machine went they same way but the 3rd repair man removed a cap off back and took some fluff and dirt from near the waste water pipe. It did the trick, I just do that once a year now and had no issues in 4 years apart from needing a new belt..
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    What brand is yours ?
    I really need to lower the electricity usage because we're almost at £400 per month now for both fuels but I'm guessing 3 loads per day will mean the condenser/heat exchanger blocking up 3x faster than those I've seen on YouTube which are only 2 years old, might just cause a bigger headache and my Mrs blaming me for not being able to dry clothes when it packs up (edited)
  5. deleted9453's avatar
    I have a bosch one with a self cleaning condenser.........I would assume that this cleans the heat exchanger too somehow?

    Anyway I have had it over 5yrs and it will dry a load for less than 1kwh and takes around an hour.
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    The condenser and heat exchanger are the same thing, pretty much all videos I've watched and reviews I've read are minimum 2 hours.
    Surely you must be putting tiny loads in if it's taking an hour it's faster than my vented dryer, which is not really possible.
    But I've been looking at Bosch and samsung, however all the manual cleaning type only have access to the front fins and become clogged at the rear and I've found tonnes of videos where the self cleaning ones clogg up still and then you can't manually clean it as an it's sealed (edited)
  6. u664541's avatar
    Regular condenser tumble dryers have a removable heat exchanger but (afaik) heat pump ones are fixed, unless you want to start stripping the machine down.
    I'm on my 2nd HP dryer (both AEG/AEG clone John Lewis machines). Wouldn't recommend them at all. Slow to dry and always requires extra cycle or 2 to finish off. Worst things are duvet covers; put them on a bed linen cycle, they finish (eventually), not dry, try again and it stops immediately so put them on a timed cycle but that doesn't do reverse tumble so they end up like a Swiss roll with the inner still damp. Useless.
    Had repairmen come 3 times and each time no fault found.
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    See this is what scares me, I need to lower energy bill desperately but paying 600 out for a heat pump and then with stuff like this, my Mrs would make me go buy another vented dryer and I'd be 900 plus down
  7. bluetang's avatar
    I post the below in a different thread back in Aug -

    We got the Bosch Serie 6 and it's great. Ours is not plumbed in so needs the water drawer emptying after each use but it's easy to do. Also, the fluff filters need clearing after each use. Select a program and the machine will decide how long is needed for it (on the Serie 6 anyway) as it has a sensor for the clothes to see how damp they are. The initial time for the program usually changes during the program.
    3 things to bear in mind -
    1. - If you are in a hurry for dry clothes these machines may not suit you as they take a great deal longer so you either need to plan ahead if you need stuff or just bear this in mind. A full load might take a couple of hours to dry.
    2. - They need an ambient outside temperature in the house ideally no lower than 15 degrees so not good for garages.
    3 - One extra thing - you should crack open a window when the machine is in use otherwise the room will feel damp and muggy.
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    Thank you, could I ask is yours a self cleaning heat exchanger or is it the type you open and clean with a brush and vacuum like Samsung's ?
    I saw the Bosch series 8 is a manual clean like Samsung's but lower Bosch models are self clean by dumping water through the exchanger which makes me wonder why the higher model isn't self cleaning ?
  8. u664541's avatar
    I've just watched a YouTube clip of how a Bosch self cleaning condenser works..........
    Like OP says it dumps water through it whilst drying. OK, but where does all the lint then go?
    deleted9453's avatar
    Goes to same place as lint out washer, into the drain
  9. phishwak's avatar
    We've got a Beko Heat pump dryer which has two filters. The first one collects most of the fluff and lint and we usually clean it 1-2 times a week and then there is another one in front of the heat exchanger (I'm assuming that's the part with metal fins) which we clean out about once a month. Ours is connected to the same outlet pipe as the washing machine so we don't have to empty out the water collector.
    Mark_Hickman's avatar
    Author
    Sorry I missed your reply 5 days ago, thank you for your input.
    I had a Samsung dryer delivered yesterday and the first 2 loads with a complete mix of clothes, towels and bed sheets all just shoved together came out bone dry in 2.5 hours, very impressed and cost roughly 30p a load, I can't believe it
    Is the filter in front of of your heat exchanger a foam and how fine are the holes ?
    This Samsung doesn't have a filter outside of the drum and after 2 loads you can already see plenty of lint on the exchanger, I'm going to add my own filter I think
's avatar