The most obvious advantage with a condenser tumble dryer is having fewer restrictions in where it can be situated. Meanwhile simplicity doesn’t allows mean something’s better and in the main vented machines have fewer functions and features. The main disadvantage is that a vented dryer’s position in a room is dictated by its need to vent and has to be placed near an external wall or a window. And if not, they are usually cheaper to buy and therefore replace as well as being more economical to run compared with their condenser cousin. They are also usually simple machines to use and should they need to be repaired this can be done quickly and easily. The lint in the vent also needs regular maintenance.
Integral to the design is the removal of moisture to the outside, meaning no damp build up or moisture retained in the machine itself which can cause odour, mildew which over the long-term might compromise the performance of the machine. The biggest advantage of vented tumble dryers is that they dry clothes quicker than a condenser dryer. Which is Better Vented or Condenser Tumble Dryer? Without the need to expel the water through a hole in the wall or a window, a condenser tumble dryer can be plugged in anywhere. Best practice, however, is to do this after every cycle, unless it’s a model that can be plumbed in. The collected water then needs to be manually removed on a regular basis and most models alert the user when the tank is full. The hot air is moved to a tank or a reservoir where the moisture is condensed into water (vapour to liquid) usually under the machine. These appliances do not have a vent to expel moisture. Condenser Tumble DryerĪccording to Which? condenser tumble dryers are the more popular type of tumble dryer. It’s because of this that a vented tumble dryer needs to be installed near an outside wall or a window so that a hose can reach.
It’s similar to a kitchen or bathroom extractor fan that has a vent to the outside. Vented Tumble DryerĪ vented tumble dryer removes moisture from the machine to outside a building through a vent that can be fitted to an external wall, or through a hose. The water in the form of damp air has to be released somewhere and these two appliances have different ways of doing so. It’s how they deal with the water that the process of drying creates. Knowing this gives a clue as to what the difference is between a condenser tumble dryer and a vented tumble dryer. Similarly, ‘condense’ also comes from Old French condenser (and possibly the Latin condensare) meaning: to make dense, which in turn in a science sense means: “to reduce to another and denser form” as in a gas or vapour to a liquid. You don’t need to be an expert in language – etymology – to know that both the words ‘venting’ and ‘condensing’ relate to water (as does the word dryer, for that matter), but while we are here.!īriefly, ‘vent’ is from the Old French word eventer and the noun – the vent – can mean: outlet for water while the verb – to vent – means: let out, expose to air. Vented and Condenser Tumble Dryers and Other Alternatives