Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

[Brn]

Hi,

I did try to find info on this on these forums and around the WWW as well, but no success.

I was wondering from the first moment we thought of buying a dryer and started to look at specs whether the declared capacities of appliances for dryers are for wet or dry clothes?
Meaning: I chuck 8kg of dry clothes in the washer, that becomes about 10 after spin. Can this go into a 8kg capacity dryer?
We have actually bought a Zanussi washer dryer and there is nothing in the manual (yeah actually read it) whether it is wet or dry kg for drying.

Thanks,
Brn

[electrofix]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

In a washer dryer most dryer loads are about half the washer load. This is to allow the clothes to move and allow the hot air to circulate. so if you do a full load you have to take half out when it switches to dry

Dave

[don]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

There is also a good read here on drum capacities and load sizes.

Don

[Brn]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Thanks for both comments, but I did not get an answer to my question.
The link is about washing machines and obviously mainly dry clothes go into them (and wet ones come out with a significant amount/ weight of water in them).
I am also aware of the drying capacity being half of the wash in a washer dryer.
And this actually is the core of my question. If I wash 4 kg cotton clothes can I leave in the dryer safely and get the normal drying results, although the water in the clothes make the load much heavier than the original 4kg?
But the same question applies to separate washing and drying machines with let’s say equal kg rating. (I also know it is a silly capacity measurement but it is the only a consumer like myself can go by)

[kwatt]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

To steal the old school question…

What weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of coal?

Obviously both the same weight but two massively different volumes but if you think on it a little, the very reason that using weight to define laundry loads sizes is a fool’s game.

Something dreamt up by the manufacturers or government that customers could understand but in reality, it’s useless.

If you have a 50 litre drum you could say you can fill it to about 35/40 litres full but doing that to be fair, a lot of people would not get their head wrapped around.

So the rule of thumb is, hand width from the top of the door or roughly 10cm and that’s the maximum load. That will not be anywhere even remotely close to the rated weight capacity as that’s a theoretical maximum you can never, ever achieve in real world use.

What weight it is really isn’t relevant at all.

K.

[Martin]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Brn wrote:Thanks for both comments, but I did not get an answer to my question.

Yes I couldn’t help notice, they sure didn’t. And I thought it was just politicians that didn’t answer simple questions. 🙂

The capacities of all dryers, washer-dryers and washing machines are quoted as DRY WEIGHT.

[Brn]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

hmmm….
So basically consumers/end users are completely screwed by the lack of clear instructions and methods….
I obviously don’t want to overload my washer dryer (I did my homework and I know that they are complicated appliances, thus more liable to complications).
Going by volume can be tricky as well. Two of my trousers will weigh around 2 kg and fill the machine to about a third. But about 10-15 of my kids t-shirts, underwear, socks will weigh much less and fill to about the same volume. (coal and feathers as mentioned above) The same load can also be arranged different ways to a different volume. Totally confusing.
Is the method suggested by kwatt for washing or drying? I am guessing for washing and/or separate tumble dryers. For washer dryers it will not work. Or I could double the hand rule to get the reduced load….
Or if I want to play it safe it seems going by weight is OK and quite easy to measure as well.
So an 8 kg dry load can swell over 10 kg wet after wash. Is it safe to say that half of this (5kg) is OK to dry in a 4kg (dry) capacity machine?

[kwatt]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Martin is technically correct but, the way it’s put is totally misleading by all.

Essentially you cannot empirically measure the load in the course of normal use and it’s a nonsense to suggest that it can be done.

The load capacity is, as I said, a theoretical maximum that is stuffed into a machine by professional packers and folders in conditions that cannot be replicated outside a lab so, about as much use a chocolate fireguard in effect.

I believe Bosch came up with it, or mythology has it, for the EU labels.

More on capacities in these articles:

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buyi … load-sizes

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buyi … -the-truth

Now it gets made yet more complex by huge doors, many far larger than in days of old when the “hand width” advice was fine.

But to get to to basics where most people can understand it:

Washing machine: 3/4 full maximum

Tumble dryer: 1/2-2/3 full

Put more in and you risk all the overloading problems outlined here:

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/fix- … ng-machine

Overload a dryer and you get into poor airflow, stat failures, belt breakages and the very real risk of fire.

The point I was making with the coal/feathers is that using the weight to measure volume simply cannot work no matter how you slice it.

Using the simple advice above on load size, you should never have an issue on that front.

K.

[Martin]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

I truly don’t get why such a simple question requires such rhetoric and waffle to be honest. The manufacturer of each and every laundry appliance states, in their user instructions, the maximum loading of each type of garment.

Using a 7kg capacity washing machine as an example one will see that only cottons are capable of the 7kg maximum. Whereas delicates (or woollens) and it’s only a 2kg load will fill that machine to capacity. Your frilly lingerie restricted to a weight maximum of just 1kg before it is stuffed to the limit.

Using the example above, a 7kg tumble dryer accepts loading (dry weight) in exactly the same capacities. So once the washer has washed then the lot can be safely transferred into the dryer.

The secret to all this is NOT to mix loads. You do that and you cock the whole system up and suffer the potential consequences.

OR, to compress the whole subject into just 4 words : READ THE USER INSTRUCTIONS!

[kwatt]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Most instruction manuals are next to useless Martin.

The point I am making is, you cannot use weight for a volumetric measurement where there is no constant and, with laundry there ain’t. Simple.

And your assumption on max capacity is simply plain wrong as many if not most are just out and out unachievable. You just try to do it across multiple different types of load and see if it even makes sense, if you can even fit it in.

It is misused IMO as a marketing tool. Or are you advocating that people should weigh out their laundry loads before washing?

Feel free to disagree if you please though.

K.

[Martin]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

kwatt wrote:The point I am making is, you cannot use weight for a volumetric measurement where there is no constant and, with laundry there ain’t. Simple.

Do you know what Ken? I’m thinking that you haven’t ever bothered to try because otherwise you would know. 😉

So, next time you feel the need, go weight your dirty towels. Put them up to the recommended weight limit for your washer and hit start. Then do the same, this time with your synthetics and check out the fact that the spacing with the total drum volume is exactly the same.

Spooky or what? The conclusion is that the manufacturer has done the testing for you and for a perfect results wash.

Give it a go! 🙂

[kwatt]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Yeah okay Martin, of course you know better than people that study the damned stuff.

K.

[Martin]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

kwatt wrote:Yeah okay Martin, of course you know better than people that study the damned stuff.

Oh, I go way back, back in the mid 60’s when ‘automatics’ we’re in their infancy in the UK. When loading loads coupled with the all new ‘automatic formula’ powders first hit the market. When overloading became a problem with the Hoover Keymatic 3208. Their plastic gears were shredding as a result and several of us from the John Lewis group were invited to Perivale.

That was the first time I was indoctrinated into the difference of fabrics, their combined weights and loading capacity within an automatic washing machine.

Since those early days, machines have progressed as have detergents. The one thing that hasn’t is the fact that cotton is different to wool and nylon and silk. All fabrics have different volumes and weight. And all are carefully measured and tested by the appliance manufacturers to ensure they will be satisfactorily washed. The results of which a carefully documented in that all important user instruction booklet.

Perhaps all that makes me a little guilty of teaching granny etc etc and apologies for that as I don’t wish to be patronising. But it just might help the OP and others less informed.

:rtm:

[kwatt]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Oh okay, you’re older so therefore you must know better than anyone else.

Moving on…

K.

[Brn]

Re: Tumble dryer and washer dryer capacities

Hi,

Thanks for the input, but please don’t argue over this.
I think you are both right but only partially.
I did actually get an answer combining the info from both of you. My washer dryer will wash and dry 4kg cotton clothes or 2kg synthetics in one go without me having to worry about breaking it during the first 3 years or so.
Is volume a better way to measure the load? Probably yes. As the end user can I measure it? No.
Is kg a better way of measuring the load? No. Can I weigh my clothes? Yes.
I don’t think it is bad way to measure loads and compare machine capacity /performance. Manufacturers and retailers have to have something that sells their products. And if they do you repair guy will have a job as well.
If you kwatt and Martin are buying something that you don’t so much about as you do about appliances (e.g. car, bed, clothes) you’ll go by what the marketing people put on the labels (mpg, size, waterproof etc.)
It is funny that one of the articles contains a comparison about mpg (or indeed emission) claims of car manufacturers. Hahahaha Since that writing we have awakened to see that all those claims are rubbish because of EU regulations and testing standards.
On the other hand there is a contradiction in the appliance loads as well. If the “theoretical maximum” load can only be achieved by professional packers and the usual UK load in another article was 2.5kg, then how the hack can the biggest problem be overloading?
I think this is because we usually (taking my families washing habits) wash mixed fabric loads, which have to go in on the synthetic programme, which is half or less in kg than the full cotton programme, which always has the maximum load.
Yesterday we managed to get a 5.5 kg mixed load together and after reading the articles today and the manual again, it dawned on me that we overloaded the machine by about 2kg. Not because the drum was packed with kicks from my boot to push that last sock in, but because for that programme with that type of clothes it was.
This is all written in the manual, but I think not emphasised enough, probably on purpose. see here http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buyi … great-wash ing-machine-swindle/ You must be familiar with this as well.
Most people will not take the time and read these articles at all or the manual 5 times. They will only remember that they have bought a 7kg capacity machine and load it happily every time thinking that they are doing the right thing. And this suits the manufacturers fine.
I do my research before I spend this much money on stuff. I did want to buy a separate tumble dryer based on the advice on uk whitegoods. But we live in a two bed flat and the old washing machine had a 54cm depth and the cupboard door barely closed on it. The slimmest tumble dryer I could find was the entry level Miele at 57+ cm. And I was not really willing to cut the door in half. Some washer dryers like my new Zanussi manage to pack the whole thing within 54cm depth. Ofcourse it will be a compromise.
Is this good for me? Yes. I have a dryer that will ease the condensation in the winter, by not having to air dry in two rooms.
Do I believe I have bought a machine for eternity? No. But I am fine with my decision and will try to make the most of it by looking after the washer dryer. Thanks to uk whitegoods’ good advice.
Keep it up guys!

[Author]

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