Bikes and tumble dryers

walkingbootweather

Mrs WBW wants to put a convection tumble dryer in the garage that houses my bikes. It this likely to:

a) make them nice and warm
or
b) make them go rusty very quickly

Is this a really bad idea?

meanredspider

What's a convection tumble drier?

herb71

The Mrs has a condensing dryer in our garage, is that what you mean? It collects water internally and does not vent condensate so causes no issues for any of my gear.

The only problem is it means she has to walk through my garage and sometimes spots something shiny and new, so I get into trouble.

meanredspider

Provided whatever it is, it keeps the water contained & away from the bikes, it'll be fine.

Escadrille Ecosse

We've got one. Not all the water vapour gets caught in the condenser. I've got a dehumidifier in the garage and I've noticed it catches more water when the drier is on. However what you tend to notice more is the fluff that always seems to bypass the filter somehow.

veronese68

I have no idea what it is. But, in my ignorance and with a few beers for bravado I will say:
Keep the EPO out of the garage at all costs. I had to nearly take my head off with a fauly garage door. But in hindsight a bang on the head and a dozen stitches is a small price to pay.
If you fail with the above drill a 4" hole in the wall and get one that vents to the outside as added heat and moisture are not good.

CiB

Buy a bicycle made of this new-fangled fancy-dan carbon fibre material and rust is her problem, affecting only her washing machine and gardening tools.

bompington

I saw the thread title and was going to suggest that the best advice was not to put your bike in the tumble drier ;-). But, as others have said, condenser driers do still leave a lot of water vapour blowing around.
Sounds like the best solution is to bring the bikes in the house.

tgotb

CiB wrote:

Buy a bicycle made of this new-fangled fancy-dan carbon fibre material and rust is her problem, affecting only her washing machine and gardening tools.

:shock:
Isn't carbon fibre water-soluble?

rubertoe

TGOTB wrote:

CiB wrote:

Buy a bicycle made of this new-fangled fancy-dan carbon fibre material and rust is her problem, affecting only her washing machine and gardening tools.

:shock:
Isn't carbon fibre water-soluble?

I thought this was gonna be a thread trying to sell me a fitted tumble dryer.

UndercoverElephant

It depends on the drier. Our old one used to fog up the kitchen quite happily before it broke down one last time. The new one that replaced it makes no condensation at all.

walkingbootweather

Thanks chaps,

I do of course mean a condensing tumble dryer. Mrs WBW tells me the oven is convection and the tumble dryer is condensing and since she got married in white, presumably to match the other domestic applicances, I'm inclined to believe her.

Had a bit of a clear out the other month so now down to 7 bikes, but probably still too many to move indoors. Got a mixture of frame materials, but it is the components that I'm afraid might not like warm moist air.

Even if the condenser does remove most of the moisure, it will certainly warm the air, which will then mix with cold, moist air from outside (the garage is a single skin).

Humm, may have to give it a go. If we get condensation I will have to try and sell the tumble dryer to rubertoe.

the_fuggler

I've had no problems with a condensing tumble dryer and our bikes in a garage. Should be fine.

UndercoverElephant

Actually, any particular reason why you're getting a condensing one, rather than just venting though the garage wall? Much cheaper driers are available and they're more efficient too.

walkingbootweather

Glad to hear that condensing dryers and bikes can co-exist.

We've already got the dryer but there isn't room for it in the kitchen because house was built before such luxuries as dishwashers and tumble dryers were commonplace, and we've got a table and chairs in there too. The dryer has therefore taken up residence in what we call the 'Garden room' which is currently functioning somewhere between a conservatory and a utility room. Contemplating moving in the New Year so going through a general de-clutter and tidy-up. Wife wants to 'dress' the room as another reception and a dryer standing in the corner messes with the Feng Shui or something. :?

tgotb

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Actually, any particular reason why you're getting a condensing one, rather than just venting though the garage wall? Much cheaper driers are available and they're more efficient too.

Incorrect, condensing driers are more efficient.

A traditional drier vents water vapour; all the energy taken to heat up the water and turn it into a gas (latent heat of vapourisation) is lost to the atmosphere. A condensing drier, by cooling the vapour and returning it to its liquid form, recovers that energy and uses it to continue drying the clothes. It's exactly the same principle as a condensing boiler.

There's an argument that a condensing drier is more complex, and therefore potentially more expensive or less reliable, but in terms of basic efficiency it wins hands-down.

rjsterry

Yep, just had a look at two Bosch equivalent vented and condensing dryers and the condenser is a Energy rating B, as opposed to C for the vented version.

UndercoverElephant

rjsterry wrote:

Yep, just had a look at two Bosch equivalent vented and condensing dryers and the condenser is a Energy rating B, as opposed to C for the vented version.

Sorry, that's not right - the scales are different for vented and condenser driers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_U ... ble_dryers

Vented ones are roughly 1 stop more efficient.

entershikari

When I read the thread title I thought it was going to be about a tumble dryer powered by a bike. Now I'm disappointed

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Yep, just had a look at two Bosch equivalent vented and condensing dryers and the condenser is a Energy rating B, as opposed to C for the vented version.

Sorry, that's not right - the scales are different for vented and condenser driers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_U ... ble_dryers

Vented ones are roughly 1 stop more efficient.

Looking at the banding, the condenser is still slightly ahead.

walkingbootweather

entershikari wrote:

When I read the thread title I thought it was going to be about a tumble dryer powered by a bike. Now I'm disappointed

Despite what Mrs WBW might say, I don't like to disappoint

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