Clothes Dryer {Coal Fired}

plumberman · Post by **plumberman** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 7:17 am

years ago when I bought my outdoor wood boiler they showed a clothes dryer running off of it, when I called they said they quit selling the kit due to low demand.
i am about to have a spare dryer{wifey gets new one} so thinking about the old one and some free time. has anybody else messed with this yet?? if so any pointers would be helpful. thanks and have fun!

Sting · Post by **Sting** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 7:40 am

This comes up at least once a year and NO -- no one has ever posted success even after posting I was full of *censored* to say it doesn't work!

The only external power with enough heat energy to make this work [ replace direct energy injection from resistance or gas fire] is a hi pressure steam generator. period - end of discussion.....

Wood -- coal -- corn meal pellets -- your old Kleenex tissues making fire - nothing connected to hot water has enough energy in it to transfer enough energy to a clothing dryer with any efficiency. You are far better off running your conventional dryer on the air cycle only - or hanging the laundry in the boiler room on a line.

Still think I am full of *censored*? This "suggestion" comes directly from the R and D department of a large AMERICAN appliance company.

Kind Regards
Sting

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 8:32 am

What you could do is plumb only hot water to your washing machine from your coal boiler. As soon as the washer has stopped pull the clothes (which will be hot) and put them in the dryer immediately. Because the clothes were already hot, they will dry much faster.

My washer is a german made Miele and only has one hose connection. So, I run hot water to it from my natural gas water heater. It saves me money on my electric, probably not very much.

Post by **Rob R.** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 8:33 am

The best coal fired clothes dryer is a hand-fed stove with a clothes line nearby.

av8r · Post by **av8r** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 9:46 am

Mine works great!

I hang clothes on the dog's pen which is in front of the LL Hearth. Dries jeans in 30 minutes.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 1:17 pm

The 4 wash lines in the basement get constant use once the stoker gets fired up down there. The dryer only gets used for 10 minutes of 'fluff' when taking down the dry clothes. I figure it has to help improve the humidity level too.

warminmn · Post by **warminmn** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 4:47 pm

Some call it a dryer. I call it humidity. I hang everything near my stove and get both.

plumberman · Post by **plumberman** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 5:08 pm

sounds like i'll have to sit back and drink beer with my boiler and leave the dryer alone! don't know if its worthwhile to turn up cellar heat then hang clothes up to dry, coal boiler is outside in its own {room}. maybe the wifey could carry the clothes upstairs across deck out to shed to hang the clothes.

thanks for input

Post by **coaledsweat** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 6:25 pm

I know from running an industrial laundry for 16 years that Sting has your answer. The only way you will dry clothes effectively with water is by turning it into around 100# of steam first.

Post by **Lightning** » Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 7:51 pm

Sting wrote:This comes up at least once a year and NO -- no one has ever posted success even after posting I was full of *censored* to say it doesn't work!

The only external power with enough heat energy to make this work [ replace direct energy injection from resistance or gas fire] is a hi pressure steam generator. period - end of discussion.....

Wood -- coal -- corn meal pellets -- your old Kleenex tissues making fire - nothing connected to hot water has enough energy in it to transfer enough energy to a clothing dryer with any efficiency. You are far better off running your conventional dryer on the air cycle only - or hanging the laundry in the boiler room on a line.

Still think I am full of *censored*? This "suggestion" comes directly from the R and D department of a large AMERICAN appliance company.

Kind Regards
Sting

Yep, gotta agree. It takes alot of energy to dry clothes. Water needs energy in the form of heat to evaporate. That's why when you sweat, it cools you. Clothes would tumble for a long time to dry without any heat.

SWPaDon · Post by **SWPaDon** » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 12:35 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sting wrote:This comes up at least once a year and NO -- no one has ever posted success even after posting I was full of *censored* to say it doesn't work!

The only external power with enough heat energy to make this work [ replace direct energy injection from resistance or gas fire] is a hi pressure steam generator. period - end of discussion.....

Wood -- coal -- corn meal pellets -- your old Kleenex tissues making fire - nothing connected to hot water has enough energy in it to transfer enough energy to a clothing dryer with any efficiency. You are far better off running your conventional dryer on the air cycle only - or hanging the laundry in the boiler room on a line.

Still think I am full of *censored*? This "suggestion" comes directly from the R and D department of a large AMERICAN appliance company.

Kind Regards
Sting
Yep, gotta agree. It takes alot of energy to dry clothes. Water needs energy in the form of heat to evaporate. That's why when you sweat, it cools you. Clothes would tumble for a long time to dry without any heat.

Or with 'low' heat.
Every once in a while, it will show up in the news somewhere that the owner of a Laundromat turn the heat down on the dryers and it takes twice the number of quarters to dry the clothes.

Short Bus · Post by **Short Bus** » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 2:40 pm

Maybe one if these could be converted to hot water, but basically cheaper to buy electricity than fool with conversion, might set records for slow drying.

Basically Sting is right

Vampiro · Post by **Vampiro** » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 8:59 pm

Well, if you have a steam system you could technically make a clothes dryer run on steam. Isolate the valves to your main piping and have a valve and associated piping run to the dryer. Your pressure control will operate normally, and you could install an aqua stat to maintain the desired dryer temperature (max would be your steam temp). You would also need a steam trap, and condensate line back to the boiler.

If you wish to use your legs to propel the dryer, get an exercise bike hooked to a reduction gear which would require less effort to keep rolling which would then tumble the clothes all while you watch Tv.

Heated water that is under pressure can flash to steam depending upon the pressure and temp of the water. So you can technically run the dryer off of flash steam on a hot water system, but you would need to get the water back to the system via a pump. You can run a heat exchanger in the firebox as well, thereby increasing the water temp.

Can it be done? Sure can if you want to go through all of that.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 9:55 pm

Vampiro wrote:Well, if you have a steam system you could technically make a clothes dryer run on steam.

Again, it won't work without high pressure steam. This is not something one would get from a residential heating appliance.

Vampiro · Post by **Vampiro** » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 11:43 pm

Being dryers run from 200 to 350 degrees, it can be done with a residential boiler and low pressure steam. You can run a pipe through the firebox and make a superheater if one wanted to.

The steam doesn't come info contact with the clothes during the drying process, and would be an indirect contact heat exchanger. Where are you getting you need high pressure steam to accomplish this? It is not necessary as to the pressure, but the temperature of which can be maintained during the drying process. This can be atttained with low pressure steam, which at 1 psi is 215 deg f. That temperature is sufficient to dry clothes.