Anyone own a gas clothes dryer?

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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Am thinking about buying a natural gas clothes dryer, supposed to be 30 cents/load cheaper than electricity.

I've never used one except in a laundromat, long ago. Anyone have a residential unit/experience with one?
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
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fobot.com
i have/had one
its in the garage, i lived in a house without gas for a while and had to get an electric

there really isn't any difference in terms of using it, you turn it on the same/it dries the clothes about the same

it just hooks up different
 

mastertech01

Moderator Emeritus Elite Member
Nov 13, 1999
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It depends on the GAS pricing, sometimes the price rockets up there, but on average its a lot cheaper to use GAS. I have used natural gas dryers for about 25 years personally. I used electric when I was a young married and the difference going to gas was about 10-20 dollars a month, depending on how many children you have and the number of loads done each week. Ill put it this way.. the gas dryer will pay for itself before it wears out..long before it wears out. I retired my last one after 15 years and it was still going strong and never had to do a single repair (Maytag). Its sitting in the Garage right now waiting for my younger daughter to get her own place.. it will server her well too.. :)

 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
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Also, gas dries with a moist heat, so your clothes won't be as wrinkled when they come out ;)
 

mastertech01

Moderator Emeritus Elite Member
Nov 13, 1999
11,875
282
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Just make sure you have Gas line access to run it. Many homes are all electric, or many rentals have rules against use of GAS. It is something that should be installed by a professional.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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I'll need to drop a gas line from the attic, venting is a snap, I pit in straight ductwork when I moved in.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
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We have a gas stove, furnace, and dryer. It rocks when the power goes out cause we can still eat and be warm :)
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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If you really want to see awesome dryer performance, get a washer that wrings the clothes almost dry before they go in the dryer: Maytag's $1,300.00 Neptune, Frigidaire's $ 662.00 Front Loader or the one I bought, Fisher & Paykel's $700.00 Top Loader, "America's most energy efficient washer!" It spins more water out than any other consumer grade washer. Here's the rest of them.

The gas is cheaper to operate, but more expensive initially. You also can't optionally vent into the living space, like you can with electric.
 

pac1085

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2000
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We've been running a gas drier for a few years and its been running great. Cheaper than electric too.

We have a gas stove, furnace, and dryer. It rocks when the power goes out cause we can still eat and be warm
doesnt the furnace and dryer need electric to start etc? :p
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Good point ICSVortex. This is how I deal with that:This is where I finally found the best bottom line price for gas logs. Great outfit with great prices!
 

Jason Clark

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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We have the Maytag Neptune here and it rocks, we use gas for cooking,heating and drying. Gas dryers are definitely more effective than electric, dries faster and costs less in the long run.

Ensure your dryer vent is rated for gas dryer heat, as they get hotter than electric and the vented air needs to go through a gas rated vent.

ICS, yep the furnace fan is always electric so without power you would still get cold.
 

Stallion

Diamond Member
May 4, 2000
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We have a neptune as well. The gas dryer will dry in about the same time as it takes to wash them so they(wash&dryer) are both done at about the same time so your not waiting for the dryer to finish before you can do another load.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
12
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Actually, we just bought all new appliances, and our new stove requires electricity for normal operation. It's gas, but it doesn't use a pilot light. It just makes a small spark at the burner when you turn the gas on. We could still use it in a power outage though, we'd just have to manually light the gas with a match or something.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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Am going to get a rebadged Frigidaire @ Sears (Kenmore brand) Frigidaire, and the matching gas drier, I like the flat top of the model, and plan on building a cabinet around them, with some shelves for clothes...

Sears is giving 10% off if you use the Sears card, and no interest till 10-02.

I love the Neptune & the Kenmore Elite series, just can't justify 2X the price.

Tile on the floors & new wall oven are next on the list;)