Gas > Electric when it comes to dryers?

[Nocturnal]

I am looking to invest in a dryer for my home. People have told me before that gas dryers are more efficient at drying clothes. Where as electric dryers often times takes a lot longer (i.e. one cycle may not dry clothes completely as opposed to gas, one cycle will dry clothes completely).

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Eelctric costs more, I beleive is the issue. Price of gas vs price of electricity ....

I have electricity and could care less how much I could save with gas. The way I look at it, electric dryers probably are more reliable and require less maintenance.

 

[BigJ]

If you're doing fewer loads, an electric dryer will be cheaper.

If you're doing a lot of laundry, gas will be cheaper.

 

[Nocturnal]

I thought gas was much more efficient at drying the clothes itself though?

 

[Nocturnal]

Gas dryers run off propane right? Would it be possible to run it off of one of those portable propane tanks if you didn't have a gas line?

 

[gooseman]

Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

 

[RCN]

Gas is the best but electric definately does the job. Always done on the first cycle for me but I didn't exactly go cheap. Compare the operating cost which should be on the dryers.................

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Gas dryers run off propane right? Would it be possible to run it off of one of those portable propane tanks if you didn't have a gas line?

If by portable you mean 250 gallon tanks yes. If you mean the tanks for BBQ's I wouldn't want to try it. You would need a new tank for every load.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

That's not entirely true. Remember that electric heaters are by definition 100% efficient.

The reason gas is better is that instead of a power company buying gas, burning it, spinning a turbine, creating electricity, and sending it to your home, losing power and increasing the cost per unit energy at every step, you're burning it directly. IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Gas dryers run off propane right? Would it be possible to run it off of one of those portable propane tanks if you didn't have a gas line?

They make propane ones but I'd say the majority are natural gas powered.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

That's not entirely true. Remember that electric heaters are by definition 100% efficient.

The reason gas is better is that instead of a power company buying gas, burning it, spinning a turbine, creating electricity, and sending it to your home, losing power and increasing the cost per unit energy at every step, you're burning it directly. IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

agreed.

They make propane ones but I'd say the majority are natural gas powered.

Yeah, the only ones I have ever used/owned/seen used natural gas.

 

[RCN]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

I used to believe this but the difference in utility bills between my all electric and my neighbors all NG seems to say the opposite............

 

[theeedude]

1 therm=29 KWH
So I think it's cheaper than electricity for same unit of energy right now. I personally would go with electric due to volatility of gas prices.

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: RCN

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

I used to believe this but the difference in utility bills between my all electric and my neighbors all NG seems to say the opposite............

I switched to electric heating as well. Bill came down a great deal, almost 50%.
Nice thing about electric is that I can have a space heater in my bedroom, and only heat it at night, while gas heating goes to all rooms, with thermostat in living room, so I had to heat the whole apartment to same temperature.

 

[JinLien]

Gas is cheaper than electric, but the higher maintenance of gas dryer may offset the saving. A cloth lines would be the cheapest way to go, and front loader washer would help cut down the cost of hot/water.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

That's not entirely true. Remember that electric heaters are by definition 100% efficient.

The reason gas is better is that instead of a power company buying gas, burning it, spinning a turbine, creating electricity, and sending it to your home, losing power and increasing the cost per unit energy at every step, you're burning it directly. IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

agreed.

They make propane ones but I'd say the majority are natural gas powered.

Yeah, the only ones I have ever used/owned/seen used natural gas.

Generally, the natural gas driers can run on either natural gas -or- propane. However, they're generally ready for natural gas, but require a small $2 part to switch them over to run on propane. (I had to switch mine over when I moved)

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Here's how an energy efficient drier works:
Dries the clothes.
Senses when the clothes are dry and stops heating.
Buzzes to signal the clothes are dry.
Continues to tumble the clothes until you remove them, or until they have cooled. This avoids wrinkles. Otherwise people are going to set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes and waste energy tumble pressing the clothes.

Oh, and always clean the lint trap between loads!

And imho, gas driers are much better. The amount of maintenance required for either is virtually nil.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

That's not entirely true. Remember that electric heaters are by definition 100% efficient.

The reason gas is better is that instead of a power company buying gas, burning it, spinning a turbine, creating electricity, and sending it to your home, losing power and increasing the cost per unit energy at every step, you're burning it directly. IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

agreed.

They make propane ones but I'd say the majority are natural gas powered.

Yeah, the only ones I have ever used/owned/seen used natural gas.

Generally, the natural gas driers can run on either natural gas -or- propane. However, they're generally ready for natural gas, but require a small $2 part to switch them over to run on propane. (I had to switch mine over when I moved)


Oh, and always clean the lint trap between loads!

And imho, gas driers are much better. The amount of maintenance required for either is virtually nil.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that they could not be easily "converted" for use with propane.

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Our dryer has this and kicks ass.

 

[JinLien]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: gooseman
Gas dryers ARE much more efficient. The gas burns hotter and purer (maybe not a good way to explain it).

That's not entirely true. Remember that electric heaters are by definition 100% efficient.

The reason gas is better is that instead of a power company buying gas, burning it, spinning a turbine, creating electricity, and sending it to your home, losing power and increasing the cost per unit energy at every step, you're burning it directly. IMHO electric heating is almost NEVER a good idea. Maybe for small scale stuff like toasters, but get any bigger, and gas is just a better way.

agreed.

They make propane ones but I'd say the majority are natural gas powered.

Yeah, the only ones I have ever used/owned/seen used natural gas.

Generally, the natural gas driers can run on either natural gas -or- propane. However, they're generally ready for natural gas, but require a small $2 part to switch them over to run on propane. (I had to switch mine over when I moved)

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Here's how an energy efficient drier works:
Dries the clothes.
Senses when the clothes are dry and stops heating.
Buzzes to signal the clothes are dry.
Continues to tumble the clothes until you remove them, or until they have cooled. This avoids wrinkles, which ultimately mean people are going to set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes and waste energy.

Oh, and always clean the lint trap between loads!

And imho, gas driers are much better. The amount of maintenance required for either is virtually nil.

The burner orifice can be swap for NG/PG relatively easily to install and cost about $20.00 CAD here in my area for parts, and the gas/plumber labor cost between $60-75 per hour. The tricky part is to clock the meter and calculate the apropriate burn rate so you don't get trap carbon monoxide.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: DrPizza

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Our dryer has this and kicks ass.

Ditto here. It cost a little more for that feature, but I'm willing to bet that by now (2 years), that feature has just about paid for itself.

 

[JinLien]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: DrPizza

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Our dryer has this and kicks ass.

Ditto here. It cost a little more for that feature, but I'm willing to bet that by now (2 years), that feature has just about paid for itself.

My auto sensing drier and front loader washer has serve me well for over a year

 

[RCN]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: DrPizza

And, for what it's worth - if you're worried about efficiency, buy a good drier with moisture sensing. That way, the drier stops drying the clothes when the clothes are done drying. No one should be making a statement about "done on the first cycle" or "it took two cycles" if they have concerns about energy usage. If your clothes take 15 minutes before they're dry, your drier stops heating at that point.

Our dryer has this and kicks ass.

Ditto here. It cost a little more for that feature, but I'm willing to bet that by now (2 years), that feature has just about paid for itself.

I think mine does but to tell you the truth I'm not sure. I think I've seen "sensing" displayed on the screen. Its a GE profile or some crap. All I know is that when I was told how much I spent I was a little pissed it didn't make breakfast for me...........

 

[SparkyJJO]

gas might be cheaper now but at the way prices are going up I wonder how much longer it will remain that way

 

[RCN]

Originally posted by: senseamp


I switched to electric heating as well. Bill came down a great deal, almost 50%.
Nice thing about electric is that I can have a space heater in my bedroom, and only heat it at night, while gas heating goes to all rooms, with thermostat in living room, so I had to heat the whole apartment to same temperature.

Yeah....it is cheaper but my main reason for using electric for heat is that it doesn't dry the air out as much.............