Gas vs Electric Dryer

[Garet Jax]

Building a new house and I have to choose the dryer hookup type I want. The standard is electric - it costs ~$150 extra to prepare it for gas.

I've been told that the average gas dryer is ~$80 more expensive than the identical electric dryer.

So which to go with?

 

[vi edit]

Gas heats up and dries faster than electric. Plus for me, gas is cheaper to heat with than electric.

Gas wins! Especially since the house came with the hookups and gas drier already in place.

 

[iamwiz82]

Gas is significantly cheaper to operate. I doubt it would take long to break even.

 

[So]

I've always used electric and been fine with it, but someone who's used both may be able to highlight the differences...

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Gas heats up and dries faster than electric. Plus for me, gas is cheaper to heat with than electric.

Gas wins! Especially since the house came with the hookups and gas drier already in place.

I've been told that the average gas dryer lasts less than the average electric dryer.

I've also read that the pilot light is likely to die between 8-10 years after purchase and it is an expensive repair to make.

Have you had this experience?

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Gas is significantly cheaper to operate. I doubt it would take long to break even.

Day to day operations I agree - it's the other costs that are making this a tough decision to make.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Gas. If you have the option, always gas. Especially for water heaters. I have a gas water heater in my apartment and when the power went out here in Seattle for 3 days, let me tell you it sure was nice to have hot water still.

A gas drier will save money in the long run, don't let the higher cost to purchase fool you. When I build a house, it will have all gas appliances and a gas range and gas wall oven. Electricity is for lights and small appliances (mixers, etc).

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Gas heats up and dries faster than electric. Plus for me, gas is cheaper to heat with than electric.

Gas wins! Especially since the house came with the hookups and gas drier already in place.

I've been told that the average gas dryer lasts less than the average electric dryer.

I've also read that the pilot light is likely to die between 8-10 years after purchase and it is an expensive repair to make.

Have you had this experience?

The gas drier my parents had when I was growing up was twenty-some years old when we finally replaced it, and that was only because the washer failed and my parents decided that they'd update both to get the newer, more efficient models. Never had to make any repairs to the drier. Buy a quality brand and you'll be fine.

ZV

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Gas is significantly cheaper to operate. I doubt it would take long to break even.

Day to day operations I agree - it's the other costs that are making this a tough decision to make.

I'm talking about the other costs too.

The average electric dryer uses 5,400 watts per hour, gas uses 22,00 BTUs per hour. Check your rates to see which one is best for you

 

[vi edit]

I've never had a drier crap out on me. I do know that my Mom had a gas drier that needed some sort of service after about 10 year of use. Not really sure what or the costs.

The really nice thing about gas is that it's a much more "dry" heat. It pulls out the moisture a lot better than my electric ones. For a day to day use it's worth the possible repair costs. I haven't done the math, but my monthly savings are probably enough to pay for a new drier in 8-10 years if I needed one (instead of repairing).

 

[drnickriviera]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Garet Jax

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Gas is significantly cheaper to operate. I doubt it would take long to break even.

Day to day operations I agree - it's the other costs that are making this a tough decision to make.

I'm talking about the other costs too.

The average electric dryer uses 5,400 watts per hour, gas uses 22,00 BTUs per hour. Check your rates to see which one is best for you

I did the math for my rates
Gas bill shows 85 therms used at $103. 1 therm = 100,000BTU
$1.21 per therm. = 26cents per hour @ 22k BTU

Electric bill 1523kwh @ $107 = 7c/kwh = 38c/hr @ 5400 watts.

So you might save $1/week.

 

[IronWing]

Sing it with me to the tune of Angels We Have Heard on High...

See the sun, how bright it shines
On the nations of the earth
All who share this thing called life
Celebrate each day's rebirth
So----lar power; inexpensive energy! (2X)

Sister wind we heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plain
And the windmills in reply
Echoing this glad refrain...So...

Brother rain, do you hear,
How the river calls you down?
Bring your running water near
Make the joyful hills resound....So...

How we love complexity
When the answer's rather plain
Join the sun in jubilee
Sing with us these joyous strains..So...


Clothes lines are wonderful, cheap, and you don't have to clean the lint trap.

 

[FoBoT]

gas
gas
gas

 

[waggy]

we had a 12 year old gas dryer. worked great until we moved.

now we have electric (when my dryer dies i am having gas put in since we use propane). Since the house came with new washer dryer i see no reason to buy a new one.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
gas
gas
gas

/me freezes and reaches for his mask

 

[49erinnc]

I've used both. I was using a gas dryer for years and for the last two years, I've been using electric. And let me say that I miss my gas dryer dearly. Drying times are unbelievably different. My gas dryer dried clothing in much less time. Where I really notice the difference is with really big loads. For example, it took my gas dryer maybe 30-40 minutes to dry a load of bath towels. With my electric dryer, it can take up to 90 minutes for the same size load.

And I've also seen my power bill go up since switching over to electric. I just happened to come across a great deal on an electri dryer when I desperately needed one so I opted for to give it a try. I'll never get another electric one after I go through this one.

 

[imported_weadjust]

I've had gas for 20 years.

 

[Garet Jax]

Seems to be pretty overwhelming. Thanks for all the replies.

I will be going electric.

 

[nakedfrog]

Hm... maybe when this electric dies I'll switch. It certainly looks like there used to be a gas dryer installed. But this dryer was free, so I'll stick with it

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax
Seems to be pretty overwhelming. Thanks for all the replies.

I will be going electric.

So you ask for everyone's opinion, it's pretty much gas all the way, and then you go electric?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: Garet Jax
Seems to be pretty overwhelming. Thanks for all the replies.

I will be going electric.

So you ask for everyone's opinion, it's pretty much gas all the way, and then you go electric?

Makes sense to me!

 

[snoopdoug1]

Originally posted by: weadjust
I've had gas for 20 years.

That's brutal man... ever heard of Tums?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax
Seems to be pretty overwhelming. Thanks for all the replies.

I will be going electric.

WTF?

 

[swtethan]

Gas heats up a lot faster + gets hotter

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Gas heats up and dries faster than electric. Plus for me, gas is cheaper to heat with than electric.

Gas wins! Especially since the house came with the hookups and gas drier already in place.

I've been told that the average gas dryer lasts less than the average electric dryer.

I've also read that the pilot light is likely to die between 8-10 years after purchase and it is an expensive repair to make.

Have you had this experience?

My first house had a 10+ year old gas dryer. The pilot died 5 years later and it cost me about $70 in parts to repair it. The repair was easy but the parts were expensive.