Ventless Washer/Dryer and Humidity

[Pigeoneer]

I've seen threads regarding the 'wet heat' and humidity of "ventless" hot water heaters running propane.

Do "ventless" clothes dryers actually collect that humidity from the wet clothes and discharge it through the drain, or does it just discharge wet air in the cab?

Anyone have first hand experience with addressing this? Would de-humidifying from a mini split adequately address this?

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Pigeoneer

I've seen threads regarding the 'wet heat' and humidity of "ventless" hot water heaters running propane.

Do "ventless" clothes dryers actually collect that humidity from the wet clothes and discharge it through the drain, or does it just discharge wet air in the cab?

Anyone have first hand experience with addressing this? Would de-humidifying from a mini split adequately address this?

We'll be watching this thread as we've chosen to go with the vented drier because of the humidity in the bus issue. It would be much simpler to have a non vented washer/drier but we'd rather have to cut the hole than pump humidity in.
So we'll see what those who use them say. Perhaps we can go non vented after all.

[TheHubbardBus]

I feel ventless anything to be a bad idea in a bus.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

I feel ventless anything to be a bad idea in a bus.

That's my thought as well but I'm willing to listen.
Just don't do what I saw the other day.... a couple in a skoolie with their kids. Propane on demand water heater and she says
"our water heater has to be vented so we vented it to this grille at the back of the kitchen counter"

[joeblack5]

At home..Our ventless washer dryer, tromm, condenses the water and pumps it out.. the last part of drying is with assisted heat.

The latest dryers use a dehumidifier to more efficiently remove the moisture. I have seen them in Europe. I would imagine you can find them in the USA.

Johan

[TMartineau]

I'm watching this tread too. I plan on a all in one unit in my bus. I am a little concerned about the moisture in the bus. But I'm also worried about fit and placement. How much space is needed behind each type ( vented, not vented)? Being in a wheelchair I need every inch. Thoughts?

[Albatross]

Originally Posted by Pigeoneer

I've seen threads regarding the 'wet heat' and humidity of "ventless" hot water heaters running propane.

Do "ventless" clothes dryers actually collect that humidity from the wet clothes and discharge it through the drain, or does it just discharge wet air in the cab?

Anyone have first hand experience with addressing this? Would de-humidifying from a mini split adequately address this?

Just from a basic understanding of physics, if you use, say, a gallon of water to do laundry, and then remove all of that water from the clothes and disperse it into the air as 'added humidity', I cannot see the dehumidifying effect of a typical mini-split being able to handle that kind of humidity (plus whatever is 'normal' for your area) on a regular basis.

To be short, vent your dryer exhaust outside. It's more than just humidity, you would also accumulate a bunch of lint from the clothing which would ultimately amount to a fire hazard at some point.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

At home..Our ventless washer dryer, tromm, condenses the water and pumps it out.. the last part of drying is with assisted heat.

The latest dryers use a dehumidifier to more efficiently remove the moisture. I have seen them in Europe. I would imagine you can find them in the USA.

Johan

they are in the states but usually special order.. I worked on an LG combo machine a couple years ago and it actually has a refrigeration circuit in it like a dehumidifier that condensed out the water to a drain.. there was also a heating element in it.. this particular model was a 240 volt machine as at times it was designed to run some heat along with the compressor.. the machine also did get warm so running it did produce some heat into the house.. the dry cycle took longer than a standard vented dryer but it really did work nicely.. i dont know if they make a 120 Volt version or not.



this particular unit had a leak in the sealed circuit which wasa ROYAL PITA to fix and recharge due to everything being PACKED into the cabinet..

[Rucker]

Old school gas dryers: there are two sources of moisture: the water in the clothes, and the water vapor from the process of combustion (if the dryer is gas). I can't imagine the minisplit being able to circulate the air enough to cycle out the moisture. Needs to be vented, pretty much end of story.

Newfangled dryers operate like a dehumidifier, but they first heat the input air (slightly), using one side of the coils. The air mixes with the wet clothes, sucks some of the moisture out, circulates over to the other side of the coil which chills it, condensing the moisture out, then sending the dry air back over the coils to repeat the cycle.

Rinse, wash, repeat, so to speak, until the clothes are dry. Takes longer.

Ventless are more energy efficient BUT they use electricity, not gas, so they may be a net extra load on your house (bus) electrical than a comparable vented gas dryer.

[cadillackid]

if it were mine id prob look at where laundry is done most.. if parked at a campground with power, then id go for fully electric so you arent burning up propane.. if always out and about off-grid then it makes sense to use propane.. with a gas dryer you absolutely must vent it.. the flames burn right into the air stream and goes intop the drum and is pushed out the vent so you have raw combustion air inside your bus if you dont vent it... not to mention incredible amounts of moisture..

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by TMartineau

But I'm also worried about fit and placement. How much space is needed behind each type ( vented, not vented)? Being in a wheelchair I need every inch. Thoughts?

I have a vented Splendide in my bus that's not yet hooked up. The vent hose takes about three inches of space behind it: I put a 2" DWV elbow on the machine's lint trap, then a length of flexible corrugated rubber air hose running at about a 45 degree angle down to the floor where it connects to another piece of 2" DWV pipe that goes through the floor into the underfloor storage bay and then out the bottom. After the elbow it's all downhill from there, so there's nowhere for lint to accumulate. So far, so good.

John

[ChrisTX]

I use the Miele brand ventless dryer that's 110v and uses heat pump technology. I couldn't be happier. It doesn't seem to add moisture to the air, and if it does, it's very little. It dries the laundry in a surprisingly short time, too.

The downside? Very expensive ... probably around $2k if memory serves.

[Nick5272]

Iceni John, I just bought the same model. Do you have any pictures of what your setup looks like? I’d love to see it.

Also those who have the vented dryers, do you have any problem with bugs or outside air creeping back up through the vent into the bus?