Wood fired clothes dryer??

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When I read the title I thought I was going to see a pic of a clothes rack in front of a wood burner. That is a pretty slick idea for off the grid folks or people that want to save electricity. Nice post
 
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I emailed the guy. I noticed he has built water storage tanks.
 
I admire the effort and ingenuity, but I don't like it. He's pulling heat off his exhaust, which should already be at minimal temperature, if his boiler is efficient. Better off building a heat exchanger to run off the boiler secondary, than pulling off the exhaust, I would think.

In addition to cooling his exhaust gases to the point where he may have creosote and other chimney troubles, this is not a fail-safe system. A failure of his flue pipe, however unlikely, might result in a clothes fire.
 
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These things depress me whether they work or not. Reminds me of how "square" I think. Guys who can imagine this stuff and then build a working model are genius level in my book. I built a cloths line with some 4x4 posts and was beaming like I built the pyramids.
 
These things depress me whether they work or not. Reminds me of how "square" I think. Guys who can imagine this stuff and then build a working model are genius level in my book. I built a cloths line with some 4x4 posts and was beaming like I built the pyramids.
I understand...... I have a hard time driving a thumb tack with a sledge hammer.;em
 
Just my thoughts. I get why he wants this however, this really is not efficient when he can hang dry the clothes. I know he said that takes up room but honestly how many times a week is he washing clothes? The point of off grid is to minimize/ maximize energy consumption and use. To me this is using valuable electricity that could be diverted elsewhere. If he has clothes strewn everywhere everyday does this mean he has laundry going around the clock.... isnt that using huge amounts of water?

Then there are the issues with his set up as others have posted regarding pulling heat off the exhaust.

All in all it is neat but completely impractical.
 
That's just nonsense. Us mid west folks been drying cloths on a cloths line for years no matter what the season. I question his "off grid" statement. But that's just me. To each his own.
 
I admire the effort and ingenuity, but I don't like it. He's pulling heat off his exhaust, which should already be at minimal temperature, if his boiler is efficient. Better off building a heat exchanger to run off the boiler secondary, than pulling off the exhaust, I would think.

In addition to cooling his exhaust gases to the point where he may have creosote and other chimney troubles, this is not a fail-safe system. A failure of his flue pipe, however unlikely, might result in a clothes fire.

It's a neat concept and thinking outside the box. However, he states that his stack temp is around 150 and normal electric elements put out 180 or so. Drying time is increased. Does it cool down exhaust? Sure. But doesn't soemthing like the magic heat reclaimer work in the same principle?
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200331508_200331508

He might have a short chimney. Maybe he brushes once a month... Who knows....

Just my thoughts. I get why he wants this however, this really is not efficient when he can hang dry the clothes. I know he said that takes up room but honestly how many times a week is he washing clothes? The point of off grid is to minimize/ maximize energy consumption and use. To me this is using valuable electricity that could be diverted elsewhere. If he has clothes strewn everywhere everyday does this mean he has laundry going around the clock.... isnt that using huge amounts of water?

Then there are the issues with his set up as others have posted regarding pulling heat off the exhaust.

All in all it is neat but completely impractical.

Yes, but kind of hard to do during the winter months.
 
Great idea but I would agree this is pretty senseless unless like mentioned there is endless amounts of laundry.
I do 2-3 loads a week. Hang inside in the morning and even the heavy blue jeans and jackets are dry by late afternoon.
 
I too like the thinking outside the box if you will. but as others have stated, just hang them up. Especially in the winter, our clothes hung up inside the house dries pretty quick. Basically a day for jeans.
 
The hang up idea is good; however, I've noticed that our towels don't dry in our bathrooms when we use wood heat. Probably have to hang the clothes where the wood heater is located.
 
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