The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?

I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote in
news:a57233da-6577-4a8e-a705-32e23340cea6n@googlegroups.com:

> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also
> on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>
> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as
> a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90
> degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>

That would be a 240V outlet and if it is only wired 120V it is wrong.

Wait... same size? Sounds like "medical grade" or such.

They had a higher current rating. But hospital gadgetry has gotten
far more efficient and less power consumptive, so "Hospital Grade" is
just a way for the makers of those connectors to suck more money out of
a certain demographic, like "medical use". They have now gone full
COTS and there are computer carts they use now to run around from
office to office taking vitals and other data. Like a Nurse's
assistant thing. So most of the outlets I have seen in rooms are
standard 120V, likely GFCI.

Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>
> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.

Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.

I expect things like that not to be common in the USA, where people
usually don't care about energy consumption. But maybe when you really
need to connect something to a 120V socket, it would be a good option.

(we don't have that issue here as we have 230V and can draw 2500-3500W
from a standard outlet)

On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>>
>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>
> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.

They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.

Sylvia.

Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:
> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>>>
>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>
>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
>> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>
> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>
> Sylvia.

They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs in
about 4 years.

Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe we
do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies as
a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.

Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!

On Monday, 4 October 2021 at 10:36:08 UTC+1, Rob wrote:
> Sylvia Else <syl...@email.invalid> wrote:
> > On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
> >> Rick C <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
> >>>
> >>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
> >>
> >> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
> >> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
> >> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
> >
> > They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
> >
> > Sylvia.
> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs in
> about 4 years.
>
> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe we
> do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies as
> a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>
> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!

Heat pump machines are an improvement. More sensible is just a fan, dries things overnight, costs far less to buy & run, consumes no space.

Sylvia Else wrote:
==============
>
> > Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
> > instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
> > they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>
> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>

** Plenty to be found in Australia too.
Big advantage in premises with limited electric power available.
Ordinary clothes driers push single phase ccts to their limit.

....... Phil

Tabby wrote:
==========
>
> Heat pump machines are an improvement.
> More sensible is just a fan, dries things overnight,
> costs far less to buy & run, consumes no space.
>

** Ha ha, do exactly that when the weather is rainy myself.
Just string a few metres of line up and blow right down it with an 80W pedestal fan.

Otherwise, direct solar energy ( plus wind) is free and amasingly effective...

....... Phil

On 10/4/2021 2:36 AM, Rob wrote:
> Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:
>> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>>> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>>>>
>>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>>
>>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
>>> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>
>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>
> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs in
> about 4 years.
>
> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe we
> do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies as
> a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>
> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!

My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
household and not "clothes hogs").

Assuming euros == dollars (not!), that would be 25 years to
break even at a $300 premium.

You'd think european manufacturers would have sorted out how
to make a dryer for less of a premium!

Don Yobbo wrote:
===============
>
> > Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>
> My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
> to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
> household and not "clothes hogs").

** So you use a fan ?

Cos any electric real drier would cost 20 times that to run over a year.

...... Phil

On 10/4/2021 3:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
> My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
> to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
> household and not "clothes hogs").

No, that can't be correct (dryer is 15 years old so the rating is
"dated"). I'll have to drag out our most recent electric bill to
see what we're paying (transportation costs, taxes, fees, etc.)

I'm *sure* we spend more running computers than drying
clothes!

Rob <nomail@example.com> wrote in
news:slrnsllio0.57u.nomail@xs9.xs4all.nl:

> Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:
>> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>>> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's
>>>> also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that
>>>> before?
>>>>
>>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size
>>>> as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned
>>>> 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>>
>>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power
>>> so they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>
>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound
>> economic.
>>
>> Sylvia.
>
> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs
> in about 4 years.
>
> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe
> we do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies
> as a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>
> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>

We do and have for decades. We call them Clothes lines.

On 10/4/2021 3:54 AM, Don Y wrote:
> On 10/4/2021 3:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
>> My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
>> to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
>> household and not "clothes hogs").
>
> No, that can't be correct (dryer is 15 years old so the rating is
> "dated"). I'll have to drag out our most recent electric bill to
> see what we're paying (transportation costs, taxes, fees, etc.)
>
> I'm *sure* we spend more running computers than drying
> clothes!

Including all fees, transportation & generation costs, taxes,
etc. we pay ~14c/KWHr. ($237/1661KWHr last month) Because we're
big consumers, we pay more per KWHr (rate is graduated upwards with
increased usage).

Dryer is rated at 5400W. Assume it is operating at its rated
power consumption (despite the fact that we don't dry things on
high heat!).

Three loads per week. Each load takes 20 minutes to dry
(give or take a couple). So, figure a full hour at full
power ... 5.4KWHr per week. So, 75c/wk. Laundry doesn't
take holidays so $39/yr.

*If* we dried at high heat! If, as most energy estimators
assume, we were only drawing 3500W, derate that figure to
$25/yr.

$300 (neglecting euro:dollar conversion rate) is still 7.5
years payback (12 yrs if derated) -- neglecting cost of money.

On 04/10/2021 11:17, Tabby wrote:
> On Monday, 4 October 2021 at 10:36:08 UTC+1, Rob wrote:
>> Sylvia Else <syl...@email.invalid> wrote:
>>> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>>>> Rick C <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>>>>>
>>>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>>>
>>>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>>>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
>>>> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>>
>>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>>>
>>> Sylvia.
>> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs in
>> about 4 years.
>>
>> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe we
>> do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies as
>> a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>>
>> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>
> Heat pump machines are an improvement. More sensible is just a fan, dries things overnight, costs far less to buy & run, consumes no space.
>

Just hang the clothes on the back of the freezer. Make your own heat
pump by filling the freezer with bottles of water and periodically
putting them outside to thaw.

--
Cheers
Clive

On 10/4/2021 4:35 AM, Clive Arthur wrote:
> Just hang the clothes on the back of the freezer. Make your own heat pump by
> filling the freezer with bottles of water and periodically putting them outside
> to thaw.

Or, outdoors as we did growing up.

[At school (campus-wide steam heating plant), we had these large
vertical drawers that you'd slide out of this huge assembly;
you could drape a bedsheet unimpeded and have it dried in a matter
of minutes!]

Doesn't work well, here, as there is often a lot of dust in the
air. And, when not, then plant-sourced allergens. Who the hell
wants to wrap themselves in pollen-laden clothing?

[OTOH, the air *does* smell particularly fragrant! Unless there's
a wildfire within a few hundred miles!]

Don Y wrote:
===========
>
>
> Dryer is rated at 5400W. Assume it is operating at its rated
> power consumption (despite the fact that we don't dry things on
> high heat!).
>
> Three loads per week. Each load takes 20 minutes to dry
> (give or take a couple).

** We = how many ?

That 3 loads a week figure is barely enough for one.

........ Phil

Tabby <tabbypurr@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, 4 October 2021 at 10:36:08 UTC+1, Rob wrote:
>> Sylvia Else <syl...@email.invalid> wrote:
>> > On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>> >> Rick C <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>> >>>
>> >>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>> >>
>> >> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>> >> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
>> >> they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>> >
>> > They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>> >
>> > Sylvia.
>> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs in
>> about 4 years.
>>
>> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe we
>> do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies as
>> a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>>
>> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>
> Heat pump machines are an improvement. More sensible is just a fan, dries things overnight, costs far less to buy & run, consumes no space.

I don't have a dryer myself. I have a washing machine that spins at
1400 RPM and I hang the clothes on a line in the spare room. Dry in
a couple of hours, at most half a day when it is raining outside.

But I am depicting the situation with dryers as it is here.

DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org <DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org> wrote:
> Rob <nomail@example.com> wrote in
> news:slrnsllio0.57u.nomail@xs9.xs4all.nl:
>
>> Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:
>>> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>>>> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's
>>>>> also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that
>>>>> before?
>>>>>
>>>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size
>>>>> as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned
>>>>> 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>>>
>>>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>>>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power
>>>> so they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>>
>>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound
>>> economic.
>>>
>>> Sylvia.
>>
>> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs
>> in about 4 years.
>>
>> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe
>> we do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies
>> as a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>>
>> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>>
>
> We do and have for decades. We call them Clothes lines.

Yes that is what I am using as well, I only depicted what a dryer
would be here. They are used by people with limited indoor space,
or maybe lazy people who don't like to hang the clothes on a line
one by one.

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
> On 10/4/2021 3:54 AM, Don Y wrote:
>> On 10/4/2021 3:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
>>> My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
>>> to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
>>> household and not "clothes hogs").
>>
>> No, that can't be correct (dryer is 15 years old so the rating is
>> "dated"). I'll have to drag out our most recent electric bill to
>> see what we're paying (transportation costs, taxes, fees, etc.)
>>
>> I'm *sure* we spend more running computers than drying
>> clothes!
>
> Including all fees, transportation & generation costs, taxes,
> etc. we pay ~14c/KWHr. ($237/1661KWHr last month) Because we're
> big consumers, we pay more per KWHr (rate is graduated upwards with
> increased usage).

Electricity is much more expensive here. 1661kWh that is what I
use in half a year. And according to my electricity company, I
am an above-average user (for my type of house and household).

On Mon, 4 Oct 2021 03:53:40 -0700 (PDT), Phil Allison
<pallison49@gmail.com> wrote:

> Don Yobbo wrote:
>===============
>>
>> > Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>>
>> My "inexpensive" dryer costs about $12/year to operate (according
>> to the gummit -- I suspect it costs us LESS as we're a small
>> household and not "clothes hogs").
>
>** So you use a fan ?
>
> Cos any electric real drier would cost 20 times that to run over a year.
>
>
>..... Phil

That $12 is in the ballpark of what we'd pay if we used a electric
dryer, or maybe a bit low based on California electric rates. But we
use gas for the heat and the small electric motor just tumbles the
drum.

A clothes dryer is far more convenient than a clothesline or a fan,
and de-wrinkles stuff.

A heat pump clothes dryer sounds over-the-top to me. One of those
won't reduce global temperature by a picokelvin. And has refrigerent
inside.

To Save The Earth, shower and wash your clothes less often. Eat more
raw veggies that you grow yourself.

--

Father Brown's figure remained quite dark and still;
but in that instant he had lost his head. His head was
always most valuable when he had lost it.

On Mon, 4 Oct 2021 11:17:16 -0000 (UTC),
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

>Rob <nomail@example.com> wrote in
>news:slrnsllio0.57u.nomail@xs9.xs4all.nl:
>
>> Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:
>>> On 04-Oct-21 7:27 pm, Rob wrote:
>>>> Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's
>>>>> also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that
>>>>> before?
>>>>>
>>>>> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size
>>>>> as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned
>>>>> 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>>>>
>>>> Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>>>> instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power
>>>> so they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>>
>>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound
>>> economic.
>>>
>>> Sylvia.
>>
>> They cost like 300 euro more, which we save on electricity costs
>> in about 4 years.
>>
>> Not a stunning economic difference, but you know what? In Europe
>> we do consider the environment, and are not only watching pennies
>> as a decisiion criterium when buying energy wasting equipment.
>>
>> Maybe in the US you should start doing that too!
>>
>
>We do and have for decades. We call them Clothes lines.

Some places have sudden rain showers, which can be a nuisance.

Women used to be always-available housewives and could watch out for
the clothes on the line. Not so much today. My gram in New Orleans
would shriek and run out to collect the wash at the first drops. They
would take essentially forever to dry in the winter, at 90% humidity,
and would often come off the line smelling sour and musty.

She had 8 kids and cooked over a wood stove. No time for college or a
career.

--

Father Brown's figure remained quite dark and still;
but in that instant he had lost his head. His head was
always most valuable when he had lost it.

On Mon, 4 Oct 2021 03:21:50 -0700 (PDT), Phil Allison
<pallison49@gmail.com> wrote:

> Sylvia Else wrote:
>==============
> >
>> > Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
>> > instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
>> > they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
>>
>> They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
>>
>
>** Plenty to be found in Australia too.
> Big advantage in premises with limited electric power available.
> Ordinary clothes driers push single phase ccts to their limit.
>
>
>
>...... Phil
>
>

Wouldn't a lower power dryer just run longer?

The ultimate low power clothes dryer might not have a heater at all.
Just a fan and the tumble drum. I wonder how well that would work.

Do the heat pumps also de-humidify?

--

Father Brown's figure remained quite dark and still;
but in that instant he had lost his head. His head was
always most valuable when he had lost it.

On Monday, October 4, 2021 at 6:21:53 AM UTC-4, palli...@gmail.com wrote:
> Sylvia Else wrote:
> ==============
> >
> > > Over here in Europe we have clothes dryers that use heat pumping
> > > instead of electric heating. They use like 700-1000W of power so
> > > they could easily work from a standard 120V socket.
> >
> > They no doubt save energy, but at what cost? They don't sound economic.
> >
> ** Plenty to be found in Australia too.
> Big advantage in premises with limited electric power available.
> Ordinary clothes driers push single phase ccts to their limit.
>
>
>
> ...... Phil
My electric service is 100A at 240VAC, center tapped which is considered small. 200A is becoming the newer stadard where home have Central Air Conditioning. A typical dryer is on a 20A circuit My heat pump with heat strips has two 30A 240 volt breakers.

Rick C <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:
> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on
> an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?

Yes, on all natural gas or propane powered clothes dryers. Is the
dryer also connected to a natural gas supply or propane tank?

For a "gas" powered dryer, the heat is obtained from burning the fuel,
so the dryer only needs a standard 120v cord to run the timer
controller and the drum spin/air blower motor.

On Monday, October 4, 2021 at 3:30:05 AM UTC-4, gnuarm.del...@gmail.com wrote:
> The dryer here seems to be plugged into a 120V outlet. It's also on an extension cord. Anyone see anything like that before?
>
> I suppose it's actually a 240V connector which is the same size as a standard 120V connector but having one or more pins turned 90 degrees. Still, those aren't very high current.
>
> --
>
Yes there are 120 volt dryers. they sit on top of the matching washer. They are made for older apartments or mobile homes. Lowe's and Home Depot both carried them.