Coal fired clothed dryer?

I had this idea pop into my head & am curious to know if it would work. (Just what I need is one more project)

We have a propane clothes dryer. My idea is to convert it to hot water. Take a radiator out of an old Subaru or something and plumb it with a zone valve to the coal boiler. Build a sheet metal houseing in the cellar under the dryer & duct it through the floor into the dryer. Turn on the dryer, zone valve sends hot water through the radiator, heat dries the clothes.
I used my laser thermometer to see how hot the clothes get while drying. I whipped open the dryer door a few times and took readings. It was 120 to 145 degrees. Seems to me it might work!

My idea is patent free and open to anyone to use. Try it and let me know how it works out!

I've had a coal fired clothes dryer for 25 years! (a retractible clothes line running across the room in front of the Harman! )
Gives you the benefit of the Jeans standing all by themselves too!

I've got a solar powered clothes dryer. Doesn't use any coal.

coalkirk wrote:I've got a solar powered clothes dryer. Doesn't use any coal.

solar clothes dryer.jpg

Hey....I have one of those too! (My rich daughters don't know anything but to always run their electric clothes dryers!)

Ah yes, the sight of cloths hanging above the coal stove all winter. The smell of clean laundry waffing through the house. Now if I can just put a solar panel in front of the glass door on the stove and generate electricity from the glow.

coal-cooker wrote:Ah yes, the sight of cloths hanging above the coal stove all winter. The smell of clean laundry waffing through the house. Now if I can just put a solar panel in front of the glass door on the stove and generate electricity from the glow.

My 3 daughters grew up with me making them hang their wash in front of the coal stove. When I would leave for work there would be a mad dash (led by their mother) to the electric clothes dryer!

Our electricity rates have gone up over 80% here in the last 2 years. I pulled the plug on the clothes dryer. Luckily, my wife actually likes hanging the clothes out on the line. I made it easy for her by installing it on the deck to a tree about 100' away.

coalkirk wrote:Our electricity rates have gone up over 80% here in the last 2 years. I pulled the plug on the clothes dryer. Luckily, my wife actually likes hanging the clothes out on the line. I made it easy for her by installing it on the deck to a tree about 100' away.

I have the same setup off our deck & my wife doesn't mind using it. She draws the line with hanging towels & jeans in front of the Harman though. (She will hang sweaters, etc downstairs in the winter though)

You don't really need heat in a dryer. The purpose of heating the air is to expand it so that it will hold more water by volume. I used to have steam dryers at my plant and the steam temperature was around 375* on average. The unit had two coils, one just after the other. The first coil would raise ambient by about 150* and the second would raise it about another 70*. That gives you a temp around 280* and would take about 20 minutes to dry 400# of shirts. The new gas dryers can run temps at 500*+ and will dry them in 5 minutes. Using a hot water single coil @ 185* would take almost as long as using no heat as you may only pick up about 50-60 degrees. Why not try timing a load on fluff and compare it to what it normally takes? Heating the air is the largest cost of operating a dryer, spinning the drum and fan is cheap.

Thats an interesting idea.

Got people talking! Good fun. Coalkirk, how much is your electricity now? Last I knew Maine had about the highest rates in the nation. We are 17.9 cents a kwh. The propane dryer is cheaper than electric, but propane's price goes by how much you use. Last fill up was $4.39 a gallon. Three or four years ago the propane was $15 a month, now it's $45. Dryer & cookstove is all we use it for.

On Cape Cod, MA .217/kwh for my April bill but I pay for "green" energy.
The extra bit is tax deductable and helps promote alternate energy sources.

WOW! You guys are getting bent over with no lube on your electric rates. I am paying .09 a Kwh here and I thought that was too much.

Coal is cheaper down that way too!
But we have fresh ocean breezes and the best seafood!

I also have a coal fired clothes dryer it's the clothes line in my basement in between my stove and a lasko fan. but be sure to take down the clothes before bedtime or else the clothes block the flow of air to the upstairs causing the oil burner to kick on.