Washer/drier yes or no what brand

[Panacea2183]

Wow lots of info
Thanks to everyone for replying will do more research
Splendide can't seem to tell me wattage useage is for wash only as I'm open to hang drying when at anchor (90%) want to use inverter.
Nice to have the drier option while at dock or running genset
Current goal is to run genset 1 hour per day
Installing 780 watts of solar, have 1000 amp/hour batt bank and 30 gal/Hr water maker.(120v ac)
Use a lot of power because of the ice maker (got to have ice for sundowners!)
Thanks again for all the replys just getting sick of loading up the dink every 2 weeks and heading to the laundry (when there is one!)

[singlespeed]

We have Splendide 2000S, bought from West Marine. The unit didn't like our modified sine wave inverter, but runs fine on either 50 or 60 Hertz shore power, up and down the Eastern Caribbean. Changed out to a full sine wave inverter and no difference. Splendide US was very helpful, including sending me the technician's manual. They were surprised that West Marine was selling the unit into the marine trade, as it is an apartment refrigerator, totally unmarinized. After four years afloat, the front panel has lots of visible rust.

We never use the drier function, hanging up the clothes is quicker and cheaper.
The unit is quiet and does clean clothes very well, with minimal water consumption.

My advice, find a cheap Japanese/Chinese/Korean machine with a full plastic housing.

[Robert C]

1958(?)Maytag wringer/washer. I figure it will last forever. Wash in seawater,(no soap, no pollution) rinse in freshwater, hang it on the boom to dry.
I recommend chopping the legs off and putting some type of cushion under it so it can sit on the back of the cockpit.
Yes, I'm a 500 a month dreamer. I don't need money to be happy.

[jheldatksuedu]

The spin portion is the most important feature, then the wash, The one I have, splendide wd2100, does not allow you to just use the spin or the dry alone, it only can run a complete cycle. Check into that. I plan to modify the control board on mine to allow just the spin. I hardly ever use the dry, but certainly could imagine where it would be handy.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I guess it takes all kinds but the idea of wasting space and power on a washer or drier is strange to me. Between wash and wear clothing, soap in a bucket, and sun drying I think most boaters are fully equipped. Of course many marinas offer on site laundromats for a better wash job and bed linens. Laundry room on board? how about a hot tub or pool table?

I had a Splendide ventless combo for several years and it was pretty much worthless as a drier but washed well. I was waiting for it to break, and once it did I purchased a Haier apartment sized washer and dryer. They work awesome washing and drying. The pair is around $400 at Lowes.

Dave, I'll have the hot tub installed later this summer :-)

[tkeithlu]

We use a Haier ventless washer-drier. Pluses - it washes and very nearly dries the clothes with no vent - it has a condenser. Spread the clothes while still hot and they dry. It uses very little water. Minuses - it weighs 185 pounds, and only does small loads. I don't think we would put queen sized sheets through it. It needs the genset or the engine running - it uses far too much power for an inverter. For keeping up with Bahamas level clothes, it's just fine. Getting it down the ladder to the forward cabin was a bear.

[Symphony]

We once spent a week in Narragansett Bay as it rained all the time, and a week in the north of Queensland when it rained 24 hours a day, non stop. Soon the inside of the boat was a bunch of hanging clothes and towels. I noted then that washing could be done in a tub or sink, but a dryer was really something that was irreplaceable. Yet the comments here are the opposite idea.

where do you dry clothes in a damp, cool, rainy place?

[Schooner Chandlery]

We used a combo w/d made by Edgestar (vented and purchased from Compact Appliance) from 2006-2014. Used it in an apartment while we were rebuilding the boat and then aboard the boat from late 2008 on. It actually had a problem with the frame that holds the drum sheave relative to the motor cracking -- and note to self that on a rough ocean passage the drum can move a LOT and it may have been better for us to secure the drum so it wouldn't move before passages but we really didn't think about that until we were wondering how the frame could have those big stress cracks... LOL.

Replaced it with another Edgestar W/D combo but the vented dryer option wasn't available so we must use the condensation dryer if we use the dryer part. Not much of a problem since we usually hang clothes to dry.

Symphony asks about rain, rain, rain...we've only sailed in cold climates that have rain, rain, rain and in those cases we are also running our diesel heater 24/7 and it keeps the boat toasty warm and dry and the clothes dry just fine. In a more tropical environment I'm not sure what one would do.

We've appreciated the W/D combo unit (only takes the space of 1 appliance not two) alot and especially when remote. There is nothing like being able to wash clothes and get everything clean. The old one used between 6 and 11 gallons/load this one uses similar but if using the condensation dryer of course that wastes some extra water.

My husband and I both really love having the W/D aboard. Because we weren't remote in 2015 we didn't replace the old unit until January 2016. A little over a year without a working W/D we did laundry on the foredeck at anchor, used a old-style wringer to press the water out and hung things to dry (inside or out depending on WX) and while in town/marina, used the pay W/D. All just long enough to realize that we really, really love having our own W/D aboard. We were toying with the idea of repairing the frame but then just said "nah, get a new one" and did so. Got the new Edgestar from Compact Appliance online as well. On sale, free shipping, it was $500. Normally would have been more like $750 or so.

Stay clean

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

We use a Haier ventless washer-drier. Pluses - it washes and very nearly dries the clothes with no vent - it has a condenser. Spread the clothes while still hot and they dry. It uses very little water. Minuses - it weighs 185 pounds, and only does small loads. I don't think we would put queen sized sheets through it. It needs the genset or the engine running - it uses far too much power for an inverter. For keeping up with Bahamas level clothes, it's just fine. Getting it down the ladder to the forward cabin was a bear.

The Haier units I purchased were separate washer and dryer. They both weight about 40 lbs each and run on my 3kw inverter. The dryer is HLP141E and the washer is HLP21N , about $200 ea. 2 years of constant use and so far very pleased.

[Hobie_ind]

We've got an Eumina 1000F (European so I know that may not be as helpful to you) that is wash/spin dry only. Fairly small (about 4kg), but it works well for us as a family of 4 and only uses about 30-40 litres per load on the economy cycle. It says 2000W on the back and we regularly run it off our inverter during the middle of the day and still are,putting power into the batteries from an 825 W solar array.

Depending on your engine room configuration, a friend of ours in the PNW had a short clothesline set up in his engine room where he could hang a small load. When he couldn't hang clothes outside, he commented that even in the PNW the clothes dried pretty quickly with the heat from the generator and engine room blower going while charging batteries.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Symphony

We once spent a week in Narragansett Bay as it rained all the time, and a week in the north of Queensland when it rained 24 hours a day, non stop. Soon the inside of the boat was a bunch of hanging clothes and towels. I noted then that washing could be done in a tub or sink, but a dryer was really something that was irreplaceable. Yet the comments here are the opposite idea.

where do you dry clothes in a damp, cool, rainy place?

I completely agree. Washing clothes in a bucket is a bit of a pain, but doable. In cold, wet weather, however, there is just no way to dry anything. Buckets won't help you. For me, the dryer is the most irreplaceable part of the system.

I love my washer/dryer in general, but it has one big flaw -- it vents directly to the cabin, dumping huge amounts of wet air. There is an opening port right above but you can't open it when it's raining, and it's not enough in any case. I keep meaning to rig up a hose to stick in the oblong vent and hang out the port -- need to do that.

But in general -- boat should either be designed with a vent, or use a condensing dryer. No one I guess would waste fresh water on that, but I suppose you could use sea water if the heat exchanger is plastic. Or better yet, for boats with chilled water air conditioning systems, you could circulate the chilled water through the heat exchanger. That would be a really neat solution. Are their dryers which have small a/c compressors, like a dehumidifier has, instead of using fresh water flow, for their condensors?

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I completely agree. Washing clothes in a bucket is a bit of a pain, but doable. In cold, wet weather, however, there is just no way to dry anything. Buckets won't help you. For me, the dryer is the most irreplaceable part of the system.

I love my washer/dryer in general, but it has one big flaw -- it vents directly to the cabin, dumping huge amounts of wet air. There is an opening port right above but you can't open it when it's raining, and it's not enough in any case. I keep meaning to rig up a hose to stick in the oblong vent and hang out the port -- need to do that.

But in general -- boat should either be designed with a vent, or use a condensing dryer. No one I guess would waste fresh water on that, but I suppose you could use sea water if the heat exchanger is plastic. Or better yet, for boats with chilled water air conditioning systems, you could circulate the chilled water through the heat exchanger. That would be a really neat solution. Are their dryers which have small a/c compressors, like a dehumidifier has, instead of using fresh water flow, for their condensors?

On our old unit, we just would open a nearby porthole to run the dryer vent to the outside. On our new one, it has the condensing dryer so no vent required. That portion uses about 1 to 2 gallons of fresh water. Not a big deal for someone with a watermaker or at the marinas but certainly worth considering when remote and on water tanks. We're in a marina right now for an extended period (thus the ability to be online chatting about such things as W/D...) so just use the condensing dryer with no problems getting more water.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I guess it takes all kinds but the idea of wasting space and power on a washer or drier is strange to me. Between wash and wear clothing, soap in a bucket, and sun drying I think most boaters are fully equipped. Of course many marinas offer on site laundromats for a better wash job and bed linens. Laundry room on board? how about a hot tub or pool table?

Since the original question started with yes/no, I am also voting no.

I find that the mindset of those that have always had the "luxuries of life" is sometimes an obstacle to their comfort , once those luxuries are no longer convenient.

If a machine is easy for you to fit and maintain, go for it. But by the fact that you started out asking yes or no, means maybe that you might be happy to hear no.

When I read about a family of 7, then I can see a big yes. There are a lot of other post here that I would think yes might be a better fit as well. So don't think I am judging anyone. But if your open to the idea of no, then be aware that in my experience, there are probably a lot more boats out there without machines than what this thread represents. But then, the cruising community that I know is also overwhelmingly sailboats, without the space and the other considerations needed for a machine.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by Minggat

.......

I find that the mindset of those that have always had the "luxuries of life" is sometimes an obstacle to their comfort , once those luxuries are no longer convenient.

........

But then, the cruising community that I know is also overwhelmingly sailboats, without the space and the other considerations needed for a machine.

Each man (or in my case, woman) has his or her own idea of what is a luxury. For example, to keep our boat simple, we do not have the luxury of refrigeration (not even an ice box though we do have a tiny igloo cooler that we could use), we do not have pressure fresh water (except for a pump solely in use for the washing machine), we do not have roller furling (not simple), we do not have power winches (though most boats with our size would) etc, etc, etc. We DO have a washer/dryer because having multiple ways of keeping things clean and dry, IMO, is not a luxury.

Costwise it cannot rank as luxury--During the period of time we've owned and used the W/D aboard, including a factor for what it costs to generate the power, we're below the cost of using laundry ashore for the two of us.

How true that if someone doesn't have room for it, they don't have room for it. That's the life aboard though it's often a series of compromises and decisions regarding what one has room for. We could have put in a standing shower room or wet locker in the spot which now houses the W/D. We re-configured the forecastle where anchor chain and fenders live to be a wet room with shower floor pump so that we can shower there instead in a dual purpose room (with solar shower since no, we don't typically have hot water either).

Luxuries are in the eye of the beholder. I find the space many owner's staterooms take up, or having multiple staterooms for the occasional guest rather than pilot berths or other temporary berths to be a wasteful luxury and such space could be configured for all sorts of useful things like a W/D or a proper forecastle, for example. Every one of us is unique in view and opinion on the issues. Regarding a W/D, most people who have them really like it. Most people who don't seem to wonder why you'd have one. Guess it's like refrigeration, huh?

[Minggat]

Very well put.
In the end, it's what works for you.

Thread drift alert.

At the same time, too many of the things that I thought were a good idea up front, turned out to be a waste of time, effort and of course $$.

I would never want to own a car without AC, but it doesn't bother me at all to spend much more of my life aboard without it. In Mexico I would just shower down in the cockpit 3 times a day, and I though I was in heaven.