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Hanging clothes of the line on a warm summer day is
undoubtedly the most cost-effective and environmentally
sensitive manner to dry ones clothes. However, I find
pegging
each individual item on the line as a fiddly, time-consuming
process which I'm often likely to forgo for the convenience
of
tossing the entire mass of wet laundry into the tumble dryer
and getting on with other things.
The solution proffered is the best of both worlds. It's a large
mesh
barrel mounted horizontally on a rotating frame with a large
access hatch on the side. Simply toss the sodden mass into
the access hatch, latch it shut and turn on the tumbling
action. It will still use some electricity (although you can
use
wind-power to rotate the drum if you wish) but draws much
less electricity
than
the conventional tumble dryer inside with all it's vents and
heating elements. On a hot, windy Aussie day the clothes
will
dry faster than conventional mechanical methods and other
days will be slower - but cheaper. You will reap the added
benefit of having no creases in your dried clothes caused by
pegs
and clotheslines.
[link]
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Similar devices were improvised in the Pacific theatre in WW2 by USAAF crews on some of the islands like Tinian. |
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If it was lightweight, low geared and solar-powered (maybe with a battery to store energy when not operating) it could be cheap and very cost-effective. |
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Since it operates at low speeds and ambient temperatures, the drum could be plastic. |
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On a windless day, a fan could be used as well... run through a black tube for extra solar heat. |
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A semi-cylindrical mirror could collect solar energy and direct it onto a black-body surface under the drum. |
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Then, a black chimney would pull the warm, humid air up and away from the garments, sucking in hot, dry air. |
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This could be sold as a DIY kit, or a set of plans. |
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This is not the topology I was expecting. I had hoped that this was going to be a tumble dryer in which the drum could be fixed, thereby causing the rest of the room to revolve instead, for drying large quantities of clothing. |
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Don't have the bird crap problem that you get with
clotheslines either. Good idea. |
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I'm guessing you'd get a net savings in power usage by
eliminating the heating elements, but it would be offset by
the fact that the motor would have to run for quite a bit
longer. |
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Maybe have the motor be solar powered for hot windless
areas. |
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