Combined washer / heat pump dryer.

[Darrylle]

I don't have a boat yet, but WILL, shortly.
I'm researching everything 'narrowboat' like a man possessed (when I get 5 minutes to breathe from DIY-ing my home - to sell).
It may happen that I'll commission a boat WHILST I'm doing this (personal situation depends ...).
A ) Pri #1: I'll be solo, and 'constant cruising', so 'remote control' is a must. (I'm not dashing around locks at 61 years old - I'll have enough to contend with a new canal living life-style, after 60 years of everything simply 'working' on land. 😉 
B ) Pri #2: I want a BEST QUALITY washer / dryer, BUT, the dryer MUST be heat-pump. Why? Well because I have both electric heated AND heat pump dryers (on land). And the heated one is like a 2kw kettle for an hour, where the heat-pump dryer is like a light-bulb for MORE hours (just a motor rotating a drum).
Now, that is obviously an over-simplification, BUT, in essence - it DOES highlight the difference in dependency on electricity.
And yep - I DO understand that a heat-pump is absolutely dependant on ambient heat, which MUST come from somewhere, and that, I intend to come from a Refleks diesel heater and diesel boiler (central heating) - which has an 'unlimited' supply of fuel (-ISH, especially if I have 'backup' jerry cans for diesel).
The 'washer' side is also problematic (I DO know) - with water usage, from a limited / on-board supply of water, so; THAT also is something that needs consideration. (A washer feature that is capable of minimal water usage).
I also KNOW, beyond a shadow of doubt, that 'combined' functionality ALWAYS results in reduced efficiency. (ALWAYS, because SPECIFIC functionality ALWAYS has to 'give' something, in order to allow other 'combined' features). However; SPACE is ALSO a premium, because I can only have 57 feet (in order to traverse the entire network).
All boating decisions seem to always have a 'yeah but'. 

So, without giving me options of 'just wash your clothes when you come to a marina', is there anyone with experience of such an appliance?
I'm designing my new boat around what I have decided upon. This is my new life (as an option to death - TBH). 
If no such appliance exists, then so-be-it; maybe someone might look at making one, and I'll have to give away another 600mm to 2 appliances. 

Thank you in advance. 

P.S. This isn't my TOTAL 'priorities' list - for my boat; just for this post. (My boat design has 'solar' priorities - taking up all of the cabin roof (and possibly an extra,  levered panel at the prow). Who knows? I don't know the possible yet. That's why I'm asking questions of people who live it.
Also, I mean to 'constant cruise', and that in my view means 'constant' - not 2 week camps every 20 miles (because of CRT 'rules'). So, 'washing lines' aren't much of an option, and aren't in winter anyway. 😉

 

Edited December 3 by Darrylle

[Alan de Enfield]

6 hours ago, Darrylle said:

A ) Pri #1: I'll be solo, and 'constant cruising', so 'remote control' is a must. (I'm not dashing around locks at 61 years old

 

At 61 you will be a 'youngster' on the waterways (and most likely on this forum).

 

What do you mean by "remote control" ?

 

Are you looking at an arrangement of bow and stern thrusters that are radio controlled and can be operated from a 'black-box' when you are at the lock and want to bring the boat in / out of the lock ?

(I have seen one such boat that was owned by a single handed disabled guy (solo boater - not a one-armed guy)- once he'd managed to get off the boat at the lock and open the gates the rest was remote-controlled. The problem is that once you leave the boat to go to the lock it will drift about banging into things, if you tie it up then you have to go back from the lock to untie it which rather defeats the object.)

[nicknorman]

As you say, everything on a narrowboat is a compromise! Firstly to answer your direct question, I have no experience of a heat pump washer dryer. The only experiences I have had of a few "ordinary" washer dryers has been very negative when it comes to the drying bit. They are terrible! They fry and crease clothes without managing to dry them in a reasonable time.

 

I have a few points to offer:

As a solo boater you don't need a full size washing machine. We have a compact Zanussi washer and, whilst it would be no use for a family of 4, it is fine for the 2 of us on a boat. Bear in mind that part of being a boater is that you don't shower and put on clean clothes every day, well maybe apart from the heatwaves in summer. If you always smell of soap you will be spurned by fellow boaters as being weird!

Lots of people drape their damp washing around the boat etc. I hate this! If you have a bow deck with cratch cover you can hang your washing there, but we don't and anyway I don't really like displaying my knickers to passers by. So we got a compact vented tumble drier, same size as the Zanussi. We sited it in a "lost corner" in the galley so it doesn't take up any visible space. Yes it is therefore slightly dificult to access, and we run a vent hose from it out of the galley window when in use. But in practice it is fine.

 

Oh and I wouldn't worry too much about water consumption, it is rare not to find a water point somewhere during a reasonable day's cruise. Our Zanussi uses less than 1/4 tank of water even with the "extra rinse" button pressed. Get a water tank gauge so you are not guessing how much is in there.

 

We too wanted 57' go-anywhere but after discussions with our builder, we added 2' to the galley and went for 59'. This is in practice pretty much "go anywhere" as the short locks up north are all wide, and a 59' boat can fit diagonally across a 57' lock. Although we haven't attempted the upper reaches of the Calder and Hebble beyond Dewsbury nor the Hud Broad (which I think has the shortest locks) we have done everything else without difficulty.

 

Yes vented tumble driers use plenty of electricity - ours is 2kw on for perhaps 50 mins which is too much to take from the batteries really. But like you intend, we cruise a lot and simply put the drier on when we are cruising so it is powered by the engine alternators not by the batteries.

 

Which brings me to power generation and storage. Solar is great. But only for about 9 months of the year. For 3 months it is virtually useless for running power hungry appliances. So IMO chosing an engine and electrical system with plenty of generating power makes a lot of sense. We have a Beta 43 and opted for the Travelpower which, as well as the ~2kw available from the 12v alternators via inverter, gives us up to another 3.5kw. Or to put it another way, the ability to run the drier AND charge the batteries rapidly at the same time.

If I were doing it again I would probably opt for an uprated alternator and a bigger inverter and just use that. See Ed Shiers excellent website at four counties marine. He knows his stuff!

Finally I would suggest that it would be crazy to commission a new boat and not use lithium batteries. Again, Ed is your man to advise. Lead acid batteries are the equivalent of the horse to propel the boat, Lithium is the equivalent of the warp drive!

 

Edited December 3 by nicknorman

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The limiting factor with automatic washing machines is the max speed in the spin cycle. I use a twin tub portable camping machine and have done for years. The spin tub in this is much better than any single tub auto and gets clothes much dryer, making line drying, indoors, or out, much shorter. No need for a dryer, heat pumped, or otherwise. It also uses electric only for spinning and pumps, not for heating. Hot water comes from other sources that don't cane the batteries. A simple twin tub is fine for a solo boater. 

[IanD]

8 hours ago, Darrylle said:

I don't have a boat yet, but WILL, shortly.
I'm researching everything 'narrowboat' like a man possessed (when I get 5 minutes to breathe from DIY-ing my home - to sell).
It may happen that I'll commission a boat WHILST I'm doing this (personal situation depends ...).
A ) Pri #1: I'll be solo, and 'constant cruising', so 'remote control' is a must. (I'm not dashing around locks at 61 years old - I'll have enough to contend with a new canal living life-style, after 60 years of everything simply 'working' on land. 😉 
B ) Pri #2: I want a BEST QUALITY washer / dryer, BUT, the dryer MUST be heat-pump. Why? Well because I have both electric heated AND heat pump dryers (on land). And the heated one is like a 2kw kettle for an hour, where the heat-pump dryer is like a light-bulb for MORE hours (just a motor rotating a drum).
Now, that is obviously an over-simplification, BUT, in essence - it DOES highlight the difference in dependency on electricity.
And yep - I DO understand that a heat-pump is absolutely dependant on ambient heat, which MUST come from somewhere, and that, I intend to come from a Refleks diesel heater and diesel boiler (central heating) - which has an 'unlimited' supply of fuel (-ISH, especially if I have 'backup' jerry cans for diesel).
The 'washer' side is also problematic (I DO know) - with water usage, from a limited / on-board supply of water, so; THAT also is something that needs consideration. (A washer feature that is capable of minimal water usage).
I also KNOW, beyond a shadow of doubt, that 'combined' functionality ALWAYS results in reduced efficiency. (ALWAYS, because SPECIFIC functionality ALWAYS has to 'give' something, in order to allow other 'combined' features). However; SPACE is ALSO a premium, because I can only have 57 feet (in order to traverse the entire network).
All boating decisions seem to always have a 'yeah but'. 

So, without giving me options of 'just wash your clothes when you come to a marina', is there anyone with experience of such an appliance?
I'm designing my new boat around what I have decided upon. This is my new life (as an option to death - TBH). 
If no such appliance exists, then so-be-it; maybe someone might look at making one, and I'll have to give away another 600mm to 2 appliances. 

Thank you in advance. 

P.S. This isn't my TOTAL 'priorities' list - for my boat; just for this post. (My boat design has 'solar' priorities - taking up all of the cabin roof (and possibly an extra,  levered panel at the prow). Who knows? I don't know the possible yet. That's why I'm asking questions of people who live it.
Also, I mean to 'constant cruise', and that in my view means 'constant' - not 2 week camps every 20 miles (because of CRT 'rules'). So, 'washing lines' aren't much of an option, and aren't in winter anyway. 😉

 

AFAIK the only heat-pump washer-drier on the UK market is the AEG 9000 series, and it's very difficult to find and very expensive (about £1200) -- it's not even available direct from AEG UK.

 

As Nick said washer/dryer combos do have disadvantages compared to separate units -- but if (like most narrowboats) you don't have space for both they have the one *huge* advantage that you can have clean dry clothes, especially in wet weather. They do however consume a *lot* of power/energy and you need a hefty electrical system to provide this.

 

I've got a Zanussi washer-dryer on board and it works just fine; water consumption is quite high (about 60l per cycle) but I have a 900l water tank so that's fine. Energy use is about 3kWh per wash/dry cycle, not a problem given that my boat is electric and has a 10kVA inverter and 35kWh of batteries, so the energy is about the same as an hour's cruising. You don't run a wash that often anyway so neither is really a problem. It sits in the rear corner of the kitchen and chunters away quietly for a few hours, and out come clean dry clothes -- especially valuable when you've got wet and muddy in bad weather.

 

A heat pump one would probably save about a third of the energy use but that's not enough to be crucial -- 1kWh saving isn't suddenly going to make the difference between practical and not. I'd also say this doesn't justify the extra 2 feet of space for a separate drier compared to a combi, even though separates do -- as Nick said -- have other advantages.

 

So if it suits your needs and you can provide the power, a washer-drier on board is nice to have (but by no means essential), and a heat-pump one would be a bit better but by no means a game-changer.

Edited December 3 by IanD

[blackrose]

8 hours ago, Darrylle said:

A ) Pri #1: I'll be solo, and 'constant cruising', so 'remote control' is a must. (I'm not dashing around locks at 61 years old - I'll have enough to contend with a new canal living life-style, after 60 years of everything simply 'working' on land. 😉 
 

 

You will be walking around locks, there's no alternative to that I'm afraid - but you shouldn't be dashing except in an emergency. Running around leads to trips & slips and also at our age sometimes pulled muscles! That happened to me a few years ago when I stupidly started running around a lock to close a gate on the opposite side because some anglers were fishing on the lock landing and I didn't want to disrupt them any longer than necessary. Then I was hobbling in pain and suddenly the boat became a liability. In retrospect I should have taken my time and disrupted them for as long as I needed to.

 

I'm 63 and I work my widebeam through locks single-handed, but unlike a narrowboat going through broad locks I have to open and close all 4 gates.

 

Remote control definitely isn't "a must".

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

 

You will be walking around locks, there's no alternative to that I'm afraid - but you shouldn't be dashing except in an emergency. Running around leads to trips & slips and also at our age sometimes pulled muscles! That happened to me a few years ago when I stupidly started running around a lock to close a gate on the opposite side because some anglers were fishing on the lock landing and I didn't want to disrupt them any longer than necessary. Then I was hobbling in pain and suddenly the boat became a liability. In retrospect I should have taken my time and disrupted them for as long as I needed to.

 

I'm 63 and I work my widebeam through locks single-handed, but unlike a narrowboat going through broad locks I have to open and close all 4 gates.

 

Remote control definitely isn't "a must".

I'll second this. Slow, considered and steady is important when single handing through locks. I'm 61. Rushing leads to injury and worse at any age. 

[IanD]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

At 61 you will be a 'youngster' on the waterways (and most likely on this forum).

 

What do you mean by "remote control" ?

 

Are you looking at an arrangement of bow and stern thrusters that are radio controlled and can be operated from a 'black-box' when you are at the lock and want to bring the boat in / out of the lock ?

(I have seen one such boat that was owned by a single handed disabled guy (solo boater - not a one-armed guy)- once he'd managed to get off the boat at the lock and open the gates the rest was remote-controlled. The problem is that once you leave the boat to go to the lock it will drift about banging into things, if you tie it up then you have to go back from the lock to untie it which rather defeats the object.)

Several boats have installed remote controls like this, with varying degrees of success depending on the equipment and installation. I looked at it (easy with an electric boat) but decided it wasn't worth the cost and hassle, but then I'm always boating with at least one other person not solo.

 

The last problem is non-existent with modern proportional thrusters, you leave them running gently at low rpm (quiet, low power use, little wash) to keep the boat against the bank while you go to work the lock.

[Alan de Enfield]

15 minutes ago, IanD said:

Several boats have installed remote controls like this, with varying degrees of success depending on the equipment and installation. I looked at it (easy with an electric boat) but decided it wasn't worth the cost and hassle, but then I'm always boating with at least one other person not solo.

 

The boat / boater I'm talking about was very limited in his mobility - he even had a 'trailer' for his boat which contained his ride-on buggy, sitting on a remotely controlled hydraulic lift he just pulled up alongside and irrespective of the height (within limits) he could just 'drive' his buggy onto the towpath.

 

Without the modifications he would not have been able to boat, so in this instance the cost is (almost) irrelevant.

 

His boat was well known in Yorkshire and the Midlands - "Victoria Plum"

 

 

 

 

[Chris John]

29 minutes ago, IanD said:

AFAIK the only heat-pump washer-drier on the UK market is the AEG 9000 series, and it's very difficult to find and very expensive (about £1200) -- it's not even available direct from AEG UK.

Loads on John Lewis website. Cheapest is Beko at £299 AEG one is £419. Most expensive is Miele at £1649 

[IanD]

1 minute ago, Chris John said:

Loads on John Lewis website. Cheapest is Beko at £299 AEG one is £419. Most expensive is Miele at £1649 

Nope, those are heat-pump tumble driers, which is not the same as a washer-drier, which is what was asked about... 😉 

[BEngo]

The other possible show stopper to consider is the relationship between your inverter and the washing  devices.  Not all are happy! 

 

Modern electronics tend to be fussy, so not all washing machines will work with any given inverter.  Indeed, it is not a given, that,  even if a mate's washer works with his inverter, the same combination will work for you.  Cheap chinese inverters and/or washers appear to be worse affected than, say Victron.  Be prepared for surprises!

[Darrylle]

Chris,

 

Short and sweet - much appreciated for the pointers.

Now I have another decision to add to the list (but not a 'guess, because it's based on experienced advice). 😉

 

Thank you.

[IanD]

Just now, BEngo said:

The other possible show stopper to consider is the relationship between your inverter and the washing  devices.  Not all are happy! 

 

Modern electronics tend to be fussy, so not all washing machines will work with any given inverter.  Indeed, it is not a given, that,  even if a mate's washer works with his inverter, the same combination will work for you.  Cheap chinese inverters and/or washers appear to be worse affected than, say Victron.  Be prepared for surprises!

That's true for smaller inverters, especially cheap ones, and where the loads are nasty like the motors in cheap appliances.

 

Anyone considering installing a washer-drier will have/need a big inverter anyway, most likely Victron, and if it's big enough to run a tumble drier it won't have any problem with a washer (or washer-drier).

2 minutes ago, Darrylle said:

Chris,

 

Short and sweet - much appreciated for the pointers.

Now I have another decision to add to the list (but not a 'guess, because it's based on experienced advice). 😉

 

Thank you.

Short and sweet but also tumble driers not washer-driers... 😉 

[Darrylle]

IanD,

 

Before posting the question, I'd actually read somewhere about voltage fluctuation and 'stabilisers' for that. I'm wondering if that is what you're referring to, and (yet another question.... ) do stabilisers 'work'?

(Sorry: the more I can glean BEFORE committing - the higher the chance of 'getting it right' first time).

[IanD]

7 minutes ago, Darrylle said:

IanD,

 

Before posting the question, I'd actually read somewhere about voltage fluctuation and 'stabilisers' for that. I'm wondering if that is what you're referring to, and (yet another question.... ) do stabilisers 'work'?

(Sorry: the more I can glean BEFORE committing - the higher the chance of 'getting it right' first time).

Depends what you mean by a "stabiliser" -- if you mean some cheap bolt-on gadget that claims to fix crappy mains, almost certainly not. If you mean a big Victron combo charger/inverter with power assist which can bolster or even take over from bad mains, yes. To do this and run the kind of appliances you're talking about will cost several grand including the LFP batteries. Many modern boats have installations like this, including mine.

Edited December 3 by IanD

[Darrylle]

IanD

 

Thanks - options are options (regardless of cost). At the end, once all info. is acquired - I can make a sound 'calculated' decision on what is (or isn't) feasible.

I certainly won't be considering cheap Chinese 'knock-offs' for anything safety-critical: I've used such stuff successfully at home, but always outside of the home where the chance of failure / fire won't do much damage. I don't regard a boat as a viable 'platform' for such stuff. 😉

[Chris John]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

Nope, those are heat-pump tumble driers, which is not the same as a washer-drier, which is what was asked about... 😉 

Yep you’re right. Must try harder next time 

[IanD]

46 minutes ago, Darrylle said:

IanD

 

Thanks - options are options (regardless of cost). At the end, once all info. is acquired - I can make a sound 'calculated' decision on what is (or isn't) feasible.

I certainly won't be considering cheap Chinese 'knock-offs' for anything safety-critical: I've used such stuff successfully at home, but always outside of the home where the chance of failure / fire won't do much damage. I don't regard a boat as a viable 'platform' for such stuff. 😉

 

I did look for a heatpump washer-drier when I was fitting out a couple of years ago but there weren't any. The AEG is the only one now but the fact it's not shown as available on the AEG UK website (and nobody in the UK has any stock) makes me suspicious, not the cost... 😉 

 

Maybe they withdrew it from sale because of problems? See here...

 

[David Mack]

10 hours ago, Darrylle said:

I don't have a boat yet, but WILL, shortly.
I'm researching everything 'narrowboat' like a man possessed (when I get 5 minutes to breathe from DIY-ing my home - to sell).
It may happen that I'll commission a boat WHILST I'm doing this (personal situation depends ...).

How much boating experience do you have? If you are an old hand, fine. But if you are a complete newbie then I would question whether you are taking the right approach. Without experience you don't know what you do and don't need, what suits another boater won't necessarily suit you, and the YouTube vloggers who are out for likes and subscribers aren't necessarily giving you the whole picture.

A new boat, especially one bespoke to your requirements, will take 2 years or more to build and fit out, and will cost £££. You will have to deal with the inevitable snags and teething problems of any new boat. If it turns out not to be right for you you will get a lot less back when you come to sell. Best advice for a newbie is to buy second hand - you pay less in the first place, you can start boating almost immediately, if it all goes pear shaped the depreciation on resale is much less. And with a year or two's experience under your belt you can either modify/upgrade the boat you have or use that experience to specify a new boat from a much better informed position.

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, David Mack said:

How much boating experience do you have? If you are an old hand, fine. But if you are a complete newbie then I would question whether you are taking the right approach. Without experience you don't know what you do and don't need, what suits another boater won't necessarily suit you, and the YouTube vloggers who are out for likes and subscribers aren't necessarily giving you the whole picture.

A new boat, especially one bespoke to your requirements, will take 2 years or more to build and fit out, and will cost £££. You will have to deal with the inevitable snags and teething problems of any new boat. If it turns out not to be right for you you will get a lot less back when you come to sell. Best advice for a newbie is to buy second hand - you pay less in the first place, you can start boating almost immediately, if it all goes pear shaped the depreciation on resale is much less. And with a year or two's experience under your belt you can either modify/upgrade the boat you have or use that experience to specify a new boat from a much better informed position.

Agreed 100% -- I'd been boating (mostly hired) for many years on lots of different boats before I decided to get mine built, and I then spent a long time (more than a year) designing it together with the boatbuilder, who was extremely helpful pointing out which of my ideas would work and which wouldn't, and what some of the realities of boatbuilding and fitting out were. And it took 18 months to build and fit out and cost an arm and a leg, as David says... 😉 

 

There are lots of different ways of doing things on boats (layout, features, fittings, toilets, galley, stern, engine, windows...) which suit different people, and unless you've actually tried some of them out in real life you might think something sounds like a great idea and will work for you when it actually won't. And once it's there you're largely stuck with it... 😞 

Edited December 3 by IanD

[Quatre_Bougies]

I hate my heat pump dryer.  It’s in the barn and I only use for towels.  It takes hours to dry stuff, literally hours.  I’d never buy one again.  My stuff dries quicker on the Victorian pulley above the fire, even with the fire off!  Complete waste of bloody time.  They may save money, but you will die of boredom first!

[blackrose]

6 hours ago, David Mack said:

How much boating experience do you have? If you are an old hand, fine. But if you are a complete newbie then I would question whether you are taking the right approach. Without experience you don't know what you do and don't need, what suits another boater won't necessarily suit you, and the YouTube vloggers who are out for likes and subscribers aren't necessarily giving you the whole picture.

A new boat, especially one bespoke to your requirements, will take 2 years or more to build and fit out, and will cost £££. You will have to deal with the inevitable snags and teething problems of any new boat. If it turns out not to be right for you you will get a lot less back when you come to sell. Best advice for a newbie is to buy second hand - you pay less in the first place, you can start boating almost immediately, if it all goes pear shaped the depreciation on resale is much less. And with a year or two's experience under your belt you can either modify/upgrade the boat you have or use that experience to specify a new boat from a much better informed position.

 

Agreed. Plus a first time boat owner never gets it right first time. After a year or two you'll wish you'd had it built differently. Do yourself a favour and buy a decent used boat.

5 minutes ago, Quatre_Bougies said:

I hate my heat pump dryer.  It’s in the barn and I only use for towels.  It takes hours to dry stuff, literally hours.  I’d never buy one again.  My stuff dries quicker on the Victorian pulley above the fire, even with the fire off!  Complete waste of bloody time.  They may save money, but you will die of boredom first!

 

I've never owned one but I intuitively wondered whether a combined washer/dryer is actually any good at either job. 

 

I have a small 3kg load Zanussi washer (1.6kW) and a small White Knight tumble dryer (1.1 kW) but I don't use the dryer very much, only for bed sheets and duvet covers. Everything else gets hung up to dry in my widebeam, but I appreciate most narrowboats may not have the space to do this.

[IanD]

21 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Agreed. Plus a first time boat owner never gets it right first time. After a year or two you'll wish you'd had it built differently. Do yourself a favour and buy a decent used boat.

 

I've never owned one but I intuitively wondered whether a combined washer/dryer is actually any good at either job. 

 

I have a small 3kg load Zanussi washer (1.6kW) and a small White Knight tumble dryer (1.1 kW) but I don't use the dryer very much, only for bed sheets and duvet covers. Everything else gets hung up to dry in my widebeam, but I appreciate most narrowboats may not have the space to do this.

 

It's fine so long as you don't want to wash a massive load (which it can't dry) and you're not in a big hurry (this is a washer/condensing tumble dryer, not a heat-pump one).

 

Yes it takes a long time to do a wash-dry cycle (at least 3 hours, can be up to double that worst-case) -- but so what, who cares on a boat? You're not doing multiple wash loads in a day or even every day, maybe a load once or twice a week -- put the stuff in in the morning or at lunchtime, it's done in the afternoon or by teatime, you don't have to do a thing, and out come dry clothes/bedding/whatever which don't need hanging up to dry in space you haven't got and causing condensation everywhere.

 

Doesn't even make enough noise to bother anyone... 😉 

Edited December 3 by IanD

[blackrose]

38 minutes ago, IanD said:

Yes it takes a long time to do a wash-dry cycle (at least 3 hours, can be up to double that worst-case) -- but so what, who cares on a boat? 

 

I think I might care. 3 - 6 hours pulling what sort of load? 

 

I ran my washing machine today on the strength of the batteries and solar panels which were producing 30A in the sunshine this afternoon. I gave the system a helping hand by pouring a kettle full of hot water into the detergent drawer on startup. The peak power draw of 1.6kW  only lasts for a short part of the full 40 min wash cycle.

 

I'd never run my small 1.1kW dryer in the middle of winter even on a sunny day without running the engine or generator because that power demand is continuous until the clothes are dry.

Edited December 3 by blackrose