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Looking for Compact Washer/Dryer 220Volt

MisterS
10 years ago

I am currently looking for a compact Washer/Dryer that will fit under a 34 inch cabinet. The previous owners took a pair of Miele and left the 4-prong 220V outlets. I had an electrician come out to see how much it would be to replace to a USA 3 prong 110Volt but it was going to cost a few hundred dollars. So, here are our options. Buy new set of Miele Washer Dryer ($4000) or look to find a brand like Bosch or Asko (which I have found searching through this forum). This is a second set of Washer Dryer that would be used for our children. House is set up kind of funky so we are tired of walking across the house and our washer dryer is in our master bath. So we've gone long enough and need to upgrade soon. I would love to keep the budget closer to $2000 but have been a bit taken back by poor reviews of Bosch and others. Any insight would be helpful. We want to buy new not used. Thanks for your help.

Comments (4)

  • richard_f
    10 years ago

    First, I would have another electrician give you an estimate. I recently had a 220v line converted to 110v when I replaced my old Miele washer with a new one. They just have to change the outlet and the breaker. The existing wire can be used for the 110 circuit. A few hundred dollars sounds like a lot for the job.

    You listed getting new Mieles as one option. Miele doesn't sell 220v washers in the US anymore, other than their commercial machine, the Little Giant. I think your choices of 220v machines in the US is going to be very limited.

    Finally, if you have a dryer vent or can install one, keep the 220v line for the dryer. You'll be much happier with the performance of a conventional vented dryer than with a condensing unit. If you have gas in the house, get a plumber to run a gas line for the dryer. In most places it's much cheaper to operate a gas dryer than an electric unit.

    I suspect you're going to have to bite the bullet and get the electrical work done, but try to get a better price. It's really not that big a project.

  • fynite
    10 years ago

    It's actually probably a 240 volt outlet, since I don't think you can get an American power company to supply 220 volts :) But anyway, it should be more like $50 dollars to replace the outlet, but the company might have a minimum visit fee, so you could wind up paying more. On the other hand, if you have anything else that you wanted done electrically, you could probably get it done at the same time for the same price.

    The one problem that could make it *very* expensive if this is an older house is that you might not have a ground at that location. Some of the older houses had NEMA 10-30 outlets, which were hot-hot-neutral, no ground. You can upgrade them to NEMA 14-30 (in some situations), which is supposed to be hot-hot-nuetral-ground by tying the ground to the neutral and declaring it "safe enough." Obviously, you can't then convert it to standard three prong grounded, because there is nothing to ground to unless you can add a new ground, which might be where the extra cost comes in.

    That said, we are pretty happy with our Miele pair, and it fits in the space you described, but requires an additional part that doesn't come with it, and that the installer had never heard of. But as the other poster said, only the dryer takes 240. The washer takes 120 (standard american 3 prong)

  • lee676
    10 years ago

    I have the current Bosch 240v washer and it's mostly excellent. The FagorAmerica 240v washer/dryer combo is another decent choice - even if used with a separate dryer, it's sometimes convenient to have the option of loading the washer halfway full and having it dry your clothes all in one shot. Used 240v Mieles sometimes show up on Craigslist, sometimes for cheap.

    If you have two 240v outlets for older Mieles, they are likely 15 amps (or maybe 20). Most non-US-built 24"w dryers (which sometimes are sold by American brands) run on 12 amps or less and would actually work fine plugged into a 240V/15A outlet, although many of these dryers are usually fitted with 240V/30A plugs so they can use the same outlets as 27"w or 29"w dryers. Check the label inside the door for maximum wattage or amperage; if it's under 2500w or 12A you're fine with a 240/15 outlet.

  • jstagaman
    10 years ago

    LG also makes a 24" pair with a 240V dryer, but I think the washer still needs a 110V outlet.