# Solar Clothes Dryer



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Someone needs to design a solar clothes dryer. It would be similar to a solar space heater, but used to dry clothes.


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

MoonRiver said:


> Someone needs to design a solar clothes dryer. It would be similar to a solar space heater, but used to dry clothes.


I was thinking that you Can not get more solar than a clothes line!


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

PD-Riverman said:


> I was thinking that you Can not get more solar than a clothes line!


I'm talking about middle of winter on a sunny day when it gets up to 40 degrees.


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

lol, i was thinking clothesline also.

Actually 40 degree winter day will dry the clothes out faster because cold air has less humidity than warm air.


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## Izitmidnight (Oct 22, 2011)

My clothes hang out on the clothes line year round.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Its a mighty rare day when it gets up to 40 f for us northerners 'in the middle of the winter'...............

And in the middle of the winter where my stainless steel solar clothes line is, more often then not the ground is covered by a foot or two of snow......

And all that snow greatly helps improve the output of my PV modules , which turns on the electric resistance heater, providing much appreciated dry warmth.......

Al that to say that some times a humidifier is needed.

A 'good' humidifier is a clothes line in the house.

And this is so hi tech it is scary..............


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

MoonRiver said:


> I'm talking about middle of winter on a sunny day when it gets up to 40 degrees.


I bought a regular electric dryer to use to build a wood fired clothes dryer. I will use a wood heater and pipe hot air through where the dryer heating element was removed, and let the dryer tumble as normal using a DC motor running off the solar panel set-up. I guess we could call thet a "Solar Dryer". This is One of my Many projects I got to get to work on.

As a kid we had 4 Big bent nails to hang 2 clothes lines on in the living room where the wood heater is to hang clothes on when the weather was bad. I do not think that would be considered solar but it was "radiant heated clothes drying".


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## tentance (Aug 16, 2012)

when i lived in michigan i hung clothes on the line on days it wasn't expected to snow.

also, i have a FRESNEL lens and... it can be harnessed to heat hot air to turn a very lightweight fan, there's a young man on youtube working on it 

why can't you lay your clothes on the trays of your solar dehydrator? or take the trays out and hang the clothes up?


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,
Here is one that Randy did: 

Converting a Clothes Dryer to Use Solar Heated Attic Air For Drying

it uses solar heated air through a converted electric dryers. Appears to work well.

Another simple one is to have an attached, low thermal mass sunspace on the south side of the house and use it to dry clothes on a line.

Gary


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

SolarGary said:


> Hi,
> Here is one that Randy did:
> 
> Converting a Clothes Dryer to Use Solar Heated Attic Air For Drying
> ...


Thanks Gary. That's exactly what I was thinking of.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

SolarGary said:


> Another simple one is to have an attached, low thermal mass sunspace on the south side of the house and use it to dry clothes on a line.
> 
> Gary


This is what I have, works good for 2 people. It is small but also works as an airlock entry to keep cold out of the main house. A small fan pushes collected warm air at the ceiling to vents 1' above the floor in the living area, keeps things very comfortable. Functions as a sideporch/sunroom/mudroom/readingroom/craftroom. It also radiates heat from a shared block wall behind the woodstove, air is vented into the sunroom at the ceiling and returned by the fan and vents....James


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## jefferson (Nov 11, 2004)

Ah, the good ole days. I remember the old wringer washer and the double sinks in the wash room beside the house. Mom ran the wringer and I got to hang the clothes. Many not so fond memories.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

My mother used a solar clothes dryer, was all we had, my next door neighbor uses one today, Mom always brought in the clothespins , so they would last longer, not need replacing...I use the electric one......


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