Gas Tumble Dryers

Yes, you read correctly. There are tumble dryers which run on gas. If you’re seeing this for the first time, you probably weren’t even aware that gas tumble dryers existed until today. Domestic gas tumble dryers have been around for decades; when you discover their advantages for both the environment and your energy bills, you’ll be kicking yourself for not already owning one.

Gas tumble dryers look and operate much the same as electric dryers, except the heat is provided by a natural gas burner inside the dryer instead of an electric element. Obviously, gas tumble dryers still use electricity to turn the drum and operate the fan, but this electricity requirement is minimal in comparison to all-electric types. Using mains gas to heat the drum, which is typically one third the cost of electricity per unit, understandably results in some fairly substantial running cost savings.

Equivalent ‘A++’ Banded efficiency
Up to 70% savings on drying costs
Same size as electric tumble dryers
Quiet operation
Large 7Kg capacity
Fast drying times
50% less carbon emissions – why?*

60% Lower Annual Running Cost

We all know that guilty feeling when we shove another load of washing into the tumble dryer. It’s such a waste of energy when it could often be line-dried instead with just a bit more organisation, but with the busy lives we lead today it’s so much easier to just pop it in the dryer. Did you know that at today’s electricity prices, it costs about 40p to dry a load of washing in a standard electric tumble dryer? In a gas tumble dryer, the same load would only cost about 12p to dry.

It’s estimated that 60% of households now have a tumble dryer, but only 0.5% of those are gas heated. Why is this? If you snoop around and read a few online user reviews of gas tumble dryers, you’ll find that most of those buyers are on their second or third appliance, so they must be really pleased with them. Unfortunately, there are a few obvious logistical reasons why after more than 30 years, gas tumble dryers are still so unusual to find amongst households in the UK.

You’ll need a suitable gas supply
Gas tumble dryers need to be professionally installed
Gas tumble dryers must be externally vented
Gas tumble dryers cost more to buy than ‘C’ rated electric ones

So, if your old tumble dryer gives up the ghost it’s far easier to just go out and pick up another electric one and fit it yourself, but if you’ve never heard of gas tumble dryers you don’t even have the option of having one fitted anyway.

Well now you do know, so plan ahead and think about how you might be able to accommodate a gas tumble dryer in your kitchen or utility room next time around. If you’re in a die-hard tumble drying household, you might even want to consider making plans to switch to gas sooner rather than later and take advantage of those great savings. The savings will always be there because the cost of gas is and always has been so much cheaper than electricity.

UK Gas Tumble Dryers

Crosslee are the only manufacturer of gas tumble dryers for the UK market. Their gas tumble dryers are sold under the White Knight brand. They have two main models available in two colour finishes, white or silver. Both incorporate a 10,000btu/3kW burner, which is equivalent in power to a standard electric tumble dryer. For maximum energy savings, we’d advise going for the slightly higher priced ECO83A. The reason is that although both White Knight gas tumble dryers have a sensor which stops them from heating once the load is dry, the cheaper ECO43A continues tumbling until the timer reaches zero. This means that it will be wasting electricity whenever you overestimate how long the load will take to dry (yes, gas tumble dryers still need electricity to turn the drum and run the fan!). The top of the range ECO83A is a full sensor dryer. You don’t set the drying time; you set the ‘level of dryness’ so it will always stop as soon as your washing is dry. To prevent creasing, the ECO83A turns the load over every five minutes until you remove it for folding.

White Knight

Crosslee also produce the White Knight BG44AW, a higher output (16,000 btu/4.7kW) model which boasts very rapid drying times of less than 60 minutes for a full load of cottons. These reduced drying times are obviously achieved by burning more gas and running a higher powered fan to ventilate the dryer. You do still sometimes find these available to purchase. The rapid drying times are very attractive, but the downsides of the high output BG44AW are significantly increased noise, no sensor dry system, smaller 5Kg drum size and no reverse tumble action which can lead to tangling and uneven drying. We imagine the BG44AW would be ideal for a hair salon or B&B where that quick drying time would be very handy indeed. Unless you have a specific need for that fast turnaround on drying, we’d advise against this model.

*Why the carbon savings, surely it uses just as much energy to produce enough heat to dry my clothes whether by gas or electricity?

The substantial carbon reduction is due to the poor efficiency with which most electricity is generated in the UK by burning fossil fuels. These power stations operate at only 60% efficiency. This means that only 60% of the heat produced by burning the fossil fuel is actually converted to electricity, the other 40% effectively goes up the chimney! A further proportion is then lost in transmitting the electricity through the grid to your home.

£308.95

White Knight ECO83A Gas Tumble Dryer

The White Knight ECO83A gas tumble dryer is manufactured in the UK by Crosslee. It's White Knight's top of the range model, featuring a large 7Kg capacity drum, reverse tumble action, automatic sensor drying with six dryness levels, two heat setings and an anti-crease function. The ECO83A is available in both white and silver finishes.

If you're addicted to tumble drying, the ECO83A gas tumble dryer can slash your drying bills by as much as 70%. You'll need to have it installed to a suitable natural gas supply by a registered Gas Safe engineer and vented to an external wall. Most White Knight tumble dryers sold in the UK are delivered direct from the manufacturer in around 10-14 days, but you may find one or two suppliers who cary their own stock for immediate delivery.

In our opinion, the ECO83A is the best choice from the three gas tumble dryers available in the UK. The sensor dry feature means that you only ever use the exact amount of energy needed to dry any given load, maximising your savings for both gas and electricity. If you're able to accommodate a gas tumble dryer in your home, go ahead and get one. You won't regret it!

	Price	Delivery	Total	Buy Now
ASDA	£290.00	£18.95	£308.95	VISIT SITE
Appliance City	£329.00	FREE	£329.00	VISIT SITE
24-7 Electrical	£332.07	FREE	£332.07	VISIT SITE
electricshop.com	£359.99	FREE	£359.99	VISIT SITE
Amazon	£410.00	FREE	£410.00	VISIT SITE

£288.95

White Knight ECO43A Gas Tumble Dryer

The White Knight ECO43A gas tumble dryer is manufactured in the UK by Crosslee. It's White Knight's entry level model, featuring a large 7Kg capacity drum, reverse tumble action, two heat setings and a final cool-down tumble. The ECO43A is available in both white and silver finishes.

If you're addicted to tumble drying, the ECO43A gas tumble dryer can slash your drying bills by as much as 70%. You'll need to have it installed to a suitable natural gas supply by a registered Gas Safe engineer and vented to an external wall. All White Knight tumble dryers sold in the UK are delivered direct from the manufacturer in around 10-14 days.

	Price	Delivery	Total	Buy Now
ASDA	£270.00	£18.95	£288.95	VISIT SITE
24-7 Electrical	£315.41	FREE	£315.41	VISIT SITE
Amazon	£320.47	FREE	£320.47	VISIT SITE
electricshop.com	£329.99	FREE	£329.99	VISIT SITE
Appliance City	£349.00	FREE	£349.00	VISIT SITE

£338.12

White Knight BG44AW High Speed Gas Tumble Dryer

The White Knight BG44AW gas tumble dryer is manufactured in the UK by Crosslee. It's White Knight's high speed model, featuring a 5Kg capacity drum, a 60 minute timer, two heat setings and a final cool-down tumble. The BG44AW is available in white only. It's the fastest domestic tumble dryer in the UK!

If you're addicted to tumble drying and need high speed drying capability, the BG44AW gas tumble dryer can dry a full 5Kg load in less than an hour and still slash your drying bills by as much as 70%. You'll need to have it installed to a suitable natural gas supply by a registered Gas Safe engineer and vented to an external wall. Most White Knight tumble dryers sold in the UK are delivered direct from the manufacturer in around 10-14 days, although you may find this one in stock for immediate delivery from some suppliers.

Whilst the BG44AW is able to dry a full load in less than 60 minutes, there are some trade-offs. Firstly, this high speed dryer is relatively noisy compared to the other two models. This may not be an issue if you intend to have the dryer installed in a utility room. Secondly, this model does not have an auto-reverse tumble function, so might sometimes get large sheets tangled, possibly leading to uneven drying. You can get aroung this by keeping an eye on your load and re-arranging it occasionally. The last drawback is the drum size. Many modern washing machines have pretty big drums these days (as large as 10Kg), but the B44AW has only a 5Kg capacity, so you may find that you need to split your washing into two loads for drying.