Washer/Dryer combo

Anybody out there ever have one on their vessel or know someone who has? Did you like it or hate? We're installing a new Splendide unit, we understand the limitations with it being 110 volt and small, etc.....wondered how others have found them to be.

Be careful with the door handle.

Washer part is good. Spins out most of the water.

We have pretty much given up on using the dryer. The manual will tell you it will dry about half of the wash capacity. Both halves take longer than air drying on a line.

If I could source a front load washer of the same size or smaller I would look at it.

Clothes get clean, no complaint there. It is nice to not have to haul clothes.

We like ours but have only used it a couple of times. The washer works well but we bought a folding clothes dryer rack because it's just as fast. We let the clothes get almost dry then pop 'em in the dryer to spin then and finish the drying cycle.


+1 to not having to haul clothes to the Laundromat.

We have a GE unit but have not used it yet, thought there is a retractable close line in the ER that I'm sure works good underway.

We have a Splendide unit and love it- it's extremely convenient to do laundry onboard as a liveaboard. One of the first (and most important) changes we made was to change out the ventless washer/dryer combo with a vented model- made all the difference in the world. The ventless unit uses cold water to condense moisture out of the clothes, the vented unit works just like your home unit.

The most important thing to remember is to do small to mid sized loads- that way, the loads will dry completely.

Pau Hana said:

We have a Splendide unit and love it- it's extremely convenient to do laundry onboard as a liveaboard. One of the first (and most important) changes we made was to change out the ventless washer/dryer combo with a vented model- made all the difference in the world. The ventless unit uses cold water to condense moisture out of the clothes, the vented unit works just like your home unit.

The most important thing to remember is to do small to mid sized loads- that way, the loads will dry completely.

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Thanks for your response, Pau... Maybe we should make that same adjustment. Will that require actually cutting holes in bulkheads?? Gulp??

Yup. For our boat, the washer/dryer unit backs up to an exterior bulkhead, so it was some simple measuring before I broke out the hole saw and bored the hole for the vent.

Get the vent parts at your local RV store- it'll save you 50%+ over the cost from a marine store.

Get the vented unit- you won't regret it.

A Splendide combo came with our boat; don't know its age but definitely not new. Vented.
The key is to go with light loads and the max drying time, which on ours is two hours.
A light load would be about the equivalent of two bath towels, maybe three at most.
And tiny amounts of soap - tiny.
Follow the above rules and it works very well.

I have a Samsung combo unit here at work, and has been doing heavy loads of dirty coveralls for 3 years without any problem. We run on 230V here, but they may be available in 110V as well. The model is called Quietdrive and it is quiet. It is unvented and like the others, takes about 2 hours to dry a full load.

We have had our current Splendide unit since 2004 and in season use it 5+ times a week. It is a vented unit. The ventless units have gotten a bad rap. We load it completely during the wash cycle and then if we are going to use the dryer we take half the clothes out and use two dry cycles. This worked fine while we were in North American. In the Caribbean, at anchor, we hang dry as the air drys quickly and being at anchor we conserve electricity. We generally operate the wash cycle on the inverter. It requires a powerful pure sine wave inverter to start but the actual draw is fairly low. Our unit uses 11 gallons of water for a wash cycle.

You have been warned about the door handle. Suggest you have one on board. While in 11 years our door handle has not broken, this is the most frequent repair needed and would be frustrating to not be able to use the unit for an inexpensive part.

Like everything else on a boat, the Splendide is a compromise. Its 110 volts so the dryer is not powerful. However, Bay Pelican is not a dock queen so 220 is not available at anchor without running the generator, and frequently in the United States we did not have 220 at the dock.

It is a combo so the drying cycle can only take half a load. This is true on any combo as the drum for a separate dryer is twice the size of the wash tub and the physics (?) remains the same.

Big fan of these units as I believe they are the most popular combos in marine and RV market.

Marty

Not trying to hijack the thread but there are portable units out there where one unit washes and another unit spin dries. They run on 110VAC. I've also seen washers that are hand powered.

Check out Amazon for some examples:

Amazon.com: Basecamp by Mr. Heater Single Tub Washing Machine (White/Blue): Sports & Outdoors

Ron

I love our splendi unit.

It changes the way you boat. For example, instead of hauling clothes, and towels to the boat I have a weeks worth of clothes, both nice and work type, including a full set of towels etc...

The limitation, besides the smaller size is that the unit is just so so at drying. The trick is to get the clothes out while they are hot and lay them out. They'll dry the rest of the way in an hour or so.

windmist said:

Not trying to hijack the thread but there are portable units out there where one unit washes and another unit spin dries. They run on 110VAC. I've also seen washers that are hand powered.

Check out Amazon for some examples:
Amazon.com: Basecamp by Mr. Heater Single Tub Washing Machine (White/Blue): Sports & Outdoors

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Thanks, Ron! I never even knew such things existed. Here's a small dryer:
Amazon.com: Panda Small Mini Stainless Steel Tumble Dryer5.5-6.6lbs Compact Apartment Dryer Pan725sf: Appliances

This one has an outside vent. These tiny washers & dryers are cheap enough that they may be worth a try. Anybody have any experience with them?

We have a new Splendide washer dryer and have been quite happy with it. It is a vented model. I have a question though; the user manual that came with the unit makes no mention of needing the water turned on during the dry cycle. We have run the dry cycle with the water on and with the water off and see no difference. Should the water be on?? Thanks, Howard

I am going to guess that your vented model does not need the water on during the dry cycle. It would likely be necessary with the ventless models that use water to get rid of the heat.

Our nine year old vented model does not use water during the dry cycle. On another boat my 1999 unit, also vented, did not use water during the dry cycle.

Marty

Thank you Marty; I was just about to think that.

Bay Pelican said:

I am going to guess that your vented model does not need the water on during the dry cycle. It would likely be necessary with the ventless models that use water to get rid of the heat.

Our nine year old vented model does not use water during the dry cycle. On another boat my 1999 unit, also vented, did not use water during the dry cycle.

Marty

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Correct. Only the ventless model accesses the fresh water system- the vented does not.

The RV folks that use these only seem to be the campground bound folks.

Free electric 24/7 and a water connection and the fact that the loads are really tiny doesnt bother them.

Of course 3 or 4 loads a day is no hassle .

The boondockers , (bring water and make electric ) seem to prefer a big clothes bag and a trip to a commercial laundry with those big 3 or 4 load machines .

Dockside it might save a laundry trip to wash todays skivvies or T shirts , but after a weekend with guests aboard the bed linen & towels would overwhelm the unit.

I've had two on two different boats and like them. There is really no performance difference between the vented and non-vented models. You just have to understand the drying limitations. The washer will wash twice as much as it can dry, so don't load it up with jeans and sweatshirts in the winter. Mine is in a dry cycle right now. MUCH better than having to lug clothes to a laundry in the rain. Oh yea, don't forget to clean the lint out of the vent hose every year or so.

There is really no performance difference between the vented and non-vented models.

The difference is in how much added moisture goes into your interior.

FF said:

There is really no performance difference between the vented and non-vented models.

The difference is in how much added moisture goes into your interior.

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The ventless models condense the moisture out of the clothes and dump the water overboard- not into the vessel interior.

On a previous boat, I had a Splendide washer/dryer that vented into the engine room. Never did think that was a great idea.

We have had a Splendide non vented model going on 10 years, with lots of use. I would not go with the unvented model unless absolutely neccessary, they dry really slow. The only problem we've had was the over voltage device exploded, lightning probably, causing the unit not to work. Bypassed the thing and it works fine now. I will install a new lightning arrestor someday, maybe. Other than that it has been stone cold reliable. It wont work on a square wave inverter.

Thanks to everyone who replied, great info. It turns out we really lucked, after reading your info and actually talking to the manufacturer, we chose to go with a new vented model. Our boat had a Splendide that was factory-installed, and
Sea Ray installed a vented model, so we did have a re-usable vent! We're moving aboard right after Christmas, and now we'll be able to wash our duds, at least the small ones!

jmcdboater said:

Thanks to everyone who replied, great info. It turns out we really lucked, after reading your info and actually talking to the manufacturer, we chose to go with a new vented model. Our boat had a Splendide that was factory-installed, and
Sea Ray installed a vented model, so we did have a re-usable vent! We're moving aboard right after Christmas, and now we'll be able to wash our duds, at least the small ones!

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Given space limitations, I think you have the best approach possible.

Ya know, if I was ever able to talk the First Mate into moving aboard- I would also encourage her to limit our clothing to three pair of shorts, three sets of underwear, NO socks and three shirts. One shirt with buttons for those "special occasions". Two towels with matching washcloths. And that's about it! But I'm pretty sure NONE of this is ever gonna happen

Forklift: I read your response to washer/dryer combo and really cracked up. Great sense of humor. My captain has no limitations on how many undies are on board. If I was limited to 3, our house would not be for sale right now. If you want your first mate to live aboard your attitude should be 'Unlimited Undies'...we will buy a Splendide Honey!
Hope you both "take the plunge" some day. I will let you all know how the Splendide handles "THE Undies" . SuziQ...1st Mate, McDowell

Thanks for the great advice SuzieQ and keep us posted!!

I have a Haier HWD1600 non vented combo. I put it in my boat about 3 years ago. I absolutely love the unit for about 6 months at a time. It washes and dries about 12 pounds of clothes in a little over two hours. I do a wash just about every day. About every six months the condenser gets clogged with lint and it quits drying. After five times of removing and cleaning the condenser I have it down pretty well to about an hour operation. As far as I can tell all the combo units out there that use condensing to dry have the same problem. There simply is no lint filter. The designs expect the lint to wash out with condensing water and be pumped to drain. In time this does not happen. Just finished cleaning my condenser last week. Love the machine.

We have had two Splendide units over 15 years. Love them.

If you are planning on getting one, or already have one, pay attention to your inverter. Many of the lower wattage inverters, approximately 2000 watts, do not have the peak capacity to start the Splendide motor. The 2,800 Magnum and the 3000 watt Victron do.

The momentary draw and the total draw over the 80 minute regular wash cycle are low enough that a wash cycle is very doable on an inverter.