second followup on a simple prototype
Jan. 29th, 2022 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdSo it's been two weeks, sort of, since the last update on the simple dryer heat/humidity reclamation prototype, but really, it's been sort of the equivalent of two and a half, due to extra loads, and due to being a day late and one extra day of loads being involved.
At this point we know that three weeks plus a day - these two weeks plus the previous week plus yesterday's loads - pretty much does in the charcoal filter. We started having scent come through the filter before that, but not that badly, not until the plus one day, when it became entirely unmistakable, indicating that the thin/cheap charcoal filter had become saturated.
We also had a lot less heat/humidity coming out in that last day in particular. So definitely whatever design comes out of this moving forward, it needs to provide easy access to the filter for cleaning. Some simple vacuuming would certainly clear the lint from the charcoal filter, so hopefully just using a better grade of charcoal prefilter will solve the scent-saturation part, and let you get away with cleaning every three weeks.
Alternatively, you could just replace the charcoal prefilter entirely every 2-3 weeks, but that strikes me as excessive in the way that a quick vacuum doesn't.
It's quite possible that a mechanical pre-prefilter - something much akin to the lint screen - would solve some of this, at least, insofar as making that cleaning easier. When you start the laundry for that week, pop it open, clear it same as the lint filter, and go. I may very well end up prototyping that. It'd also help keep the charcoal filter in place, something which hasn't been a problem yet, but could become one.
Regardless, we'll see. I've loaded up a new, better charcoal prefilter and verified that airflow recovery is once again good, so the timer is reset, and we'll see what happens now!
At this point we know that three weeks plus a day - these two weeks plus the previous week plus yesterday's loads - pretty much does in the charcoal filter. We started having scent come through the filter before that, but not that badly, not until the plus one day, when it became entirely unmistakable, indicating that the thin/cheap charcoal filter had become saturated.
We also had a lot less heat/humidity coming out in that last day in particular. So definitely whatever design comes out of this moving forward, it needs to provide easy access to the filter for cleaning. Some simple vacuuming would certainly clear the lint from the charcoal filter, so hopefully just using a better grade of charcoal prefilter will solve the scent-saturation part, and let you get away with cleaning every three weeks.
Alternatively, you could just replace the charcoal prefilter entirely every 2-3 weeks, but that strikes me as excessive in the way that a quick vacuum doesn't.
It's quite possible that a mechanical pre-prefilter - something much akin to the lint screen - would solve some of this, at least, insofar as making that cleaning easier. When you start the laundry for that week, pop it open, clear it same as the lint filter, and go. I may very well end up prototyping that. It'd also help keep the charcoal filter in place, something which hasn't been a problem yet, but could become one.
Regardless, we'll see. I've loaded up a new, better charcoal prefilter and verified that airflow recovery is once again good, so the timer is reset, and we'll see what happens now!
