Seven quick appliance questions and answers

September 18th, 2014

Appliance Talk

Do you have questions about home appliances?

Appliances Online has answers, both short and long!

Here we go:

Which dryers can be hung or wall-mounted in the laundry?

Short answer:

When it comes to wall-mounting, vented dryers are the way to go.

Longer answer:

Vented dryers are simple, affordable, and light enough to hang on the wall.  Of course, they do vent their waste heat and moisture into your laundry, so if you only have a confined space to play with, consider adding a venting kit.

Condenser dryers and heat pump dryers can NOT be wall mounted – while these dryers are very energy-efficient, they’re also too heavy to be held by brackets (though some models can be stacked with a compatible front-loading washer).

What’s the difference between pyrolytic and catalytic ovens?

Short answer:

Both are self-cleaning ovens, but go about cleaning themselves in different ways.

Longer answer:

Pyrolytic ovens clean themselves whenever you run the special cycle, which superheats the cavity and vaporises any food splashes down to a fine ash that can be easily swept away, without using chemicals.

Catalytic ovens are lined with specially-treated panels that absorb food splashes. Whenever the oven’s temperature goes over 200 degrees C, the sections of panel with food splashes disintegrate into ash that falls to the bottom of the oven to be swept out after you’ve finished cooking.

This allows the oven to clean itself during your high-temperature cooking, though you will need to periodically replace the panels.

What size fridge does a family of three/four/five/six need?

We’ve been asked this question a few times by families of different sizes.

The answer really depends on how your family uses the fridge, but the following table offers a useful guideline:

What is the difference between a condenser dryer and a heat pump dryer?

Short answer:

All heat pump dryers are condenser dryers, but not all condenser dryers are heat pump dryers.  If that makes sense.

Longer answer:

Yeah, that didn’t make as much sense as I’d hoped.  Let’s try again:

Rather than blasting your clothes with hot air and venting the steam into your laundry like a vented dryer, a condenser dryer collects the moisture from your wet clothes in the form of condensed water.

This water either either fills a tank that needs to periodically emptied, or drains into a nearby laundry sink.

A heat pump dryer works in a similar way to a condenser dryer, except that it also collects the heat from its own exhaust, and recycles it to further dry your clothes.

8kg Electrolux Heat Pump Dryer EDH3284PDW

This makes heat pump dryers some of the most energy-efficient clothes dryers available, though they are often more expensive than other models.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of three-door fridges?

519L Fisher & Paykel 3 Door Fridge RF522ADX4

Advantages:

• Wide shelves for large platters
• Deep freezer drawers
• Often includes ice and water dispenser
• Good for a large family

Disadvantages:

• Quite large in size, doesn’t fit in small kitchens
• Large fridges can be more expensive to run
• Low freezer requires bending over to access – no good if you’ve got a bad back
• Not as affordable as smaller fridge designs

How do induction cooktops work?

Short answer:

Magic!

Okay, it’s actually electromagnetism.

Longer answer:

Without delving too deeply into the science of it all, an induction cooktop’s coil produces a magnetic field that “induces” the molecules of your magnetically-sensitve cookware, causing the metal to heat up directly, without the cooktop itself getting hot.

This effectively transforms your metallic pans into hotplates. meaning that no residual heat is lost to the surrounding air, and providing you with instant precise control over your cooking temperatures.

And for the record – the type of electromagnetic fields used by induction cooktops are NOT dangerous, though people with pacemakers should probably still avoid using them, just in case.

Ceramic electric cooktops or solid electric hotplates?

Short answer:

Solid hotplates are more affordable but offer less control over heat, while ceramic cooktops are easier to clean but less affordable.

Longer answer:

Solid hotplates are usually the most affordable electric cooktop option, but also one of the least controllable.  The solid hotplates are fairly straightforward to clean, though they can trap food particles around their sides.

Electric cooktops heat up slowly and also cool down slowly – while this does mean that you can save a bit of energy by turning off your hotplate but still keeping a pan warm for a time, this can be a safety concern as it’s tricky to tell at a glance whether the plate is actually hot.

Ceramic cooktops are often nicer to look at, and the smooth surface is easy to wipe clean. They also typically heat more efficiently than the solid hotplates. However, some spills can damage the glassy surface, especailly if they bake on.  Take care with heavy pots and pans too – dropping a full-to-the-brim pot could crack the surface of the cooktop!

Look for a model with Residual Heat Indicators – this will light up a cooking surface when it’s hot, and remain lit up until it cools back down, allowing you to know at a glance when the suface is hot, for a safer kitchen overall.

Your turn:

Got more appliance questions?  Leave them in the comments!

Alternatively, contact our appliance legends on 1300 000 500 – they’re available 24/7 to help you out.