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Bosch WTE8630S
by Revo9
Bosch WTE8630
The Bosch WTE 8630 is a freestanding tumble dryer machine operating via a condenser system. There are numerous drying options for a range of different fabric types and the product comes with a 2 year guarantee. I paid £379.99 for the tumble dryer from the Co-op which was a tad expensive but cheaper than other ... retailers as I've seen the product advertised for £480 online.
Appearance
My WTE8630 was black in colour but I have saw silver and white coloured ones which are available too. The dimensions of the product are 84.2x59.8x62.5 and the product has a 7kg load capacity for the drum inside. The drum is silver in colour with a built in sensor, the door is quite large and opens from the side and allows good clear observation of the clothes inside the drum. On the sides of the machine are vertical lines running down it which looks very modern and stylish, there is a vent positioned on the bottom left as well. Overall I was very happy with the design of the product, the black looks very modern with silver trim and an orange LED light.
Features
The product as mentioned is freestanding, of a metal/plastic construction and operates with an electrical system during operation which I believe can go up to a 1400rpm of power. The product features a condenser system which is located at the top of the product, water needed for operation is drained away automatically. There is an orange LED light to the top front panel which can give you warnings in regard to the filter and can function as a timer, the LED display is bright and easy to read. Along this front panel are also buttons for low heat and reduced ironing settings. There is a black easy to turn dial towards the top left of the product which has a large range of settings such as easy care settings, synthetics, delicates, woollens, freshen up, cupboard dry and a short programme should you be short on time. I've found the diagrams and text around the buttons/dials very helpful in that they are easy to understand and allow some scope as for the drying options of the various clothes I own. The start/stop button is towards the far left of this top panel and is silver in colour and of a circular shape. The product operates via a condenser system and has a sensor built into the drum which tells the dryer how dry your clothes are, which is smart technology in my opinion. I've found using the dryer on the settings suitable for your clothes i.e. cotton or synthetics for my t-shirts is brilliant in terms of the drying quality. My clothes come out very dry but not creased or shrivelled up.
Energy Efficiency
The energy efficiency of the product could be slightly better to be honest. The WTE8640 is of class B quality which is certainly better than older tumble dryers but still, this tumble dryer uses more energy than my washing machine which is a Hoover OPH-616.
Durability
The durability of the product has been superb in the time that I've had it which is a few years now. The product did come with a 2 year guarantee should anything break down when I purchased it from the co-op which I thought was handy and a good complementary incentive to buy the tumble dryer. All of the buttons work fine but are occasionally unresponsive if you do not press firmly enough, the LED timer has not faded overtime and I've experienced no leakages or overheating. My clothes still come out dry to the same quality as when I used the machine for the first time, so I believe the durability of the WTE8630 is top quality.
Pricing
I paid £379.99 for the tumble dryer a few years ago from the Co-op which I believe is still around the same price now. I think £379.99 was an expensive but fair value for the product because of the top workmanship, design and performance by Bosch. I wouldn't pay anymore for the tumble dryer than £379.99 and it is best to shop around for prices, as I've seen these machines advertised at ~£480 online which is way overpriced. You can't readily buy new WTE8630s which is a bit of a shame because they are a top quality machine. I have done a quick search for any interested consumers and found the cheapest online prices in the UK are:
> Co-operative still sell it for the same price I paid - £379.99
> Electrical 123 sell it for £379.99
> Electric shop sell it for £399.95
> Redhill appliances sell the product for £439
Drawbacks
There aren't many problems I've experienced with the WTE8630 as it has been a very sturdy machine of top performance to me. However, the product is quite noisy despite the advertiser's claim of it being "very quiet". As mentioned the B class energy efficiency could be improved on to maybe an A which would save you some money on electricity bills although the consumption I've used over the years on the machine is not too bad at all. The buttons on the front panel need a firm push sometimes to activate them and they've sometimes been a little unresponsive in my opinion. Maybe it would be nice to see some modern touch screen buttons implanted in the future although I'm sure touch screen styled buttons would probably be less durable over time.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Bosch WTE8630 is a top quality machine with only a few minor problems. The performance of the product is brilliant with my clothes coming out dry and crease free. There are lots of different settings you can choose which reflect what the composition of your load is, the door is large and easy to open and the drum is of a good size taking loads of up to 7kg in weight. I love the black design of the product with the orange LED light and silver trim, it looks very stylish and modern in my opinion. The metal and plastic construction is very durable and I've experienced no problems in the years I've owned the machine but the Co-op do offer a 2 year guarantee should anything go wrong. The product has been out for a few years now and as such is becoming harder to buy in the UK. The £379.99 price tag I paid was quite high for a tumble dryer but was one that reflected the superb performance and durability of the product. Overall I would highly recommend the Bosch WTE8630 if you can pick one up for around the price I paid, so in summary, an outstanding appliance from Bosch. Thanks for reading my review.
© Revo9 (2011)
*Note, I am both a member of Ciao and Dooyoo.co.uk under the same username of Revo9*
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Bosch WTE 86304 Exxcel
by Oddbodd
Around four years ago we had the need for a new washer and dryer and we came home with a couple of Boschs (see my separate review for the washing machine). The reason that we chose Bosch is that, although they are at the higher end of the price bracket, they have a good reputation and, in our experience, their products perform and last ... well.
Additionally, the space we had for a tumble dryer did not have a connection to the outside which I had been under the impression was completely necessary to install a tumble dryer. However, I was to embark upon a journey into the world of condenser dryers, a world I hadn't even known existed!
For anyone as ignorant as I was, the condenser dryer is a clever piece of kit that simply needs to be plugged in, with no air venting necessary at all. It works by removing the moisture from the clothes and depositing this moisture neatly in a plastic container which the user then empties from time to time. Cool huh?!
So, how does this particular condenser dryer fare?.....
== PRICE, DIMENSIONS, CAPACITY ==
To be honest, I can't remember exactly how much we paid for it but I have seen them recently for around £450.
The dryer measures 60cm wide by 60cm deep by 85cm high. It has adjustable feet so you can alter the height to an extent.
It has a fairly large maximum drying capacity of 7kg. We needed this since the washing machine we bought at the same time has a capacity of 8kg so it seemed silly to then get a dryer with a much smaller capacity! So they work quite well side by side.
== FEATURES - SO WHAT DOES IT DO BESIDES JUST DRY? ==
This is not just any old tumble dryer. Oh no, this one can tell how wet your clothes are and will accordingly adjust the drying time to get them just right. This is obviously an energy-saving feature as it means you aren't wasting drying time on clothes that are already dry. So it earns its keep to an extent.
There are two main drying options, split into categories:
== Cottons ==
You can set cottons to be Extra Dry, Very Dry, Cupboard Dry or Iron Dry. These range in dryness from the driest being the extra-dry setting to the iron-dry which leaves the clothes/towels etc slightly damp. In practise I almost always use the very dry setting as I have tried the cupboard dry and find the load is not quite dry enough to put away. Since there are only two timed drying facilities - one at 40 mins and one at 20 mins (a shortfall covered below), it is not possible to just give them another 5 minutes, so this has put me off using the cupboard dry facility which is now completely ignored on my machine.
== Easy-Care ==
This has categories of Very Dry, Cupboard Dry and Iron Dry. In fact I rarely use this setting as I don't tend to tumble dry anything apart from cottons - I hang all T-shirts etc. The Easy-Care setting has a maximum load of 3.5kg, which is half of the machine's total capacity.
In addition to these two main drying categories there are also 3 other options:
- Woollens (finish) - this will fluff up the textiles but not actually dry them and they need to be hung afterwards.
- Short Programme - this is intended for washing which is to be dried quickly eg synthetic fabrics or cottons.
- Timed Programmes - there are only two timed options, a 40 minute cycle and a 20 minute 'freshen up' .
I must admit this took a bit of getting used to, as I was used to just chucking my washing in the dryer and choosing a time based on what it was and how much of it I'd put in there. Once I got used to this though and started to trust it, I didn't miss being able to choose the time much at all. The only problem I find is that there are sometimes times when I just want to pop something in there for 10 minutes, or maybe 30 minutes, and I don't want to choose a programme. The restriction here is that you simply can't do that, unless it happens that you want to tumble for either 20 or 40 minutes exactly. However, it does seem very quick to ascertain whether something is already fairly dry, and will therefore adjust its drying time accordingly - it has simply been a matter of learning over time what the best option to choose would be for what I want to achieve.
In addition to these drying choices, there is also an option to select 'low heat' which is something I use if I am tumble drying something a little more delicate.
There is a buzzer option which you can choose to have on or off that will tell you when your load is ready.
The digital display shows the time remaining in hours and minutes, but this will change according to how long the sensors within the machine thinks it needs. So for example, if you were to put in a couple of towels that were already part dry, and select 'cottons extra dry' the display would immediately show something like an hour or more. But then as the machine realised the towels are already almost there, that time will rapidly decrease. So it's not always a good indication but usually will give you an idea as to how long the drying will take.
== Anti-Crease Function ==
If you haven't removed the load from the machine once your drying has finished, the dryer has an anti-crease function which will continue to turn the washing at specific intervals. This will keep the washing loose and fluffy for an hour after it has finished drying. Very helpful.
== PRACTICALITIES - IS IT USER-FRIENDLY? ==
The programme selector is a nice, chunky, user-friendly rotating knob, with satisfying clicks so you know when it's in place. The other buttons (of which there are only three - the on/off, the low heat on/off and the buzzer on/off) are touch sensitive and, like with my washing machine, I find that with my very dry hands they don't always notice when I touch/tap them so sometimes I have to do it two or three times for it to register.
This has been a very easy machine to use and take care of. Like any dryer, it has a fluff filter which needs regular cleaning. This really couldn't be simpler - you just lift it out, open it up and run your hand over the filter to remove the fluff which is always in a nice easy layer anyway. Then close it up and put it back. That's it!
In addition, as this is a condenser dryer, the water container needs to be emptied. I find the frequency with which I need to do this is totally dependent on the type of washing I am doing. Three towel washes and it will need an empty. Shirts and sheets, it would probably go for five or six washes before it's full. To empty it is easy and quick, you just pull it out (being careful to keep it horizontal as there's a hole in the top!) walk to the sink, pour the water down the sink and then put it back. Easy peasy. No problem if you forget to empty the container - the machine will simply stop if there's no room for any more condensation and a light will come on to tell you why.
From time to time (every six months or so) the air cooler needs a clean. The machine has a handy light to tell you when this is necessary. Again this is quite easy and takes a matter of minutes. Some water can spill out so I do put a cloth on the floor underneath before I remove this, but then it's just a case of removing the soggy fluff that has built up and then replacing the cooler.
The machine has a status display to tell you what it's up to. Using a column of lights, it will let you know what stage the drying is at from a choice of four - it is either:
- Drying
- Iron dry
- Cupboard dry
- Anti-crease mode
So if you feel the need to keep a constant check on your load and want to know just how dry it is without having to open the dryer, then your Bosch will let you know. Personally I can't say I've ever looked but I'm sure there are many people out there who would!
As above, we've had this tumble dryer for around four years now and (touch wood) I have never had the need to call an engineer as it hasn't given me a moment's trouble. A Bosch through and through.
(Review will also appear on Ciao)
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