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baranski37 · 05-19-2019, 02:31 PM

I am considering adding a stackable W/D in our 2019 KZ Durango 380FLF. I was an electrician in prior life 30 years ago. Mid life crisis law school and admitted as TX attorney 2003. Now disabled due to cancer and side effects from treatment.

A lot of background probably not needed. I know our trailers all operate on 120 volt, but in all my cases we have plugged into a 50 amp 240 volt receptacle. Has anyone thought of wiring dryer only for 240 volt operation so it works faster and more efficient?

As a connected question, do the 120v RV dryers take a great deal longer than your typical residential dryer?
Regards Ron

smlranger · 05-19-2019, 02:42 PM

Ron, we had a Splendide 120v dryer in our previous RV. It did fine but yes it took longer than any 220v unit.

GMac66 · 05-19-2019, 02:43 PM

50 amp, 240v = 2 lines of 120V.

Have only heard as I considered a w/d combo on my recent purchase, but the reviews do indicate longer drying times, along with smaller loads.

But while camping, what else do you have to do?

bddadles · 05-19-2019, 02:44 PM

Some people have had units wired for a 240 volt dryer. I personally see no reason to do it. We are on our second stack able 120 volt dryer and they have both worked fine. The first just wore out.

If I have to start worrying about how much the dryer costs to run then full timing is the wrong lifestyle. Unless you are paying monthly your electric is probably already included.

I used the think about MPG in my truck and that also comes down to the same argument. If the mileage difference between towing and not towing bothers you then this is the wrong hobby or lifestyle for you. I'll get off my soap box now.

450Donn · 05-19-2019, 02:46 PM

Two honest choices, a Splendid combo which is 120VAC or an apartment stacked pair, which also take 120VAC. We had a Splendid combo for 12 years with one issue easily fixed. Not a full timer, but we did camp host three months a year. The Splendid combo work great. Yes, the loads are small and it takes 3-4 hours to run through a complete cycle. So what? Put in a load, go do our thing. Come back at lunch take out chean dry start another load. If you were to try to run a residental dryer which takes what? 35 amps you would not have much left for anything else with a 50A service.

1960C182 · 05-19-2019, 02:49 PM

Your RV breaker box will not provide 240 as the bus on each pole have no connection as with residential/commercial panel. You would need to add a sub-panel.
As to if a 220/240 V rv dryer even exists I don't have a clue.

RAAMaudio · 05-19-2019, 05:03 PM

I was a union trained electrician in a prior lifetime, seems that long ago at least, considered 220 dryer, gas dryer, etc and my wife found the GE stackable dryer that came in the Teton was all she needs so that made for one less project in our total remodel of the trailer.

The GE washer works great as well and both hold a considerable load, more in the dryer than a stacked unit by quite a margin.

I did spend a ton of time making the walls thinner, moving one over, relocating the dryer up and over...just so I could build a mini vanity and install a nice sink, faucet and medicine cabinet in the toilet room to make my wife happy.

Just installed a 59x30 free standing soaking tub in the bathroom, huge project as rebuilding cabinets, relocate furnace and secondary water heater, gas lines, moving plumbing....much of which is moving with the slide....love the challenge though.

(she put up with me spending thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars on building race cars so she deserves whatever she wants in the full time RV)

mrgrayaz · 05-19-2019, 10:07 PM

You really limit yourselves on hookups - only 50amp 220 will do.

In our travels that was usually ok, but we did spend quite a bit of time on 30amp 120v up north (cheaper sites and really no need for AC). We also spent some time "moochdocking" on 20amp 120v in people's driveways.

Finally - generators are all 120. You can team two generators to get the power on both legs of the breaker - but I don't know if you can actually pull 220v across both of them (you would know, not me).

Seems to me to be a pretty significant loss of flexibility for a minor benefit.

grindstone01 · 05-20-2019, 10:13 AM

I agree with other comments that a 120v drier is slower, but who cares. Generally the RV lifestyle would generate fewer clothes to wash, so doing a small load every other day should work for most people.
A 220V drier would limit the cg's you could use the dryer at.

RAAMaudio · 05-20-2019, 11:03 AM

My wife has washed and dried three loads in a day more than once using the stackable GE setup.

If I changed the dryer it would be to a LPG unit, not 220. I offered to do so but she decided she was happy with the 110v GE dryer. Finding the right 24" wide LPG dryer was going to be a bit of a challenge anyway.

I saw some used 24" commercial dryers, two in a stack, was researching conversion to LPG when she said she was happy, so was I at that point

----------------

NOTICE! when relocating the dryer up and over I decided to open it up and inspect it for belt wear, etc...and found a ton of lint trapped in various spaces which impacted air flow. Once cleaned out the dryer works even better and of course much less chance of a fire hazard. It is on my annual maintenance list now, it had many years of use to build up to that level so once a year should be fine.

AKFlyboy · 05-21-2019, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrgrayaz

Finally - generators are all 120. You can team two generators to get the power on both legs of the breaker - but I don't know if you can actually pull 220v across both of them (you would know, not me).

Seems to me to be a pretty significant loss of flexibility for a minor benefit.

You'd be better off looking for a 220V genset, which are available (Onan makes two 120/220V models, for instance).

To team two 120V generators, you'd have to run the generators in series then control them in a way that keeps them in phase and on the same frequency.

xrated · 05-21-2019, 05:38 AM

1960C182 nailed it! The breaker panels in almost all RVs are NOT built like a residential breaker panel....the two 120VAC busses are separated side to side. In a residential panel, they run parallel to each other and every other breaker slot is for one of the busses. The in between slots are for the other bus. In order to get 240VAC, you need a double pole breaker that slips into the two different busses....and you can't do that with an RV breaker panel. As he stated, you would need to add a sub panel, the put a double breaker in that panel for the dryer. As far as a 240V dryer for an RV, I do think they are out there as some of the high dollar Motorhomes have them.

Rhagfo · 05-21-2019, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1960C182

Your RV breaker box will not provide 240 as the bus on each pole have no connection as with residential/commercial panel. You would need to add a sub-panel.
As to if a 220/240 V rv dryer even exists I don't have a clue.

Not entirely true, you can replace the main with a 50/xx quad half space breaker. The xx could be 20 or 30 I have seen both.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Murray-Q...0CT2/202253092

wingnut60 · 05-21-2019, 09:09 AM

DRV is putting them in some of their models. You can also get a gen to operate the dryer correctly if wired right--Onan Commercial 6500 will do the job.