This depends on the industry need you are looking to meet, so we have summarised common & industry specific questions.

Common

• Do you have gas available & in this LPG or LNG? 
• How much 1 or 3 phase electricity is available & can this be upgraded if needed?
• Available space for your laundry?
  • DWG files are appreciated for layouts / drawings.
• Washers
  • Water inlet supply to building data?
  • Water outlet supply to building data?
  • Is your laundry on the ground floor or suspended slab?
• Dryers
  • Is ducting for dryers possible?

Laundromat

• Have you identified a suitable site & do you have approvals for a laundromat?

On Premise Laundry

• If upgrading equipment
  • List of equipment to replace?
  • Utility supply available to each machine?
• If new:
  • Production requirement by type per day in KG?
  • Do you need to iron flatwork?

Central Laundry

• Production requirement by textile type per day in KG?

Multihousing

• How many residents do you need to provide laundry services for?
• Expected turns per machine per day?

Manufacturers like to overstate capacity to level the playing field with competitors who are doing the same, so we have summarised the Degree Of Loading (DOL) data below.

Description Example Used

DOL 1/9 1 KG = 9 L drum volume 240 litres = 27KG Manufacturer

DOL 1/10 1 KG = 10 L drum volume 240 litres = 24KG Low Soil

DOL 1/12 1 KG = 12 L drum volume 240 litres = 20KG Medium / High Soil

Applications:

1. 1/10 - Hotels 
2. 1/12 - Aged care / Healthcare 

Hard mount washers don’t have a suspension & thus require a 200mm reinforced concrete base on ground to absorb static / dynamic forces. They are also generally max 200G extraction. These are normally sold due their lower purchase price to vend customers with low turn numbers, who want the most robust solution & can’t justify the extra investment.

Soft mount washers do have suspensions, thus can be installed on a suspended slab, as the suspension aborbs vibration. The are generally 450G extraction, which means they extract more moisture than hard mount alternatives, this leads to shorter drying times & less dryer energy consumption. By far our most popular platform, simple installation & the lowest dryer energy usage.

Physically mounted  the soft mount washer’s drum, these manage vibration live & optimise extraction, leading to longer machine life & best in class dewatering = less dryer energy usage.

Drain pumps pump the water from the washer to drain system, this means simple installation, however slower pump outs with 22 to 30 litres per min & the pump filter needs to be cleaned regularly. Generally found in commercial washers.

Drain valves gravity drain the water from the washer to drain systems, normally requiring custom drainage & for machines to be lifted to accommodate, so potentially a more expensive installation, however drain times are faster @ 160 to 400 litres per min & they self clean, meaning no regular filter cleaning. Generally found in industrial washers.

This is essential at sites like aged care / hospitals / hotels, where quality is essential & multiple peoples washing are being batch washed together. Internal heating means the washer is also able to meet the New Zealand standards for thermal disinfection, 71C for 3 mins or 65C for 10 minutes. Mandatory for on premise & central laundries.

If you aren’t mixing multiple peoples washing in 1 machine or laundry is lightly soiled, then heating isn’t necessary, a normality in shared living & laundromats.

This lifts the washer for improved loading / offloading ergonomics & facilitates better a drain valve installation. 

As a basic answer, dryers are rated at wet weight & why they are normally 50% greater in capacity than washers. 

As a more detailed answer, you need a greater drum volume in the dryer when compared to a washer, normally 2.5 to 3 times more volume depending on the textile being dried. If we consider Degree Of Loading (DOL):

Description Example Used

DOL 1/18 1 KG = 18 L drum volume 675 / 18 = 37 KG Manufacturer 

DOL 1/28 1 KG = 28 L drum volume 675 / 28 = 24 KG 24KG washer @ DOL 1/10

Underloading the dryer won’t damage the machine, however will lead to energy wastage, while loading optimally will lead to improved evaporation with the heat generated & no skirting. So it’s important to dimension your dryers correctly based on your use care. For example see below common pairings.

• Hospitality
  • Washer WH6-27 @ DOL 1/10 = 24KG 
  • Dryer TD6-37 with 675 litres / 24 KG = DOL 1/28
• Aged Care / Healthcare
  • Washer WH6-27 @ DOL 1/12 = 20KG 
  • Dryer TD6-30 with 550 litres / 20 KG = DOL 1/28

Lets first explain the older technology, Radial Airflow has a heater on top of the dryer, heated air then passes through the dryer from the top to bottom evaporating moisture, however 20% of the heat generated skirts around the drum & leads to energy wastage.

Axial airflow dryers have their heaters installed on the back of the dryers drum, heat then passes through the dryer from back to front, skirting is eliminated due to a seal, which is used between the back & front halves of the dryer, ensuring all heat is allowed the opportunity to evaporate moisture & thus saves energy. Estimated savings with our most popular model:

• WH6-27 @ DOL 1:10 = 24KG 
• 24KG @ 45% retained moisture = 10.8 liters
• 10.8 litres x 1 kW per liter evaporation = 10.8kW
• 10.8 kW x $0.25 per kW x 30’000 cycles = $81,000 energy usage over machines life
• Saving @ 20% = $16,200

This is Electrolux Professional’s latest moisture manage system, bringing 3 generations of innovation into the worlds most accurate residual moisture sensing solution on the market. This can programmed to a defined moisture content from 0 to 50% & will stop when dry or ready for ironing.

It’s cheaper to build a dryer with 1 motor to drive the drum & airflow, common in the domestic or commercial ranges, however this means the dryer can’t reverse its drum & will lead to higher energy usage, along with knotting / balling of larger items.

All our industrial dryers are specified with 2 motors, 1 to drive airflow & 1 to drive the drums rotation, this helps reduce dry times to 7 to 10 minutes & helps eliminated knotting / balling of large items. Even with our smallest 8KG washer / dryer combo, the saving is significant:

• 8KG @ 45% retained moisture = 3.6 liters
• 3.6 litres x 1 kW per litre evaporation = 3.6 kW
• 3.6 kW x $0.25 per kW x 30’000 cycles = $27,000 energy usage over machines life
• Saving @ 20% = $5,400

We offer a couple of options and understanding your production requirement & available space for the machine, is key to making a recommendation.

Note labour is the biggest cost to consider & why automating is such an important consideration, we are able to automate production from 50 KG per hour. 

We have a massive stock holding of spare parts & thousands of machines in the field, many of which are over 20 years old, which we keep running affordably. 

We normally deliver within 24 to 48 hours, depending on location.