I've never heard of a dryer that runs in both directions. Not saying they don't exist, just I've never heard of one. A washing machine ? ? ? Yes ! But a dryer ? ? ? I'm not convinced of that.

Must be a Brit or EU thing.

A washing machine reverses direction of agitation in its transmission, or at least here in the US.

 

A washing machine reverses direction of agitation in its transmission, or at least here in the US.

Yes. And no. And I'm in Utah.

Mother-in-law's GE has a motor they call an inverter. I have NO IDEA why they do, but it's designed to reverse direction. THAT is how it agitates. Shocked the heck out of me to learn they did that - AND that it's not destructive to the motor. OK, I'm calling it a motor, I don't care What THEY call it.

The system is computer controlled. Depending on the setting the motor does its thing. When it's time to spin the drum the MSC (Mode Shift Coil) engages the drum and disengages the agitator. Somewhere in another thread I've talked about repairing the MSC; bad fusible link. But that um - "motor" does reverse vigorously to agitate the clothing. So "yes and no" to washing machines having transmissions. My MIL's machine doesn't.

 

Modern W.M. typically use the Fischer-Paykel outrunner motor, a gear box is not used with these.
https://www.fisherpaykeltechnologies.com/
Max.

 

I make my wife beat the clothes on the rocks in our creek. Have never seen inside a "modern washer, all I've ever worked on had a transmission.

 

Frequent reversal of the tumble direction does improve the efficiency of the drying. So it is only found in dryers that are designed for best performance. Those designed for minimum cost of production do not include that feature. No wonder most are not aware of it.

 

Have never seen inside a "modern washer, all I've ever worked on had a transmission.

That's probably because those older machines were built to last. Modern machines seem to have built-in obsolescence. As I alluded to, I fixed my MIL's machine. Bad MSC. The fusible link burned out under normal use. Calculations suggested it was rated for 106% of normal operation. Not much of a margin. To my knowledge, engineering practices for commercial equipment used to be typically engineered for 133% of normal use. So that when the machine was taxed a little bit it still had room to function. Engineering on life critical devices such as medical, aerospace and automotive (to name a few) are typically engineered to 150%. Worked for a company that built tanks for water, oil, oil cracking towers - etc. When we tested them we always tested to 150% normal use. If it didn't blow up then it was certified and put into service.

I think the thread where I discussed the MSC was in the thread "The right to repair". Anyway, modern machines are built to be more energy efficient. The "Inverter (motor)" seems to be more efficient from what I gather on line. After all, I read it on the internet - it MUST be true.

So a dryer with reversible drum rotation, though I've never heard of it - it sounds reasonable.

Come to think of it - I once had a washer that had a reversible motor. When the transmission spun in one direction it agitated. When spun in the opposite direction, a clutch bound up and spun the drum for spin dry.

 

Come to think of it - I once had a washer that had a reversible motor. When the transmission spun in one direction it agitated. When spun in the opposite direction, a clutch bound up and spun the drum for spin dry.

That's the transmission I'm talking about.

 

Those designed for minimum cost of production do not include that feature. No wonder most are not aware of it.

So you're saying "I'm cheap"?

JK!

If not for having a machine that is 3 years old (I think) I would probably seek out one of these magical machines that change direction.

 

Those designed for minimum cost of production do not include that feature.

My reverse-tumble dryer is one of the cheaper brands. Several European brands/models have the feature. You guys in the US need to catch up! .

 

So you're saying "I'm cheap"?

JK!

If not for having a machine that is 3 years old (I think) I would probably seek out one of these magical machines that change direction.

I am not implying that anybody is cheap, but rather that the vast majority of products produced for the major consumer markets are ALL designed with minimum cost to produce as the primary design target. Lasting until the 90 day warranty runs out is the second goal.