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General Science / Re: Is vacuum-drying of clothes feasible?
« on: 10/09/2013 22:19:49 »I realise this post is two years old, but I am starting a project to build a prototype vacuum pump dryer! At the moment I cannot find any evidence for previous designs, has anybody came across any?The reason you don't see clothes drying units is largely that you need quite a bit of strength in the container to resist an implosion which could be quite dangerous. Secondly it is a superior way to do some drying. In the case of common laundry it should work well but you will find that some items are sort of scratchy feeling when dried as it is the tumbling action in a dryer that softens things like towels and wash cloths.
I am thinking as a point of departure that wielded aluminium could be used for the shell of the pressure vessel
An air conditioning repairman's vacuum pump would work quickly enough. The rotary vane types are very quick but do not provide as absolute a vacuum as the piston types. I do wonder if residual, liquid soaps or lint would tend to screw up the pumps. You may need some sort of inline filtration to protect the pump. A copper coil in a bucket of ice on the exhaust side would recapture all lost liquids from the drying process. It may be a superior method but maybe not for the average house wife.