Top Three Gadgets That Can Actually Save You Money
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 04.20.06
Here are three gadgets that can actually pay for themselves, and can even start to save you money in the long run.
The first is the Spin-X dryer which uses centrifugal force to dry clothes quickly and efficiently. By rotating at 3300 RPM, the dryer removes a quart of water from clothes using the same amount of energy a regular clothes dryer uses in the first 15 seconds of operation.
The second is the Vornado IntelliTemp Heater. These efficient space heaters can keep a room at a even temperature using a electronic thermostat which you set. Spacing heating uses much less electricity than whole house heating in general, unless you already have a very efficient system installed.
The third efficient gadget is the Rayovac 15 Minute Battery Charger. These chargers do indeed charge the special Rayovac NiMH batteries in 15 minutes. The batteries are quite reliable and hold up well after many recharges. One drawback is that the batteries only reach 85% capacity in 15 minutes — you have to leave them in the charger overnight if you want something close to a 100% charge. Despite this, they are one of the most convenient ways to keep a supply of batteries available.
Space heaters may be a great idea, but the model in the picture is known to burn out. My roommate had one and the control panel exploded off of it. just a little buyer beware
There was indeed a recall on the Vornado a couple of years ago. They have since been redesigned!
You can read the details here: http://www.vornado.com/hr04facts.html
Wow looks like the spin x will save you drying time but it sure did jack up that chics shirt on the website.
I lived in Finland for a while, and centrifuge type dryers are common there. They're great, and they make laundry faster too. If I had a house and space for one, I'd definitely buy it.
When my school redesigned their workout facility, they installed these in the locker rooms. There wasn't a posted sign as to what this thing did, so many people thought it was a trashcan at first. It didn't take long before swimmers started spinning their wet trunks in them. It was nice, because if you swam daily, you wouldn't have to get into a wet swim suit. I plan on having one of these in the future. These things rock.
I need to get a new battery charger. That one looks pretty good. 15 minutes!
Hmm, I'd be suspicious about that battery charger. In pretty much all battery technology (be it NiCd, Li,Poly-Li, NiMh), the faster you charge it, the more you hurt the battery. Nobody sees the laboratory theoretical recharge cycles, because we don't treat 'em so nice in the real world. And shoving 85% of a charge down their throats in 15 minutes just doesn't sound healthy for those batts; I have no doubt there's a life cost for it.
(Oh, and look up how Lithium Ion batteries don't so much have a number of cycles as they do a lifetime from the manufacturing date...something the manufacturers of Li cells don't like the public knowing ;) ...search around, you'll find tons of literature on it...).
Dryer: The nice thing, if you can afford it, about those front loading washers is that they spin very fast at the end, and thus my clothes take like 1/3 the time to dry fully in the dryer. Plus, the front loading washers use far less energy, water, and therefor also detergent. But if you can't afford one, this spinner looks great!
Battery Charger: Have heard some mixed reviews on the 15 minute charger, although ANY NiMH charger/battery combo will beat the pants off of disposables.
I've been using rechargeable NiMH AAs and AAAs for 6 years now in digital cameras, headlamps, razors, GPSes, night vision devices, laser scopes, PDAs, etc etc. The top rated ones by the reviewers are those batteries by PowerEx and chargers made by MAHA energy (I like the MH-C401FS). They have a nice 4 battery charger with international input options (for those who travel) and a cigarette plug for your car (!). Anyway, these have been rated well in all reviews and absolutely rock IMO.
One excellent place to do NiMH battery charger research (and possibly purchase) is at www.thomas-distributing.com. NiMH AAA, AA, C, D, 9V, rechargeable CR-123s, camcorder batteries. Fast, friendly, and cheap.
Note: I have no association with any of these companies, but have had excellent service over the years.
The Maytag Neptune already has this feature built-in. Just need to make sure the high-speed spin button (I forget what they call it) is pressed on the washer.
Maybe they should integrate the technology from this cloth dryer into conventional ones.. that would be the "green" thing to do.
you be dugg
http://www.digg.com/technology/Top_Three_Gadgets_That_Can_Actually_Save_You_Money
that battery charger really works. i've had one for a year now, and i love it
In my experience, centrifugal dryers don't really dry things that well. You end up needing some help to get the rest of the way. They are very common in Brazil where people use them to get a portion of the water out before they employ an amazingly environmentally friendly and inexpensive drying system called a clothes-line. Of course, your clothes are all horribly wrinkled by the end, so you need to iron everything out. To avoid using an electric iron (which might erase the gains you made with the spinner) you could use something like my great-grandmother had which was heated by the fire in the fireplace (you'll need to burn some trees to do that though).
We have the battery charger at home... very convenient
Sorry to break the news about the batteries, because I'm a huge fan of them. But here's an email exchange between me and Rayovac:
Me: I notice your iC3 batteries/chargers disappearing from shelves. Are you
discontinuing the product?
Them: Thank you for your message regarding Rayovac Batteries. Yes, we have
discontinued the manufacturing of the IC3(15 minute) batteries, due to
lack of sales. At this time there are no plans for any products that
would be replacing those batteries. Let me know if there is anything
else I can help you with. Thank you!
the ray-o-vac charger works like a charm. I was skeptical at first, but after using it for about 2 years I'm convinced. I use the batteries in digital cameras, cd and mp3 players, flashlights, no problem.
Just to let everyone know to not buy that battery charger from buy.com... They advertise their batteries as having a 2000mAh rating but when you get them they are only 1600mAh. I noticed that and called and questioned on it and they said they would fix it but I would have to send it back at my cost and only could get a refund or exchange even though I pointed out they didn't have a correct listing! I did look at walmart and found same package with the 2000mAh batteries and a few cents cheaper too :D
I love the spin dryer idea, but $480 is a lot of money. I searched the web and couldn't find an alternative in the US. I found this website (http://www.applianceplanet.co.uk/eshop/groups/LSDRY.htm) that had several models for much cheaper. I'd buy one now if it was $200.
1/3 .. I'm not that bad :)
This product got some terrible reivew on Amazon as being very unreliable
Batteries should be recharged in a solar recharger. Using electricity to recharge batteries is very not treehuggerish.
Charging batteries with solar charger: I have an isun solar charger; I'd like to use it, but it only charges the batteries about 1/3 (they say it will give a full charge- I have found differently).
From today's "Market Place" on NPR:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/05/04/PM200605045.html
I love the Ray-O-Vac IC3 batteries. I recommend them to everyone. I am sad to see they were discontinued. As far as Greg's comment about the batteries.. Most Electronics manufacturers include starter toner, or film or replacement supplies in printers.. And guess what, it looks like they do the same with the IC3 recharger. But if you can still get the seperate batteries, they ARE rated at 2000 mAh.. Some of the newer 15 min Duracell rechargeables are maxing out at 2650 though.. So.. it might be time to move on anyway..