So it turns out that, after all, we have a gas dryer. Which was a surprise for me. Problem being, the Best Buy delivery folks won’t touch the gas lines (which I can well understand). (The new dryer is electric.)
So the washer was installed; the new dryer is in the garage. I need to call Xcel a plumber to have the gas line disconnected and closed. (Which I now have, and dude should be here this afternoon.) After which, I can have the Best Buy people come out and install the new dryer.
(Yes, we did buy at Best Buy. The Sears Dent-n-Ding store didn’t really have any deals on what we were looking for, and the Habitat for Humanity store, which sometimes has high-end stuff, didn’t. Plus, we knew the sales lady at BB, and she got us a good deal. And the delivery was remarkably well handled and efficient. Except for the gas line part, which was my fault.
It’s never easy. But it should be (when all done) clean.
Do you have a 240-volt outlet for the new electric dryer?
Yes. Mercifully. The guy confirmed that, and, once it was all brought back into my memory, I remembered noting that the house was set up for either.
I gotta say, having gone from electric to gas, I’ll never go back! Nothing like open flame drying your clothes!
OK, getting them onto the clothesline is the best .. .as long as the local farms haven’t recently spread manure . . .
Honestly, the subject just didn’t come up this time. Had it, I’m not sure which way I would have jumped. Regardless, we’re on electric for the next decade-plus. 🙂
UPDATE: Plumber came. Plumber examined. Plumber recommended replacing valve with current code one (which can be closed by hand, not requiring a wrench). Agreed (add hefty surcharge for work, but I’m a believer in doing that sort of thing sooner rather than later).
Dryer guys will be back tomorrow to finish the install and haul-away.
On my recent purchase, I decided to go with electric rather than gas on the theory that the value equation will swing in favor of electric dryers rather than gas dryers. I think that gas prices will rise in the next decade while electric prices will decline as more alternative energy sources for electricity come on line and fossil fuels becomes scarcer. Plus, my new house was set up for an electric dryer. I would have had to get a plumber to run a new gas line for the dryer if I wanted a gas dryer.
Definitely not worth it if you have to run a line — and, honestly, the safety factor involved in running additional gas in a house probably militates against it.
If natural gas prices fall, it will become more common in electrical generation, causing a trailing price drop. If additional alternative energies come online, electric is the way to go.
Note as a reference: Patriot Enterprises plumbing (http://www.patriotpros.com/plumbing.shtml) responded quickly, the person on the phone was amiable; the plumber was friendly, professional, and helpful. I was quite pleased.