Gas tumble dryers explained

Gas tumble dryers are one of four different types of tumble dryer you can buy. 

The others are condenser, heat-pump and vented.

To find out more about these, read our guide on how to buy the best tumble dryer.

How much do gas tumble dryers cost?

The gas models we've tested over the years both came from White Knight, they costed around £500 but they're no longer available to buy.

When you could buy a gas dryer, they were more than three times the price of the cheapest electric vented tumble dryers available, more expensive by far than most condenser dryers and around the price you would expect to pay for an energy saving heat-pump dryer.

How much do gas tumble dryers cost to run?

Gas tumble dryers cost less to run than most electric dryers.

On average, a standard electric vented tumble dryer will add around £176 to your annual energy bills and a condenser will cost around £168. 

A gas dryer uses only a small amount of electricity and we estimate you’ll pay around £100 a year for gas, making it significantly cheaper to run.

However, if energy-efficiency is important for you, consider a heat pump dryer. They are the most efficient dryer type of all, with yearly energy costs of around £69.

Head to our heat pump tumble dryers guide to find out if this is the right dryer type for you.

How much do gas tumble dryers cost to install?

Even though gas tumble dryer running costs are low, bear in mind that you will need to pay a Gas Safe engineer to install one. 

The installation charge will vary according to how much work it requires to safely run gas to where you want the dryer, but the cheapest quotes we found at the time of writing were between £100 and £150.

Pros and cons of gas tumble dryers

Pros:

• Gas vented tumble dryers have low running costs compared to electric vented dryers and tend to dry clothes well.

Cons:

• Gas dryers need to be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which can be expensive.
• Like electric vented tumble dryers, gas vented models need to be positioned near a window or door to vent the air away or the hose needs to be attached to a vent in the wall, which may limit installation options.
• At the time of writing there were no gas dryers available to buy in the UK.

Compare our tumble dryer reviews.