Fisher & Paykel DE7027P1 AeroCare Dryer Review

Of course, it's still unlike any other dryer on the market. Apparently, dryers designed in the Southern Hemisphere can spin in the opposite direction. No, it's not the Coriolis effect—we even called collect to make sure. It's a counter-spin cycle, which is designed to dry laundry more evenly. In our tests, the DE7027P1 achieved some of the most even drying we've seen, and even managed to dry a wet comforter all the way through.

Unfortunately, across almost all cycles it got too hot and took too long. We were also disappointed by the DE7027P1's high price. But if you want evenly-dried laundry and can wait for it, this dryer is still worth checking out.

Design & Usability

A touch of grey adds a lot of color

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Rather than designing a white good that's all white, F&P decided to add a touch of grey for distinction. It really goes a long way in making the DE7027P1 stand out from the rest. There's also a plain clear door, rather than a tinted one, allowing you to see the spinning laundry and attractive metal lattice inside.

It's little touches like these that help this Fisher & Paykel maintain style on a budget.

Using the DE7027P1 is just like using any other dryer, but better. The central control dial turns smoothly and deliberately. The displays are easy to read, with whimsical little pictures for each cycle and pleasant beeps marking each selection. Our only complaint would be that the touch-sensitive buttons don't respond as smoothly as we'd like.

Performance & Features

A unique approach to drying clothes

This Fisher & Paykel will get your clothes dry, and that's what most people ask their dryer to do. However, other machines take less time and aren't as rough on clothes.

We know that speedy cycles mean less time in the laundry room and more time doing things you enjoy. But this dryer's sensor-based cycles took over an hour to finish—a few minutes longer than is ideal.

Similarly, we know that repeated exposure to high temperatures can accelerate fabric wear. Unfortunately, we recorded temperatures that got about 15 degrees too high: The Regular cycle peaked north of 165°F, for instance.

On the features front, the Fisher & Paykel DE7027P1 has one that stands out: counter-spin. When dryers only spin one way, they can know clothes into a cylindrical shape. The laundry in the middle doesn't get exposed to hot air, nor do the dryer's sensors pick up remaining moisture trapped in the knot.

This Fisher & Paykel addresses that problem by spinning in the opposite direction for a few minutes.

It turns out that the feature really works. Almost no dryer passes our tough "wet comforter" test—comforters are just too big and heavy to toss around in most dryers' drums—but the DE7027P1 had no trouble at all. That's truly impressive.

There's also the ability to add steam to get out wrinkles, which is available on plenty of machines in this price range.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

Conclusion

Defies expectations

Unless you come from a country where grilled meat on a stick is pronounced "ki-babb," you might not have heard of Fisher & Paykel. The DE7027P1 dryer is a good introduction, though: Unique features, impressive design, and intuitive controls have traditionally been hallmarks of other Fisher & Paykel products we've tested.

As far as performance is concerned, the DE7027P1 will get your clothes dry. Unfortunately, it will do so over a long period of time and at high temperatures. It will also cost you around $1000. That's why we can't give this dryer our highest recommendation.

But if you like its design and features and don't mind waiting a few more minutes for a cycle to complete, this dryer may still be a good fit.

By the Numbers

The best way to determine how well a dryer works is to collect data on temperature and water removal. The engineers at Fisher & Paykel must have read a lot of Aesop's fables growing up, because this machine certainly ascribes to the policy that slow and steady wins the race.

Regular & Delicate

To test the Regular cycle, we took an 8 lb. load of laundry and wet it to 1.7 times its weight. We placed this test load into the drum along with temperature and humidity sensors. After the cycle finished, we checked to see how much added moisture the dryer removed.

On average, the Regular cycle lasted an hour and six minutes. That's on the long side. However, the end result showed that all the moisture had been removed. The highest temperature recorded maxed out at 168.5°F, though, which is very hot. The best dryers achieve the same results but don't get much hotter than 150ºF.

The Delicate cycle test load also weighs 8 lb. and is wet to 1.7 times its weight. This cycle ran for an hour and ten minutes on average across our tests. The 143°F peak temperature we recorded was still too high—the best Delicates cycles barely hit 110ºF. Oddly enough, this cycle also removed all moisture, even though it was cooler than Regular.

Quick Dry & Bedding

The DE7027P1 lacked a sensor-based Quick Dry cycle, so we used a 30 minute Timed Dry instead. This test uses a 4 lb. load wet to 1.7 times its weight. After 30 minutes on the dot, the test laundry came out 74% dry. We recorded a maximum temperature of 156°F. That's not bad, considering how short the cycle is.

For the Bedding test, we took a test comforter and wet it to 1.5 times its weight. After an hour and thirty minutes, the test comforter came out completely dry. Most dryers struggle to get even half that. We attribute this to the fact that the DE7027P1 counter-spins, allowing both sides of the comforter to get exposed to the hot air.