Knowledge

How to Choose Rotary Airer Line Length: 26 m to 60 m

Rotary airers are sold on a single number - 30 m, 40 m, 50 m - and that number is the least standardised thing in the category. Here is how it is calculated in this catalogue and what it means when you are writing a specification.

Clothes line is not the same as drying space

The specification sheets distinguish two figures. LYQ201-26SS carries 26 m of clothes line and gives 29 m of drying space. LYQ205-25DA carries 25 m of clothesline and gives 28 m of total drying space. The second number is larger because it counts the usable run between arms rather than the spooled length. When you compare two suppliers, check which figure each one is quoting.

Rotating diameter is the number your customer notices

A 40 m airer with a 229 cm rotating diameter needs 1.2 m of clear radius; a 60 m airer at 306 cm needs over 1.5 m. In terraced and townhouse markets, rotating diameter, not line length, is the constraint that causes returns.

The practical ladder

26-30 m suits a couple or a small flat with a yard. 40-45 m is the mainstream European garden size. 50-60 m is a family house with a lawn. Above 50 m the arm section has to step up: L25 x W15 mm is fine to 60 m on LYQ215 and LYQ223, while LYQ213 moves to L36 x W30 mm and LYQ216 adds supporting arms.

Three arms or four

Three arms give a triangle that is cheaper, lighter and easier to walk around. Four arms give a square that carries a flat sheet without it folding over itself. Three-arm models here top out at 45 m (LYQ201) and 40 m (LYQ205); four-arm models run to 60 m.

Line diameter changes with length

2.3 mm PVC line is specified on the shorter runs, 2.8 mm and 3.0 mm on the longer ones. All of it has a polyester yarn core, which is what stops a PVC line stretching under a full load and going slack by the third wash.