Would this be stupid?

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Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I don't know your reasons so I may be way off. But, I would never go to a smaller propane tank. Even if I didn't use it I would keep as much in reserve as possible. A time may come when you desperately need it.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
The reason I stay away from flex plastic is this: The home I presently live in I bought 19 months ago after an inspection by a third party inspector (and I'm a former GC working for a builder). The inspector couldn't check the dryer vent for air flow because the dryer had been removed. Upon moving in, I tried to connect to the existing vent & couldn't do it. I cut a hole in the drywall ceiling of the trusses below the laundry room and found it full of lintsicles. The plastic flex was 1/2 full of lint. WHAT A FIRE HAZARD! It was also run 50+ feet to the rear of the house. I immediately got some galvanized duct & piped it out the side of the house thru the brickwork. I'm telling you all of this because you'll find it is very easy to cut a hole in brick with a cold chisel & a hammer & then enlarge the hole to its proper size. BTDT It's far easier than replacing a dryer - or a house!
 

ACobra289

New User
Bill
I don't know your reasons so I may be way off. But, I would never go to a smaller propane tank. Even if I didn't use it I would keep as much in reserve as possible. A time may come when you desperately need it.

In the past we have used a LP furnace for our heating. We just recently installed the heat pump with the furnace for backup heat when it gets real cold. Probably the main reason I want to go with a smaller tank is to get rid of that huge eyesore in the back yard. Plus it takes up a lot of room. Also, the propane company wants you to use at least
1.5 times the tank's capacity per year. So if I didn't have any fill ups for a couple years they may wonder what's going on. :rolf:

Actually, what I would really like to do is have natural gas ran to my house. But Piedmont NG is wanting to charge me 500 bucks just to run the line. :evil: I wish I knew how much LP I am going to be using per year so I could crunch the numbers to see how long it would take me to recoup that $500. :dontknow:

Decisions decisions....
 

Outa Square

New User
Al
I second the comments on using rigid vent pipe as opposed to flex. I would only use flex if i had a short straight run to the outside connection... less than 5 feet. Even then i would inspect it on a very frequent basis. Flex pipe imho should not be allowed other then to connect the dryer to the vent.

Also a real rental place is better than home depot. I have never had a good tool experience from them as the two occasions i have rented something it has been poorly maintained and i got laugh at for asking for instructions. But oh well your home depot might be better.
 

scsmith42

New User
Scott Smith
One reason I wanted to go thru the door for the time being is, eventually I hope to have a smaller propane tank put beside the house to replace the 500 I am currently using. And I need to see where they can place it before I come out of the wall with the dryer vent.


Bill, there are code requirements regarding the minimum distance from a dwelling to a propane tank. I don't recally what they are, but it's probably at least 15 - 20' (if not more).

Thus, the location of the dryer vent shouldn't impact your tank location.

On a side note, for $500.00, you're probably better off in the long run with investing in NG instead of LP.

Scott
 

Bernhard

Bernhard
User
Sorry, but I do not see any issue with the dryer vent placed near the compressor unit. Yes, It could gave been placed farther away.
But imho, I will make absolutely no difference. The air flow of the dryer is negligible when compared to the airflow of the compressor. Other than the occasional piece of lint getting sucked in the compressor fan and blown out, I can't see any problems. I definitely would not punch another hole in a wall. Also I would be more concerned with lengthening the dryer vent piping, that will eat in your efficiency and -if bends are involved- have a tendency to clog.
...and if you just leave it alone, you'll have more time to do some woodworking!
Cheers,
Bernhard
 

scsmith42

New User
Scott Smith
Bernhard, (as I'm thinking outloud...) there may be a slight "energy" penalty from placing the dryer vent close to the condenser.

The penalty would be from the condenser sucking the dryer output through it's cooling coils. I haven't measured it, but I would presume that the temp of most dryer outputs will be 10 - 20 degrees higher than ambient temp, (if not more). The HVAC system will have to work harder as the temp of the air crossing the condenser increases.

Probably not talking hundreds of dollars of difference in terms of electric consumption, but there would be an impact.

You've got a great point about time management and priorities though!

Scott
 

Bill Mason

New User
Bill Mason
Bill,

Not to hijack your post...
I need to replace our 25 year old heat pump and I am pretty sure I want a Trane. Who did your job? Are you happy with it so far?

Thanks,
Bill

Morning.

I recently had a new heat pump installed. The vent for my clothes dryer is fairly close to the heat pump. I have been told that having this vent near the heat pump is not good so I want to move the vent further away. The problem is, my home is brick and besides not having the tools to punch through the brick, I’m not sure I like the thought of putting in a permanent hole. (The old vent is through a plexiglass window.)

There is a rear entry door away from the heat pump that has 6 divided light panels. I was thinking about running hard pipe on the inside of the basement and then changing to flex pipe a couple of feet from the door and putting the vent in one of the top panels in place of the glass. I’m not real concerned about looks as this is on the rear of the house. Can anyone suggest why this might not work? Is this a code violation of some sort?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.
Bill M.

Here is a pic of the old vent.

100_3142.jpg
 

ACobra289

New User
Bill
Bill,

Not to hijack your post...
I need to replace our 25 year old heat pump and I am pretty sure I want a Trane. Who did your job? Are you happy with it so far?

Thanks,
Bill

No problem Bill.

I ended up using Brady-Flanary. There are a couple of small issues (that doesn't affect performance) that need correcting. But overall I am happy with the company and how it's working. If you like, I can PM or email you with a more detailed overview.
 

cubicdissection

New User
Eric
Well, I just last week cut a hole in exterior brick and vented my range hood outside. Very worthwhile - cooking odors go right out!

The hammer drill idea works, but a note of caution! If you use the hammer function all the way through, the back side will shatter out. First couple holes I drilled did that; fortunately the damage was minimal. My advice is to drill the first hole from the inside out in the center, then use that hole as a reference, draw the outline outside, and drill the rest from the outside in. Also, use the hammer function until you are about 3/4 of the way through (put a piece of tape on the bit so you know the depth) and then switch to straight drilling to complete the hole. Then use a cold chisle for the rest.

Home depot sells 4" flapper vents with a flange around the outside which will help cover any chipped edges. Once you have your hole, just silicone the heck out of the flange and prop something against it for 24 hours. Once it cures it won't go anywhere, and you'll end up with a nice professional install. They sell silicone specifically formulated for concrete/masonry and you want to pay the extra couple bucks for it. I think I bought GE brand silicone II. If you're in Raleigh or close to it, shoot me a PM and I'll loan you my hammer drill and silicone. Scored a nice Bosch at a pawn shop for $40 :D
 

cubicdissection

New User
Eric
Oh, as far as the window, I agree it is a security concern. If you don't want bars you may want to consider some 7 to 15 mil security film. With proper anchoring it makes the window very very difficult to get through. I'm planning on doing my entire downstairs.
 

ACobra289

New User
Bill
Well, I just last week cut a hole in exterior brick and vented my range hood outside. Very worthwhile - cooking odors go right out!

The hammer drill idea works, but a note of caution! If you use the hammer function all the way through, the back side will shatter out. First couple holes I drilled did that; fortunately the damage was minimal. My advice is to drill the first hole from the inside out in the center, then use that hole as a reference, draw the outline outside, and drill the rest from the outside in. Also, use the hammer function until you are about 3/4 of the way through (put a piece of tape on the bit so you know the depth) and then switch to straight drilling to complete the hole. Then use a cold chisle for the rest.

Home depot sells 4" flapper vents with a flange around the outside which will help cover any chipped edges. Once you have your hole, just silicone the heck out of the flange and prop something against it for 24 hours. Once it cures it won't go anywhere, and you'll end up with a nice professional install. They sell silicone specifically formulated for concrete/masonry and you want to pay the extra couple bucks for it. I think I bought GE brand silicone II. If you're in Raleigh or close to it, shoot me a PM and I'll loan you my hammer drill and silicone. Scored a nice Bosch at a pawn shop for $40 :D

Eric,

Thanks for the good tips on drilling through the bricks and also for the offer to borrow the hammer drill. I live in Winston, so I'm not close enough to take you up on the offer though. I have an 18 volt Dewalt hammer drill. I'm hoping it will have the power to get through it. :dontknow:

I have run the 4" galvanized pipe and have temporarily vented it through one of the top windows of the door. Not only does this not look good, it extends the length of the overall run to an unacceptable level. I would post a pic, but I don't want you guys laughing at me. :gar-La;

Once I get the nerve , I will go through the brick and make it permanent. According to code, I will be over the allowable amount, but I think it will be ok. It seems to be flowing really well using the 4" rigid pipe. Thanks to Jim (Froglips) for posting the code. It allows for 25 feet of developed run, with 90 elbows counting as 5 ft. The elbows are what's hurting me. I have one coming off the dryer (not sure if that counts towards the run.) Then I come off that 2 feet to an elbow, and go up about 6 feet to another elbow, then go about 10 feet where I switch to flex so I can vent out of the door. When I go through the brick, I will remove 2 feet of rigid from the run, so I will end up with the following:

90 elbow off back of dryer, run of 2 feet horizontal, 90 elbow pointing up, run of 6 feet vertical , 90 elbow, 8 feet of horizontal run, 90 elbow to outside vent.

So with all the 90s, I’m obviously going to be over the allowable amount of feet. But even with the flex on there now it seems to be flowing really well, and I will be removing the flex and 2 feet of the rigid pipe for the final product.

Do y’all think this will be ok?

Thanks.
 

cubicdissection

New User
Eric
Well, I'm certainly no inspector, but I really doubt anyone will give you much grief over it. I would make sure it is safe, however you need to. Checking for accumulated lint once a month for a while wouldn't be a bad idea.
 
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