Off Topic: Dryer vent

[bwarbiany]

Sooo... Good news! We got a house.

Which means that I have whole new things to be concerned about; the immediate one being my dryer. The gas dryer (just obtained from my mother-in-law, and in good working order), like all do, has an exhaust vent out the back. The house is 24 years old, and has a very clear location defined in the garage for a washer/dryer with water, gas, and 220V outlet. But there seems to be absolutely no existing dryer vent, nor any signs of a location through an exterior wall where it would have been vented in the past. We've used it a few times, but it conveniently sets off a smoke alarm above the dryer every time we run it. I don't expect that there's any flaw with the dryer, but obviously I need to address this.

So I've got a few questions...

1) Can I run a dryer without an external vent and relocate the detector? -- cursory internet search says no, but I'm holding out hope.

2) Can I vent the dryer internally in the garage (i.e. run a good 12' vent far enough away from the dryer that any lint/etc is sure to cool before exiting, and or vent into some sort of filter material/bag that can collect it?

3) If no to the above, how hard of a job is it to run a vent through the garage wall to the outdoors?

[JonW]

You want to vent CO, lint and moisture into the garage?

You need to install a vent. You basically just need to cut a 4" hole in the wall where you want the vent to exit. The difficulty is directly related to the materials of the wall.

12' is a bit longer than most normal dryer vents, but not a huge deal. Because of the distance, I would use rigid piping for this and secure it appropriately.

[backyard brewer]

I Agree with Jon. It's not a big deal to do and Home Depot will have the rigid vent pipe. Just don't do what the idiot builders did with my brothers house which is vent the dryer right on the porch. Sure, his front door always smells like Spring Fresh Bounce but it's also always covered with various colors of lint. Turns out lint it a bitch to get out of brick mortor joints and it's very slippery when wet...

Also never ever vent anything into a crawl space.

[jward]

1) Can I run a dryer without an external vent and relocate the detector? -- cursory internet search says no, but I'm holding out hope.

2) Can I vent the dryer internally in the garage (i.e. run a good 12' vent far enough away from the dryer that any lint/etc is sure to cool before exiting, and or vent into some sort of filter material/bag that can collect it?

3) If no to the above, how hard of a job is it to run a vent through the garage wall to the outdoors?

Congratulations! and welcome to the joys of home ownership. In Colorado I saw a home that had a filter the dryer vent attached to collect the lint for purpose of allowing the heat and moisture into the basement where the dryer was located. That was for winter when it's very cold and very dry. My first thought was isn't CO an issue? I would never do that without a CO detector. I have added 2 vents to my house, one from relocating the dryer and one for an added bathroom fan. It's not to big a deal. If you are need tools, let me know.

[bwarbiany]

Well, it looks like I have another thing to add to the to-do list...

Now we're up to:

1) Putting a screen on the gate so the dog doesn't escape into the neighborhood for the third time.
2) Figure out why none of the electrical outlets -- which worked when we moved in -- work in the upstairs hall and kids' room.
3) Vent the dryer.
4) Try to understand why the cable needed a signal booster, and figure out how to get rid of it so the cable modem works properly.

Ain't homeownership fun? I need to brew again soon so I'll be able to deal with this insanity!

[lexuschris]

Well, it looks like I have another thing to add to the to-do list...

Now we're up to:

1) Putting a screen on the gate so the dog doesn't escape into the neighborhood for the third time.
2) Figure out why none of the electrical outlets -- which worked when we moved in -- work in the upstairs hall and kids' room.
3) Vent the dryer.
4) Try to understand why the cable needed a signal booster, and figure out how to get rid of it so the cable modem works properly.

Ain't homeownership fun? I need to brew again soon so I'll be able to deal with this insanity!

Well at least you did not buy a new house... then you couldn't blame all this on the previous owner!
--lexuschris

[maltbarley]

For the electrical problem, look for a tripped GFCI outlet in the bathroom or garage.

On the cable, try to get the modem fed by the first splitter and make sure the splitter is rated for at least 2 GHz.

[bwarbiany]

For the electrical problem, look for a tripped GFCI outlet in the bathroom or garage.

On the cable, try to get the modem fed by the first splitter and make sure the splitter is rated for at least 2 GHz.

Thanks. I've found one GFCI in the garage that isn't at fault, but that's not to say there's not another that I haven't located yet.

For the cable modem, I've noted that there's a "power inserter" that seems to be necessary to make anything function, but I've heard that affects a cable modem. I tried hooking into a cable that I believe is separate from the inserter, but can't get internet going there at all (it's at least intermittent with the inserter) I'm waiting to be home during daylight (i.e. the weekend) to trace down all these cable runs and figure out why this power inserter is hooked up at all.

Actually, these two issues are the most annoying to have trouble figuring out -- since I happen to be an electrical engineer!

[jward]

On the cable, try to get the modem fed by the first splitter and make sure the splitter is rated for at least 2 GHz.

For the cable modem, I've noted that there's a "power inserter" that seems to be necessary to make anything function, but I've heard that affects a cable modem. I tried hooking into a cable that I believe is separate from the inserter, but can't get internet going there at all (it's at least intermittent with the inserter) I'm waiting to be home during daylight (i.e. the weekend) to trace down all these cable runs and figure out why this power inserter is hooked up at all.

The one use of the power inserter that I know of is to power a signal booster usually located at the cable drop (entry into the home) where there is no outlet to power the booster locally. The booster is powered off the low voltage carried on the coax.

I'm betting you have COX. If so, get a tech out to fix it. They will confirm the signal level and replace connectors and splitters with high quality ones. If you need a signal booster I wouldn't expect the cable modem to work without it.