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Is it plausible to vent a dryer through a soffit? If it is, who makes a vent that would work in this application?
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Replies
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Question 1: Yes
Question 2: Whoever does the job. I suggest you hire someone, watch them and you'll know how next time.
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FredB
Why bother replying if you give an answer like that?
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Anti-FredB,
Coward....
Gabe
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If you do decide to vent your dryer through your soffit think about this: Do your soffits have vents in them? If so, and you vent your dryer there too, the
b damp
air that is being exhausted from the dryer will likely be sucked right up into your soffit vents and create a very undesirable environment in your attic.
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I'm flattered that someone would care enough to attack me instead of my ideas. Now THAT is something for the Poster to be proud of; not.
But, I will explain. Normally installing a dryer vent is a task any reasonable competent DIYer ought to be able to do. But, this Poster is unfamiliar with the requirements of his dryer(they are in the manual) and is unfamiliar with the piping and sealing used in dryer venting. Or, at least his question would imply that. Otherwise, he would be asking for specific installation questions.
Plus, installing in the soffit area must be done with some thought to air flows so as not to put moisture into the roof cavity. This to prevent damage.
So...when faced with this kind of situation where someone apparently doesn't have the basic concept of what they are doing and the downside is pretty serious I recommend finding someone who knows how, let them do the job and consider the money well spent. Lyle gets a properly installed vent and some basic lessons all with the same dollar.
There I said in a lot of words what was said before without boring people into snore-city.
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I have two options, either I vent it through the roof, which will be unsightly, or I vent it through the soffit, which asthetically makes more sense. The moisture in the attic is not a problem in my application. Essentially my only question is, does somebody make a vent which can be installed in a vinyl soffit that will exhaust when the dryer is on and close when it is off to keep out varmints and such. The problem is that the commercially available dryer vents, vent horizontally. In this application, I am looking for a vent that exhausts vertically. I cannot find one locally and I needed to know if someone makes such a vent. If there is a reason why they don't, I was just curious why. As to the obnoxious response which questioned my understanding of the logistics of heat and moisture issues with a dryer vent, it does nothing to solve my problem and is irrevelant. If you don't have information to that benefits me, please vent your problems elsewhere. I am not a happy homeowner. I am looking for a professional response to a simple question.
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Dear Lye,
In spite of your closing comment I think I still would like to help you out. What I heard Fred saying was a spin on the old Yogi Berra comment, "You can observe a lot just by watching". Nobody owes you nothin', pal - a lot of this stuff is gleaned by keeping your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut - sometimes for decades. So relax and be grateful for whatever help you get.
I passed an inspection just today venting out through frieze blocks. But as you said, that's pushing through a horizontal surface. And I get that you want to face the vent downward.
To answer your question >>If there is a reason why they don't, I was just curious why. << The answer is that little flapper. Facing the ground, it won't return to cover the opening, and thus provides a path in for drafts, critters, whatever. I can't quote you chapter and verse at the moment (I could look it up but I'm too lazy), but I'm pretty sure it's code that the flapper be operational, at least I know it is in commercial. All the ones I've seen operate by gravity. So that's why. If you come up w/ a fix that the inspector will sign off, be a sport and post it here. yours, Geo. Lentulo
*Dear Lyle, I am not aware of any vents that are made to close in that position(vertically)gravity as you know closes the louvers on most vents.Having said that you can use those type of vents if you place screening into the pipe for pest control.The other possibility is to use round soffit vent inserts they are usually made of aluminium and around here are used as an afterthought, they come in 1"dia.up to 4" and would also work.Keep in mind that eventually the lint will make it's way to the vent and need to be cleaned out it always seems to.Hope this helps Larry S
*H-m-m...just wondering, no real solution, but would it be possible to install the flapper in the horizontal position somewhere in the run just before it faces down? The critters couldn't fall in, but the air could open it and gravity could close it, and there would be only a few inches of duct beyond it.
*Lyle,Dryer venting normally is kept as short and as direct as possible. Try not to design something thatgoes up and then loops downward otherwise the dryer will not run efficiently.The soffit vent idea is not recommended.There are a dozen other ways to vent attractively through the wall and on the roof.Gabe
*Lyle. Gabe gives good advice. Search the archives for more information on this subject: the pros and cons of exhausting through a soffit,(does one exhaust through the windward soffit or throughn the leeward soffit?) especially when the soffit is also vented. GeneL.
*Fantech includes a draft preventer in its fan kits that operates in a vertical orientation. It is a four inch diameter cylinder that contains two semi-circular doors or flaps that are spring-loaded closed. Air pressure will open the doors, and they close when the pressure goes away. I can't vouch for the exhaust flow from a dryer being sufficient to overcome the springs, however. The Fantech system can be used to augment dryer exhaust when there's a long run, and this may be a way to deal with both issues -- the soffit vent and the run. Fantech has a Web site at the logical URL.
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The original POST:
Lyle Bennett - 08:40am Aug 14, 2000 EST
Is it plausible to vent a dryer through a soffit? If it is, who makes a vent that would work in this application?
Hmmmm..... what does plausible mean?
plau·si·ble (plôz-bl)
adj.
Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible: a plausible excuse.
Hmmmmm..... what is BREAKTIME FORUM for?
A QUOTE "Welcome to the Taunton Press Discussions. Click on the title of the discussion you wish to join to begin reading messages, asking questions, offering opinions and advice, and exchanging valuable information about your craft.
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Gee, Lyle asks a SPECIFIC question. Then gets told "GO GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT" by FredB.
If this makes no sense to you, then fuhgedaboudit.
P.S. Other responses are actually HELPFUL!
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Mr Bennett in your obnoxious, ungrateful and generally poor humored response you still fail to get the point. But thanks to the response that: "I am not a happy homeowner" I get the idea that emotion has totally blanked your mind. I gave you exactly what you were looking for:"I am looking for a professional response to a simple question". I gave you a professional response.
Venting through a soffit is not a good idea. However, if "The moisture in the attic is not a problem in my application" is in fact true you already have a unique situation that will have to be addressed by someone who can see the job.
Venting vertically is not a good idea due to lint in the pipe and the increased back pressure caused by the air stack causing decreased dryer efficiency. I wouldn't do it unless the dryer manual specifically approved it.
So, as I said in the first place: If you can't figure out how to do something you probably had not oughta be doing it. So, hire someone who can figure it out and learn from them. Or, maybe they will tell you it can't be done that way and you can get it done right.
*LyleIf you had put your original question in the format of your response to FredB, then you would have gotten some good responses back without all the snide remarks. We see many one line questions that don't give enough info to warrant a valid response.I think that some sort of statement needs to be posted when a user clicks on "New Discussion" to the effect "If you have a question or problem, please give enought detail for valid responses".Vince
*Lyle, sure hope you live in a warm climate. If you don't, the moisture is going to do some nasty things to your soffits and adjoining wall.
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Is it plausible to vent a dryer through a soffit? If it is, who makes a vent that would work in this application?
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I'll agree that soffit vents may not be optimal, but sometimes they are the only solution. I've been retrofitting my second floor baths (under a finished third flor with a mansard roof) and there is not other way to readily vent these rooms. Home depot sells a plasstic vent cover made for soffit installations. Not my favorite, but all I could find. It works, and while I may be picking up a little moisture in my attic I'm getting a lot out of my house