Replacing an Electric Dryer Duct

Hello, and welcome to this DIY video on how to replace the exhaust duct of an electric dryer. While this procedure shares some commonality with what is required for a gas dryer, please note that I have no experience with gas dryers and thus you should double-check if there are any differences in requirements for them.
This video serves as the second part to the dryer duct cleaning video where I replace the spiral-wire collapsible dryer duct which is on the FEMA no-no list with the smoother, more rigid style aluminum duct.
I hope you see from this video that the process is not overly difficult and should be doable by the average homeowner.
As with any DIY video you watch on KZbin, please follow common sense rules and know your limits. KZbin creators are not responsible for any damages caused by oopses viewers may make.
Again, thank you for tuning in, and please like and subscribe to see more of my DIY projects, tips, tricks, tear-downs, and product reviews.
For reference:
Link to duct cleaning video: • Cleaning an Electric D...
www.usfa.fema....

[@marvinrandolph4008]

Great video! You’ve given me an idea for my dryer duct situation!

[@par64guy]

So glad I could help! Based on other comments, try to use as much rigid pipe as possible and minimize elbows. Every bend adds resistance to the airflow.

[@3plecrown]

Should have used aluminum foil tape instead of clamps. Using clamps will not seal of the duct from releasing moisture causing mold and wood rot.

[@par64guy]

Thank you for the advice. I will pick up some tape and seal the joints.

[@par64guy]

Quick follow-up to the production of this video. We have noticed a drastic improvement in dry time and level of dryness since replacement of the duct. I suspect the offset in the old duct was causing it to crush and restrict airflow. I strongly recommend inspecting and optimizing your ductwork.

[@ThinkerTinker74]

Foil tape to seal the connections and help everything stay connected. No need for collet/clamps for connections other than at the dryer's outlet.

[@par64guy]

Great tips! Thank you

[@tvrpaul71]

I saw a video on how to get the miss shapen duct work, was to slide a qt plastic paint mixing bucket you get from the paint section of Lowe's or Home Depot

[@par64guy]

Good tip! I had not considered that the diameter of a quart can is just about the right size!

[@user-vv3zs6en8p]

Just use rigid metal duct next time the entire run. That flex pipe collects lint in no time.

[@par64guy]

Next time I will do that. I did find when cleaning out this duct that it was not too bad.

[@vktechx4444]

On top of that, using flex for dryer vents is against IRC & IMC. Not Code-Compliant. You can only use flex as a transition hose from dryer to wall. Beyond that, only rigid pipe is allowed.

[@Aberod155]

You mentioned the ribs being backwards. Did the coupler only have one end with ribs and it was just reversed so no lint could get stuck on the rib part? Thanks in advance.

[@par64guy]

Yes, the parts have one side ribbed and the other not ribbed. Take a look at 1:31, and you will see looking down the small offset assembly I made that the extension is ribbed on one side and smooth on the other. Thanks for watching!

[@OhBuRn123]

You are going to have to clean your ducts a lot. You have a run going down then up and out. The lint will settle at the bottom and is a fire hazard.

[@par64guy]

There are a few things about the house that I am not thrilled with, one of which is the duct routing. I bought a cleaning kit and swept out the duct. It was surprisingly not bad! That may also have something to do with the gentler detergent I use which seems to result in less lint generation.

[@barrylitchfield250]

It seems that you have a very long run with several corners in that run. Was this home designed for the laundry room in this location, or has the home been modified with a room addition? Perhaps going straight up to the roof may be a better option. (Assuming it's not a two story house, or a basement laundry room)

[@par64guy]

The house was built before I was born, and based on the appearance of the pipes, I suspect the laundry installation is original. Would I have set it up this way? Definitely not! I have seen other raised ranch houses where the laundry is in a separate space with the dryer located against the exterior wall. This keeps the duct run limited to maybe 6-8 feet with a couple of bends. If I were to fix that here, it would require a complete layout and replumbing of the bathroom/laundry. Since the laundry is located under the kitchen, running the duct up is not possible. I could eliminate a couple of bends if I cut a new hole in the wall to eliminate the offset.

[@ambernichols7022]

I'd love to hear the story behind the washer drain.

[@par64guy]

I wish I knew! It was like that when we bought the house. I am guessing it was some sort of kludge job.we never had any issues with the washer draining, so I decided not to mess with it.

[@maryann2710]

Is there a way to change the dryer tube that runs inside a wall instead of taking the wall down, my dryer tube runs ten feet inside a wall that’s adjacent to my kitchen, I would have to remove all cabinets and backsplash tile to replace it, I’m asking if there is a way to fish it through without removing everything.. ? I was wondering if attaching a line threw the existing tube, then unhook the tube from the vent and pull it out from inside my house. Attach the hook to the new tube then pull it through towards the outside attach it to the vent . Do you think that would work?

[@par64guy]

Unfortunately, I do not know the right answer to that. There are code requirements for ductwork installed within a wall of which I am unfamiliar.

[@douglasengle2704]

The aluminized slinky clothes dryer transition hose not only has internal ridges that makes it catch lint it is also flammable! There are KZbin videos where people are able to ignite the clothes dryer aluminized slinky transition hose with a butane lighter! This makes aluminized slinky clothes dryer transition hose especially dangerous for NG clothes dryers that have a hotter exhaust than residential electric heating element clothes dryers. You really want a NG clothes dryer. They typically dry clothes better and much faster than residential electric clothes dryers and cost about 1/4 as much to run. There is no real physical reason to limit residential electric clothes dryers to 30A circuits when electric ranges run at 50A other than the incentive to switch to more economical NG. A lot of electricity is being generated from NG with about half the energy being waisted in heat production and more in transmission where a NG clothes dryer makes use of that otherwise waisted heat. The code in the USA for maximum length of combined total clothes dryer vent exhaust is 20-feet, but it gets derated for bends and corrugated sections. Dryer vent exhaust is suppose to have a lot of velocity to keep the any lint in suspension at 20 ft/sec using google that is 13.6364 mph! You can get a manometer vent pressure gauge that measures pressure in 1/10" of water column length from a instrumentation supplier such as Dwyer www.amazon.com/Dwyer-25-Manometer-Inclined-Vertical-Measuring/dp/B009PAN3C8/ref=asc_df_B009PAN3C8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=344432909168&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3697650490783265548&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016137&hvtargid=pla-493741533316&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=68534272239&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=344432909168&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3697650490783265548&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016137&hvtargid=pla-493741533316 The manometer sensor orifices has to be mounted with knowledge of venturi effect (look it up) you're into serious physics here. Better clothes dryers frequently have a pressure gauge built into their instrumentation to inform the user of vent duct back pressure. On our LG electric clothes dryer the pressure gauge only appears momentarily and doesn't give 1/10" W.C. readings so even if you catch it, it doesn't tell you a relatable condition of the back pressure. When we first connected our new LG clothes dryer and our drying times were still very slow, but it did a better job of drying the clothes. They still didn't smell right, but a lot better than the old dryer. As a test, I disconnected the dryer vent from the wall and ran it into the house and the drying time was much less than half what it had ever been before! There was no sign of excess lint in the wall dryer vent system, but it ran from the mid floor into the attic then across the attic to a section of roof where the dryer roof vent wouldn't appear facing the street. With the transition hose the setup was likely over the limit of a derated maximum 20 foot dryer vent length needed to account for 90° bends and a slinky transition hose. There are automatic dryer vent exhaust inline booster fans that sense with the dryer is on I could install, but the LG dryer is suppose to have an especially powerful exhaust system that should make a slightly over length exhaust system function somewhat. Tearing apart the exhaust vent system it was surprisingly clean. The I got to the roof vent from the attic side and there was bird nest debris clogging it over a foot down into the piping. The roof has such a steep pitch it is not possible for me to clime it except along the joining ridges which are less steep. We live around Indianapolis and it turns out bird nesting in clothes dryer vent exhaust is especially a problem for this region. There is even a local regional company that advertises their bird nest resistant clothes dryer external exhaust vent. I don't known if it works or not. The steep pitch roof means roof vents should be serviceable or at least clearable from the attic side of the roof. I'm willing to spend $100 or more on a good reliable attic side serviceable clothes dryer roof vent because climbing the roof is requires serious climbing gear and working in the attic is something I want to streamline and minimize. After many days of maneuvering my body behind the dryer and washer, a dryer vent in the wall that disconnected mid section and falling, realizing that the roof vent would likely quickly become a birds nest again and it would take some type of roof climbing gear to service and replace the vent from the roof side, becoming physically ill from working in the attic and other aspects and knowing the system is really likely past the maximum limit of 20 foot maximum length when derated for bends and the transition hose I stopped working on it and we exhaust the dryer into an in house water lint trap. The clothes dryer time fell to less than half of what is was before. The main reason we replaced the old dryer was it wasn't drying the clothes. The LG did, but it took a very long time till we switched to exhausting it into the house. This is an electric heating clothes dryer. You are really not suppose to do that with a NG dryer because the combustion exhaust is mixed in with the hot air exhaust. You are doing about the same thing when running a gas cooking stove, but they typically have an exhaust hood vented to the outside. The house likely never really had a functional dryer exhaust and it was a very difficult instillation. There is obviously a fire stop with the way wood was packed around dryer vent coming into the attic. We had the roof replaced and with that up graded all the roof vents including the clothes dryer vent with bird nest resistant vents. The bathroom forced vent exhausts on the roof were also totally clogged with bird nest debris as well, but they were rarely used. Non of those vents were connected up by the roofers after their replacement and I was very suspicious they just be clogged by birds nests after a few months. I have never connected them up or checked them. After writing this I'll probably go check them. We normally don't turn on the bathroom vents. Occasionally venting into the attic is fine. Putting all that humidity into the attic daily is bad. This is a multi high pitch and ridged modern all brick house. The designer was obviously trying to keep the roof lines attractive and didn't try to to ease the difficulty of routing venting for the clothes dryer and used condensing NG house furnace and NG water heater that could be vented through PVC pipe to the side of the house over 30-foot runs. The cooking stove doesn't have external venting. If designing a house you really want to put more attention into better appliance fixture exhaust venting to allow for cooking stove and noncondensing NG appliance exhaust venting. Condensing NG water heaters are in a simple statement bad. You're much better off with a slightly hot exhaust going up through roof because the condensation quickly corrodes the water heater causing them to fail in just a few years. We're on our third one now and condensing NG hot water heaters cost about twice as much as noncondensing NG hot water heaters at a good $2,000 with installation. Always use a catch tray under a condensing HG hot water heater because when the start to corrode leak they flood rather than trickle. A good noncondensing hot water heater might last over 20 years. Condensing NG hot water heaters might only last 3 years and some people of had them go out sooner. It depends on the highly variable quality of NG. Somebody living off LNG that has basically been cleaned through the liquid process may have much better luck, but it also cost more.

[@davidolsen9098]

I found the installer had screwed all the pipe sections together. Crazy to see all the lint that was balled up grabbing onto those screws.

[@par64guy]

Yup, nasty stuff.

[@HighSierraBob]

Screws in a dryer vent are against building code. Foil tape and clamps only.

[@antoinettmuscarella1113]

Can you connect two dryers to the same vent. Is there an adapter I can make or buy

[@par64guy]

I do not believe that is compliant with code. I believe the amount of airflow from each appliance, when added, would exceed the capacity of a single 4"duct.

[@scottdodson7122]

Please do not make videos about stuff you know nothing about what you just did is not right not trying to be mean but what you just did is 100%wrong I do that for a living and if I went into that house and saw that I would rip it all out 🤷‍♂️sorry

[@par64guy]

Sorry to hear you did not care for the content. The great thing about KZbin is that there are thousands of content creators to choose from. Regarding this project, I did research various sources including reports on dryer fires as well as code requirements for duct length and type. According to them, my installation falls within the guidelines of maximum duct length and type. If I go back to do anything over, it would be to either run more of the length as rigid duct so I would only need one length of flex at the end or run the whole length as rigid duct. If I recall correctly, my reason for using flex on the latter part was that the additional two 90 degree turns would reduce the effective duct length to just about 10 feet which is calculated as 35ft - (5ft x 5 90's). This would make it very marginal based on the location of the dryer and exit point of the house. What parts of the installation do you disagree with? Please share so other viewers can see the differing opinions. I have no problem when viewers point out errors as it helps all of us learn. A great example of that was my Wi-Fi installation project where an installer pointed out a cable routing mistake I made. I was then able to correct it so everyone would know. Thanks for watching and your feedback.