Extending Dryer Vent

JJQJJ

Hello, all. I look forward to becoming a member of this community!

Just purchased a new house, and I thought this 8ft dryer vent would be long enough to reach the exit, but it's not. I'm about 2 feet short.

The vent: Amazon.com: Whirlpool 4396727RP 8-Feet Dryer Vent with Clamps: Home Improvement

What would you recommend? Should I buy another vent and tape them together with foil tape? Or, should I try some sort of elbow?

The vent elbows, I think, at the ceiling and goes straight outside. I'm guessing roughly 2ft from that top elbow. The exit is 10-11 ft on the exterior wall. This is on the ground floor, by the way. No idea why builder had it this way, but I'd like to have the best (and most cost efficient) solution possible.


A huge thank you to the community!

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Daniel Holzman

The best kind of vent pipe for a dryer is galvanized or aluminum tube, typically 4 inch diameter, that you snap together along the seams. This kind of tubing is smooth on the inside, and you put it together with aluminum foil duct tape (no screws to catch lint). I suggest you make up your vent with lengths of tube, when I bought mine they came in 4 foot lengths. The corrugated tubing is probably OK, but it is not smooth on the inside, and can trap lint, becoming a fire hazard.

DannyT

i vote for the smooth pipe also
get 2 elbows and 2- 4 foot sections and a 2 foot section and you should be good to go.
pushing it up that far you want as little drag as you can get.

Gary in WA

That was an odd place to duct to. Transition ducts cannot be spliced longer than 8' in a room. Give a call to your Fire Marshall or AHJ, to be safe. http://www.hcpdc.com/pdf/Dryer%20Ven...quirements.pdf

Gary

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tylernt

GBR, if the OP installs a 4ft rigid smooth pipe at the ceiling and supports and secures it to the wall with a bracket, wouldn't that become part of the 25ft-max exhaust duct rather than part of the 8ft-max transition duct?

Hemlockpoint

I would consider (strongly) finding a way out of the room other than the huge lift to the ceiling. The dryer will never push lint that high efficiently. I can imagine a huge pile settling in the bottom right behind the dryer. In my 25 years I have never seen a vent through the ceiling for a dryer. It is also an eyesore hey. See if you can cut a 4" hole to the outside and attach a proper vent w/a flap on it. Really simple and probably less expensive.

tylernt

Hemlockpoint I agree that up isn't ideal, but it's not that bad. My old house went up through the roof, had to get on the roof and clean the cap every couple years, then disconnect the hose behind the dryer and clean the ducts. Probably should have done it annually but I always forgot...