[funkadelicfred]

Moving dryer from basement to main floor but on an interior wall. Is there anything against venting the dryer through the floor, through the crawlspace, and outside on an exhaust cap on the cinder block foundation? I assume as long as the ductwork is adequately insulated this should be okay? Or is there any other way to do it?

 

[funkadelicfred]

The duct must be smooth metal, not corrugated. As few bends as possible.

Okay and then just cover it in insulation? Crawlspace is unheated so what should I use?

 

[funkadelicfred]

What's the advantage to insulating a dryer vent in an unheated crawlspace?

Ok, I did a little more looking, and apparently insulating it may minimize or prevent condensation inside the vent. As long as you can slope it down all the way to the end, it seems to me that insulating it may cause more issues than it solves.

What issues could it cause? Even if insulating it doesn't do anything it has to be preferable to having condensation beading off of it and making my moist crawlspace even moister.

 

[funkadelicfred]

Dryer vent air is not that warm in relation to HVAC. By the time it reaches the atmosphere it is mostly temperate. Moving air will help dissipate the condensation. I doubt there will be enough difference in the crawlspace and the pipe to cause a flood in the space.

Flood? No. But unnecessary moisture? Probably

 

[funkadelicfred]

A crawl space should never be close to freezing or freezing. If it is you are going to have a lot more problems than moister in a dry vent. Foundation vents should be closed during the winter.

My crawlspace has no vents but it is connected to the open basement.

 

[funkadelicfred]

It can be very cold - especially if owner forgets to close vents and or it's very leaky.

Many crawls have insulation in ceiling, very little heat getting there.

The insulation is pretty cheap, there's no excuse not to do it to prevent condensation.

Yeah my crawl space is cold as hell I live in Canada and it's just cinder block foundation so it's pretty well the same temp as outside. And it's insulated in the floor joists above it with regular batts.

 

[funkadelicfred]

Distance is about 12' or so, so not very far. Plan is to come into one of those wall boxes, 90 down into the crawlspace with rigid 4" ductwork and tape it together all the way to the cinder block foundation where I will slope it down gradually. Punch a hole through the block, toss the cap on the outside and tape it all together.

Wether or not to insulate it I'm still uncertain. It's a cool crawlspace and the basement isn't heated although they are connected to each other and it's rather moist in the crawlspace. The dirt is packed but always damp and there is batts of fiberglass above in the floor joists but the foundation blocks themselves are only insulated, poorly, by some of that crappy paper-ish spray foam stuff that came before the polyurethane stuff. Would have to scrape it all off to insulate it with rigid styrofoam and I just haven't yet but I probably should eventually.

 

[funkadelicfred]

Be sure to not use a vent hood with a screen in it.

Why not?