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Unconventional dryer vent hookup

joeyh | Posted in General Discussion on August 5, 2016 10:31am

Have you ever seen a dryer vent set-up like this?

It’s sort of a slide-in port. The gray stuff around the opening is hard plastic. The dryer vent pipe just sort of slides in there. When our washer crapped out on us, I discovered this situation when the delivery guys slid the machines (dryer on top of washer) forward and out of the just-wide-enough cavity that was their home. The new washer is a half-inch taller then the old one, so the vent pipe protruding straight out of the dryer no longer aligns correctly with the receiving port (above). There’s no room for a flexible vent pipe unless I want the machines to protrude from their cavity (it’s like a closet with no door).

I’m working on a solution, with fingers crossed. Any ideas?

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  1. DanH | Aug 06, 2016 07:42am | #1

    Open up the wall, move the vent.  Or have 4-5" of space behind to allow for an angled vent.

    Note that you can buy a dryer vent adapter that is Z-shaped and flat in the middle -- only about 2" thick.  They have them at HD.

    1. joeyh | Aug 06, 2016 10:13am | #2

      Unconventional dryer vent

      I'm not familair with the vent adapter you mention, and I can't quite picture it, but I'll swing by Home Depot today and see if I can find it. Thanks for the tip.

      1. DanH | Aug 06, 2016 12:40pm | #3

        http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Adjustable-Aluminum-Dryer-Duct-UD48HD/203632347?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D26P-AirCirculation%7c&gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwQ8jMkNzazko1l5z_-_dd-nhRdq_UY75ElzmV8vzpbhoCq1jw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

        1. joeyh | Aug 06, 2016 10:09pm | #4

          I went to HD this afternoon to look for the thing you described. The guy there showed me exactly this thing. This would be perfect if the alignment of the dryer vent port and the wall port were farther apart, but they're only a half-inch out of alignment.

          My trip wasn't without value though, because I scanned the goods and had an epiphany when I spotted a 4" > 3" reducer. I'll attach it to the rear of the dryer, with a healthy wrapping of foam tape on the 3" end, so that -- hopefully -- when I slide the dryer into position, it will snugly fill the 4" port in the wall.

          We'll see.

          Thanks for your interest and input, Dan.

          1. DanH | Aug 06, 2016 10:24pm | #5

            I guess I do wonder why you can't simply move the opening up a half-inch.  The stuff in the wall is clearly flex duct, and the board supporting the thing is just screwed in there.

          2. joeyh | Aug 07, 2016 03:51am | #6

            Honestly, it didn't occur to me. Mostly, I guess, because it's not anything I've ever done before. The unfamiliar often seems  daunting.

          3. DanH | Aug 07, 2016 07:57am | #7

            It's easy enough to open it up and take a look -- remove a few screws is all.  A little trickier to widen the opening in the board without at least a saber saw (assuming the board is plywood -- if it's drywall all you need is a utility knife).

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