Dryerlopnik

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 03/27/2019 at 12:11 • Filed to: None

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I am working on fixing my dryer, and I have determined that the thermal cutoff switch is bad. It’s bad because it did its job by turning off the power to the heating element when the dryer got too hot. Of course, now the question is why the dryer got too hot in the first place.

This is the pipe that comes out of the wall where the dryer vent hose attaches. Behind the wall i t takes a 90-degree turn and exits out through the attic. I don’t think the pipe is clogged, but I’m going to go up into the attic and put my cleaning brush down to make sure. I’m also going to make sure the lint vent in the dryer itself isn’t clogged.

In order to get the dryer close enough to the wall so that it doesn’t block the door to the garage, the flexible metal hose gets badly crimped where it attached to this wall pipe. It’s been like that since they installed the dryer three or so years ago (I think), and my plan now is to put a 90-degree elbow pointing straight up from the wall so the hose makes an upside down U rather than get coiled up behind the dryer . Right now, the pipe sticks about about 2.25 inches from the wall.

Question: Can I hacksaw an inch or so off the end of this pipe to gain myself more space to push the dryer back ? As long as everything attaches and is accessible, is there a specific length this pipe needs to be?

Appropriate Far Side for your time.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:19

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Stupid question - what is the biggest alignment issue causing the dryer hose to get kinked?

Because, if the pipe in the wall isn’t aligned with the back of the dryer but also isn’t secured in place to the framing, or isn’t much, then you may be able to just cut the drywall and shift the pipe over or up/down to where it lines up with the dryer output. No kinks other than the right angle, no multiple-bends.

Spaceball-Two > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:21

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Yes you can. I had to do the same thing to mine because when someone framed in the exterior garage door they weren’t taking into account how deep the dryer is. Also while you’re in there lube the drum wheels and belt . I use sewing machine oil. Saves further headache later when it starts to squeal. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:23

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Consider looking on CL for an appliance man and have the inside of the driver cleaned and serviced. Should cost about $100, and include new bearings or rollers for the dryer drum.

vicali > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:29

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You could trim the flex hose to any size, in fact the shorter the better. I would avoid any U shapes. Try to get a straight shot into the wall and up through the roof.

Our dryer vents out the back of the machine, 90 degree to the left , 5 ft across the floor behind the dryer, and straight out through an outlet in the wall. Old dryer happily chugged away for 15 years this way. New fancy Samsung doesn’t like the flex pipe and turns on the ‘check vent/filter ’ light almost every time. Stopping the machine and cleaning out the filter makes it happy again.

Also managed to burn out the thermal fuse once in the last 4 years. That is the most common dryer problem in the world.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 12:33

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No idea if the pipe is secured to the framing. After the 90 degree turn, it goes into the attic then takes two 45 degree bends with about 36 inches between them to get to the roof vent. Here’s how they align, or don’t align. You can see why my hose gets kinked. There’s a 90 degree elbow where it attaches to the dryer. I want to put a 90 degree on the wall pipe and make an upside down U so there won’t be any more kinks.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/27/2019 at 12:37

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That’s a good thought. I’m going to try to clean out the lint vent myself (Sears has their own series of videos on this stuff). There was a bit of lint in the vent pipe, certainly not the twenty year’s worth that I had when I did this project a few years ago. 

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:38

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Investigate if you can move the pipe in the wall. Any drywall ugliness that generates will not be visible or can be easily repaired, where cutting the elbow will be awkward.

Incidentally, if you do have to cut the elbow, a hacksaw is contraindicated. I would suggest aviation snips.

Edit: it might also be possible to shorten or alter the neck on the dryer.

ttyymmnn > vicali 03/27/2019 at 12:38

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The laundry room is basically in the middle of the house, so there are no straight shots to be had. Even a U of flex hose would be better than the coiled and crimped mess the installers left me.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 12:40

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I’m not going to mess with the dryer. And moving the pipe might be a supreme pain in the ass, certainly nothing I would ever tackle. That said, I’ve got a contractor coming on Sunday to talk about remodeling our bathroom. I’ll ask him about it. 

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:40

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Worst case, even if the pipe is secured, you may be able to turn it in place after trimming back the drywall (and/ or 2x4?) , making the angle more like a 45 between the 90 and the dryer outlet. Much less of a snag.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 12:40

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Also, I’d have to go buy either a hacksaw or snips. I have neither in my limited toolbox.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:42

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Yes you can cut the vent pipe as long as you leave about 1" to clamp onto. All this dryer vent piping is usually janky AF so don’t fell too bad. Any work you do will be 100% better than the original installation.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:43

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I’m mostly bringing up these alternatives because a tight loop will collect great amounts of dryer lint, even without the flow being as constricted. The shorter and straighter a run, the better.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 12:45

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Understood. I just don’t think I have many options to straighten the system.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:51

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So here is what I would do, attach about 12" of flex pipe to the dryer EXTENDED-PULLED to it’s longest length, line it up with the wall pipe, then push the dryer into position so the vent pipe goes over the wall pipe, use a string or small rope to make small adjustments. Then using real aluminized duct tape, tape the fuck out of it on the wall vent side, this will be leaning over the back of the dryer with your feet in the air. Then you can push the dryer all the way back to the wall and hope you never have to do this again.

Sir Halffast > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:55

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Just make sure that you’re in the right part of CL or the handyman may be prepared to clean the wrong pipes.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 12:58

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Most steel round ducting is slipped together, taped, and then sometimes secured with sheet metal screws. If where it comes up in the attic you can see the wall framing, you ought to be able to see how it is or isn’t attached to the framing, and which side of a framing cavity it’s on. If nothing else, you could cut the tape and remove any screws there, permitting you to rotate the elbow at the bottom - since the elbow itself should not be fastened with any loops to the wall, only the round duct itself if anything. It may merely be supported by being screwed together and hanging from the straps in the attic.

Bottom line, moving or turning it should be possible, not very hard, and more productive than making a corkscrew with a duct elbow.

jguttes > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 13:32

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Maybe one of these flat vent elbows?

https://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-8171587RP-Dryer-Periscope-0-5-Inch/dp/B002R0DXN2?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_6

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 13:36

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Short answer is yes, you can.  Ours is much shorter.  We barely have enough for the clamp to hold on to.  Highly endorse the joint idea.  Crimping those ducts is never good.

ttyymmnn > jguttes 03/27/2019 at 14:10

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I actually got my U setup to work. I still need to take an inch off of the wall pipe, but the dryer fits, there are no kinks in the hose, and my inside garage door opens. So I’ll call that a reserved win. Reserved because, though the dryer heats now, it remains to be seen if my fix is long-term.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 14:15

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The inside of the dryer will fill with lint as well and can constitute a fire hazard over time.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 03/27/2019 at 14:17

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I didn’t have a tool of any sort to cut the pipe, so I went ahead and got a 90 degree elbow and managed to get my U arrangement going. The pipe from the wall is exactly the same size as just about any store-bought pipe, and getting anything to hook to it is a PITA. I ended up using the elbow that was attached to the dryer on the wall, and put the elbow I bought on the dryer. Though it makes some 90 degree turns, the pipe is full diameter throughout. Before, it was very much not full diameter throughout.

Kind of hard to see here, but this is the upward elbow that attaches to the pipe in the wall. The other end side, out of sight, hooks to the dryer. You can see how much extra pipe I have coming out of the wall. I could easily gain an inch or two of clearance for the door if I shorten the pipe.

It’s quite  close, but it works. So I will consider this done for now, and move on to the rest of my list of honey-dos. 

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/27/2019 at 14:21

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Yes. I cleaned our old one regularly. So, point taken. I could probably clean it myself, but I’m having trouble finding videos that cover my specific model of dryer. On our old one, there was a distinct buildup of lint near the heating element. There was no lint near the element on this one. Perhaps a better design?

See my reply to Chariotoflove.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > vicali 03/27/2019 at 14:50

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New appliances suck.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 15:19

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I ended up having to cut a couple of slits to edge the ducting onto the pipe because they are pretty much the same diameter.

Looks like a win to me.  

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 03/27/2019 at 15:21

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My only concern is that the lint won’t make it all the way around the U and will collect at the bottom, where it comes out of the dryer. I’ll run it for a couple of weeks and then check it.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 15:22

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It may collect over time, like an atherosclerotic plaque.  But that should take a long time to really accumulate if your dryer is ejecting well enough.  I’ll cross my fingers for you.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 03/27/2019 at 15:25

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I really wanted to get inside and clean out the dryer itself. But I can’t seem to find any videos on my specific model. I’ve got to keep looking. 

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 15:31

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You’re off the grid, old man.  It’s Road Warrior rules out here.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 18:28

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I have some concern that lint may back up in the machine itself if it can flutter back down after building up in the vertical... but leagues better than nothing, that is.

RacinBob > ttyymmnn 03/27/2019 at 18:31

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Have you searched Flat D ry er vent? My Dry er has one of these.

ttyymmnn > RacinBob 03/27/2019 at 18:33

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Those flat ones simply won’t work in my space. The dryer and wall holes are almost at the same place.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 18:34

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I’m a little concerned too, so I’m going to pull the dryer out and check it in a few weeks to see that it’s venting properly.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/27/2019 at 18:35

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I could also get another one of those hoses and just use half of it. That means that any lint ejected would have much less of a hump to get over.