dryerexhaust-ventvent
I just had a new dryer installed.
The installer said I needed to buy a pipe reducer because the dryer vent duct and the exhaust pipe are both 4". He cut some holes in the dryer vent duct to fan it out and taped around it but said it will leak air and lint until a reducer is added.
Will this reducer work?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/100149942
Or should I buy something else? Thank you.
You want the shortest distance possible, and for everything except perhaps the dryer connection, you want to use rigid metal tubing rather than the flex tube. The rigid tubing will resist the airflow less and collect less lint. The better airflow from rigid tubing and shortest distance will make the dryer more efficient. If too much lint builds up in the vent, you have a fire hazard in addition to longer drying time.
I'd also suggest having the exhaust somewhere you can reach with a small step ladder to make it easier to clean the vent. So I'd run it down through the floor rather than up through the ceiling, if possible.
Finally, when you install the vent opening in the side of your home, make sure it's weather tight. If it's vinyl siding, you can get a removal tool (it's a flat blade with a hook on the end that pulls two pieces apart). Take off a few pieces where you're working, securely attach the vent, seal around the edges (not sure if Tyvek tape is good enough, they make a rubber adhesive membrane for window openings), install a few pieces of J channel like you have around windows and doors, and cut (measure twice) and reinstall the siding. Vinyl siding screws should remain loose (should be able to slide a fingernail underneath) so that it can expand/contract with heat/cold.
I cannot say I'm a fan of the design of that vent - although looking at your other question, I'm rather surprised that lint is falling down into that gap. Possibly your fan is creating too much pressure, and it's backing up inside the vent at the 180 and thus air is escaping through the pushing some lint down into that gap, where it can get stuck.
If that's the case, then you might try installing a baffle inside the vent to force lint up far enough in the vent so that it has to go out the intended port, but which still allows water out. Like so...
Sorry, the color doesn't show well, but inside I've added a piece of metal running from just below the intake port to nearly the end of the angled portion of the vent, with a brace connecting it to the body to keep it stable. You can't see it but there should be drip holes at the point where the new plate hits the flashing for water drainage.
The idea being, lint flies in and cannot be forced directly down to the gap in question, but water will hit the tray, run back and go through the drip holes.
That or replace it with this
Best Answer
At the least, buy this.
The reason it is the least, is lint will still get trapped in the edge that goes into the flexible part. Joints should be placed so the moving air flows over the joint, not into the joint. The reducer you have at first will restrict the flow, and still have the joint facing in the wrong direction, although you would not need to cut the flexible pipe.
The corrugated ends of the piece I linked to will fit inside each end of the vent pipe and the flexible duct, and minimizes restriction. It would be best if the flexible pipe was reduced in the same way, then the air would flow over the joint the proper way. There is a tool to do that reducing, any duct man worth his salt has this.