Issue with Dryer venting to Soffit/Eave Vent

10 years ago

I have a gas dryer venting via a 4" Lambro Under Eave vent. Since it is not a straight path it is not the best situation for venting in general but was limited by the architectural front elevation of the house. We are having a problem with our dryer leaking gas internally and the utility company came to check the dryer. The technician claimed our exhaust vent was not up to code. It is a 4" vent but the exit is 4 inches wide but only 2&1/2 inches high at the flap. He said he would have to RED TICKET me in their computer.

Anybody have any idea if we are in compliance or not? When the house was built 7 years ago the town inspectors had no issue with it. Lambro also sells is specifically for this purpose.

Comments (5)

roof35
10 years ago
There is a host of information about this, on the web.

One example is this Fine Home Building article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fine Home Building
klem1
10 years ago
Not sure what you are asking for. A 10" square outlet on a 13,5" tube does seem restrictive but I can't convince my self the gas company even cares,much less will come to a customer's home to inspect it. What I could understand is if the gas company found a leak inside your home and turned the gas off until the leak is repaired. What does "RED TICKET in thier computer" mean anyway? What does it do and what difference will it make as far as your drier? I think you need to stop using the drier and have an appliance repairman look at it.
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southerncanuck
10 years ago
Ask the local municipality what the code is, and if red ticket was put on the appliance the tech whomever that was must tell you as well as record the specific reason. Red meaning STOP, does absolutely nothing if it's somewhere in cyberspace. There is no such thing in my experience. The appliance is either shut off and red ticketed or nothing is done, maybe a warning with x amount of time to comply or the appliance is shut off and red ticketed.

Looks like someone is trying to sell you something and get some work out of you.
sdello
10 years ago
I suspect that the service guy simply saw a rectangular outlet vent with the same large dimension as the vent tube diameter and concluded that the outlet area is smaller than the tube crossection so it is a problem, without any further consideration or thought about whether it can function just fine or not.

I'm not personally familiar with the codes but suspect it prohibits reducing the duct crossectional area downstream.

If you can provide documentation from the manufacturer that the 4 in. hose is intended for use with the 4x2.5" outlet then that should support that the installation is proper and doesn't represent a hazard.
randy427
10 years ago
ISTM that there are two issues at work here. The first is that you are smelling unburnt gas in the house. Someone needs to find out why. Is there a leaky connection leading up to the dryer or is there an internal failure that's allowing unburnt gas to escape? Or, maybe, there's an insignificant amount of gas released when the dryer heater lights off. I'd expect the utility tech to determine which, though I wouldn't expect him to be able to do much about an internal failure other than advise you to call an appliance repair service.
Secondly, and the one the utility company keyed on, there's a maximum allowable back-pressure for exhaust from the dryer (.4" WC or more, depending on total duct length) in order to keep exhaust gasses from remaining in the house. I doubt the technician measured it, but rather made an assumption based on the apparent design.