Magnetic dryer vent connections

[Matt Schroeder]

Has anybody tried a magnetic dryer vent connection such as this one from Lee Valley?

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...,67373&p=74597

I am not finding any places with reviews so am looking for some user feedback. It certainly looks slick in the demo video, but everything always does. Right now I have about 3' of hose kinked up behind the dryer; putting a short section that mates up like this in its place looks like a good idea for efficiency and safety, but only if it really works. Any thoughts?

Matt

[Mike Henderson]

I'm interested in that also. I looked at it and felt the same way as Matt. Great idea if it works.

Mike

[Rich Lester]

We use this where I work and it exhausts diesel fumes out with a magnetic coupling attached to the exhaust pipe.
http://www.plymovent.com/en/vehicle-...rvice-stations
It looks like an identical system to the dryer vent system your asking about.
If it works for diesel I don't know why it wouldn't work for a dryer vent. In fact now that you showed this I think I'll bookmark it for when I redo our laundry room.

[Bob Grier]

My experience with the flexible foil duct like shown in the picture is that it gets so bent up that it becomes unusable after a few connects.

My latest attempt is to eliminate the flexible duct and go with a periscope rectangular solid metal duct that allows the dryer to be moved back close to the wall. There are several different types of these available. I just looked for a link to what I am talking about and ran across this link that shows someone installing what I am talking about. I also installed a dryer box in the wall between studs with solid duct exiting down into the crawl space and out the side wall. This allowed dryer to be pushed back nearly to the wall. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-...055319,00.html

[Roger Feeley]

My experience with the flexible foil duct like shown in the picture is that it gets so bent up that it becomes unusable after a few connects.

My latest attempt is to eliminate the flexible duct and go with a periscope rectangular solid metal duct that allows the dryer to be moved back close to the wall. There are several different types of these available. I just looked for a link to what I am talking about and ran across this link that shows someone installing what I am talking about. I also installed a dryer box in the wall between studs with solid duct exiting down into the crawl space and out the side wall. This allowed dryer to be pushed back nearly to the wall. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-...055319,00.html

+1 on the periscope. We had this at our old house and it worked great. The outlet through the wall was up high. I used the periscope connected to a diverter to an elbow. No flexible stuff anywhere. The arrangement was ideal. We could push the dryer back. The diverter let us recycle the warm moist air in the winter and vent it to the outside in the summer without moving hoses around.

[Mel Fulks]

It looks ok to me,there are a number of those things, all of which are better than the long length plastic foil so often used even where specificacally prohibited. Access needs to be addressed in codes and inspections. The solid metal 'accordions '
are ,I think, ok unless there is some unusual reason for frequent access.

[Tom M King]

I always plan dryer vents not to require flex hose. When I was designing and building new houses, priority was given to having the dryer on an outside wall that could use the shortest possible pipe to the hood outside. There was a plywood panel left behind the dryer, put on with screws so the vent location could be changed if needed in the future. The vent pipe to receive the one from the dryer was flared out a little to ease insertion when sliding the dryer back into place. Electric receptacle was high enough to be accessed without pulling the dryer out.

In our house, we had to buy a new dryer not too long ago, and fortunately the vent location was exactly the same behind the dryer (front loaders) even though it was made by a different manufacturer.

[Bob Grier]

I have read that there are over 16,000 home fires per year in the US caused by dryer/washer. I like the idea of having solid duct with sweeping bends and no screws protruding into the duct to collect lint. Also, I like idea of wall vent that is large enough and located so it can be maintained. Even though flexible metal duct is allowed, it invariably gets assembled so as to collect lint at one or more joints.

[Tom M King]

4" round is not just for high end gutter systems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf5ZUB6mB8w

[Tom M King]

This stuff comes expanded on one end, and the nice people there will expand the other end for you so you can cut it and have two bell ends. It works just fine for dryer duct, and no crimps or screws needed to collect lint. Real, metal duct tape seals and holds it together just fine. http://classicgutters.com/product/4-...und-downspout/

I try to plan dryer location on an outside wall, so the duct only has to be long enough to go through the wall, but if the home is already built, that doesn't already work. If there is any kind of run of ductwork, the smooth, round gutter downspouts, with expanded ends, works great.

That expander tool in the video costs $350 to $400.