Exhaust through dryer vent?

Hornchen

Member
I have a potential grow closet that is next to my laundry room, I was wondering if it is possible to use a y connector right at the exit juncture for the dryer. Are there ways to prevent possible lint/ dryer issues?

Thank you all,
Hornchen
 

stephaniesloan

Active Member
not if you can use a ducting Y branch right at the exit, both exit ducts (dryer/growroom) are facing outwards right at the outside mesh they are pushing out not pulling in.
although if the wind gets very heavy on the outside of your home your buds might look like they have wooly jumpers on, and your clothes might smell like bud candy, but i doubt it.



,
 

Dirty Harry

Well-Known Member
A dryer vent does not vent 24/7. Thermal scans will show the vent exhausting...so maybe they will watch it for awhile. How long is a clothes dryer cycle? Even if doing multiple loads, they would see the temp changes. If they see it doesn't stop in a reasonable time, RED FLAG!

I am not saying anyone would invest the time and money for that investigation...but this is something I think about, and thinking keeps you safe.
 

Hornchen

Member
Good to know that I wont be doing something 'totally' wrong haha. Are there flaps/valves/etc that ensure a one way system or would it be best to install an element to manually turn off one when running the dryer?

Very good point on the 24/7 run - luckily I do not plan on running a 24/7 cycle, more than likely an 18/6. But, given your good advice perhaps I will establish a 'cycle' for the exhausting as well rather than running it consistently. Gives ideas to 'down time' for CO2 - one step at a time tho haha!

Thank you again everyone!
 

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
That will work great - I've done the same myself. No one is constantly monitoring your house for tiny fluctuations in vent temps nor do they know what vents go where - my water heater is hot all the time...
 

matthebrute

Well-Known Member
or if you plan on using a carbon filter vent it in your house for some help on the heat bill (if you live in a colder climate...getting chilly here :) )
 

Nusky

New Member
I just had an idea, theres a pipe that leads down into the sewer in the basement. I can't remember if its the drain on the floor or if theres another pipe. But you can hook an inline fan up to it and exhaust straight into the sewer. It'd probably be just as far as the vent and nobody will ever catch on. Zero heat to trace.
 

matthebrute

Well-Known Member
seriously.....lol no offense guys but smoke another one :joint:

have you ever seen the back of a 20$ bill maaaaan?
have you ever seen the back of a 20$ bill on weeeeeeed?

:)
 

Grumpy'

Active Member
I just had an idea, theres a pipe that leads down into the sewer in the basement. I can't remember if its the drain on the floor or if theres another pipe. But you can hook an inline fan up to it and exhaust straight into the sewer. It'd probably be just as far as the vent and nobody will ever catch on. Zero heat to trace.
Bear in mind that drains in your home have a water trap to prevent sewer gasses from entering, so it would also stand that pumping air into a drain will hit the same trap. It could be pumped into the vent lines that go through the roof, but if your paranoid enough to not run out a dryer vent, then pumping heat out a pipe that never has heat wouldn't be a good thing.
 

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Wtf is this paranoid heat monitoring stuff? There are no drones constantly monitoring all the houses in the US for heat patterns. Rarely rarely do they every do fly overs and when they do it is only after getting a warrant for the fly over - this means they already are hardcore onto you for some other reason. Do you know how much heat you need to be putting off to show up? My tiny tiny space heater is 1200w of pure heat, a typical small propane room heater is WAY more btu than that...and has an outdoor vent... Just running the bathroom exhaust while you take a shower puts off more heat than most small grows. To be picked up on flir, after they already have a warrant, you need to be running tons of lights.

Filter through carbon filter and then vent outside if you need to get rid of the heat - the dryer vent is perfect for this. If you can use the heat then be green and duct it into your living quarters like matt said.

Make sure the air doesn't smell!!! Neighbors smelling pot is likely, invisible helicopters is super unlikely.
 

Nusky

New Member
Bear in mind that drains in your home have a water trap to prevent sewer gasses from entering, so it would also stand that pumping air into a drain will hit the same trap. It could be pumped into the vent lines that go through the roof, but if your paranoid enough to not run out a dryer vent, then pumping heat out a pipe that never has heat wouldn't be a good thing.
yea I dunno if it'd work or not, I read about it a long time ago and even then it was a really old idea
 

Voidling

Well-Known Member
Like Gastanker said, make sure it doesn't smell. Replace your carbon filter regularly before the smell starts. I'd also plant very strong smelling plants around the vent exit like lavender but they don't grow all year.

At least if there is a smell leak and it's exiting out of your roof, it is harder for someone to walk around and pinpoint the house it's coming from by putting their nose up to the vent.
 

Hornchen

Member
Good call on the carbon idea - I think I have one in mind but its a DIY deal. Once I start getting more done I'll start a journal but you all have given me great ideas!

I'm not so worried about the heat - at most I'll have 2 of the 6 foot HO T5's and 2 of the 4 foot HO T5's and a 600w HPS in a 200 ish cubic foot room ( 6 1/2 w by 4 1/2 d by 7 tall ) so I hope heat wont be 'as big' of an issue.

Glad I don't have terrible amounts to worry about with fire or issues of the dryer vent - time to buy supplies!
 

Indicator

Active Member
Gastanker, I was actually looking for this very info. as I have a similar set up to Horchen. So, let me ask a follow up question for my new set-up, if I may...
passive intake low>150 c.ft closet (600w) w/TD150 inline (293 cfm pulling heat off light and room)>6">4" reducer>through wall>damper>4" duct runs behind washer >behind dryer >damper>y connector (with add'l backdraft damper in the duct so dryer heat doesn't back up>exit.

Does this sound okay to you in principle?... Got a caution regarding the reducer from someone, however, the person never came back and clarified what the problem with that reducer might be. I perfected the exhaust while working in a tent in the closet for two grows. Which is why there is a total of 3 dampers... learned a couple of things the hard way! So, I was wondering what might be the biggest problem with using the reducer... possible bogging down the exhaust fan? Fire hazard?

I need to do some more tweaking prior to flowering... sorry ladies!.... I honestly don't think the S&P TD150 can do an efficient job with a carbon filter without making my temps go up too much, certainly not something rated for 300cfm. I finally achieved a steady 79f, but hope to take it a few lower for a "buffer zone". I'm trying to figure this out without cutting anymore holes. Intake is working fairly well with slight neg. pressure still.
I am using an air-cooled hood and I have read it isn't good to vent room air over your bulbs with a carbon filter in front. Starting to think I may have to get a different fan. I have no first-hand knowledge, but I also read that just taking the light out of the equation doesn't reduce the heat a whole lot... Ambient temp 72f... so was feeling pleased with myself to get 79.
I hope it is okay to ask this here, or should a make another thread? Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks... and thanks to the op for asking for this type of info right when I needed it!
 

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Gastanker, I was actually looking for this very info. as I have a similar set up to Horchen. So, let me ask a follow up question for my new set-up, if I may...
passive intake low>150 c.ft closet (600w) w/TD150 inline (293 cfm pulling heat off light and room)>6">4" reducer>through wall>damper>4" duct runs behind washer >behind dryer >damper>y connector (with add'l backdraft damper in the duct so dryer heat doesn't back up>exit.

Does this sound okay to you in principle?... Got a caution regarding the reducer from someone, however, the person never came back and clarified what the problem with that reducer might be. I perfected the exhaust while working in a tent in the closet for two grows. Which is why there is a total of 3 dampers... learned a couple of things the hard way! So, I was wondering what might be the biggest problem with using the reducer... possible bogging down the exhaust fan? Fire hazard?

I need to do some more tweaking prior to flowering... sorry ladies!.... I honestly don't think the S&P TD150 can do an efficient job with a carbon filter without making my temps go up too much, certainly not something rated for 300cfm. I finally achieved a steady 79f, but hope to take it a few lower for a "buffer zone". I'm trying to figure this out without cutting anymore holes. Intake is working fairly well with slight neg. pressure still.
I am using an air-cooled hood and I have read it isn't good to vent room air over your bulbs with a carbon filter in front. Starting to think I may have to get a different fan. I have no first-hand knowledge, but I also read that just taking the light out of the equation doesn't reduce the heat a whole lot... Ambient temp 72f... so was feeling pleased with myself to get 79.
I hope it is okay to ask this here, or should a make another thread? Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks... and thanks to the op for asking for this type of info right when I needed it!
The smaller the ducting the more drag there is which reduces the pulling ability of the fan. Essentially the air column can only move at the rate of the slowest area of the path - the 4" reducer is the bottle neck and thus the major limiting factor on airflow - it defines the rate of flow for the entire system. The 4" reducer is the point of the bottle neck and additionally every foot of 4" ducting creates more drag than the comparable foot of 6" ducting. Keep in mind that each foot of ducting (regardless of size) reduces air flow, and every curve in the ducting also reduced airflow with more extreme curves reducing more than less extreme curves.

With all of that said - you should be fine with a 300 cfm fan exhausting a single 600w light. I see no problem with using a 4" reducer nor any fire hazard. If you are maintaining 79 degrees then you are in the clear and it's working.
 

Indicator

Active Member
"bottle neck"... came on like a light-bulb when you said that word... studied production engineering in school... duhhh... I was letting my husband tell me it was perfectly okay... had me convinced something about the bernoulli principal... lol... hmmm
I do think I might be able to get a 6" back through there, if not... will keep an eye on it. The 600w is new to me, so need to feel comfy before the ladies settle in. Oh yeah, I still don't have a carbon filter on there... not sure the S&P is up to the task? Are the stand-alone units any good provided you have a decent amount of neg. pressure? Thanks so much... feel comforted just talking to someone who has done it more than once.... lol... okay, that sounded weird....
edit... DANG... so, was/is it okay to pull room air across bulb without a CF?... and just using a stand-alone scrubber?... sorry, I've been up way too long.
 

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Its fine to pull air across a bulb without a carbon filter. Pulling air across a bulb and through a hood will get it dirtier much faster, but that just means you need to clean your bulb/glass more often - no biggie.

I run a 440 cfm fan at 1/3 speed to vent my 600w hid. This is pulling through a carbon filter, going through my light, and then ~20' of ducting of which at least 4' is 4" and the rest 6". I have no problems and can't imagine you having any problems. It sounds like you are running through quite a bit more footage of ducting but your fan is also running at much high cfm.

If you are venting to the outdoors I would recommend filtering first.

I hope that answers the question, if not let me know.
 

Indicator

Active Member
Thanks GT... total length of duct total only about 16'. So not that much really. Which was why I was a bit surprised by some of my initial temp readings (89). "Mr. Bernoulli," installed the passive intake grate upside down. Once I realized that, the temp came down to the solid 79. If I can't get a CF to work out with the S&P, I may have to try the stand-alone scrubber prior to scrapping my fan for something that can handle the pressure better.. Need to work on my curves a bit more... three in total. linear distance from exhaust through wall to exit is only about 8'... Is a work in progress that I'd like to be settled within the next week. I could possibly dedicate a smaller fan to the light, but it really sounds like this should work... also have heard that doesn't reduce heat as well on a small system. Thanks again!
 
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