Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob

On Oct 9, 7:29*am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. *Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: *is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob

If they cant light a pilot, they cant vacume it out right, its a bit
more then shoving down a hose. Why dont you do it when you stop over

Robert11 wrote:
Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob


I've never seen a piezoelectric igniter on a gas dryer.
I've installed a new gas water heater that was equipped
with piezoelectric igniter to light the standing pilot
so you don't have to open the combustion chamber to get
to it. The gas dryer probably has an electronic spark
igniter that includes a flame sensor. It would help to
know the brand and model number of the dryer.

TDD

On Oct 9, 8:45�am, The Daring Dufas wrote:
Robert11 wrote:
Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. �Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: �is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob

I've never seen a piezoelectric igniter on a gas dryer.
I've installed a new gas water heater that was equipped
with piezoelectric igniter to light the standing pilot
so you don't have to open the combustion chamber to get
to it. The gas dryer probably has an electronic spark
igniter that includes a flame sensor. It would help to
know the brand and model number of the dryer.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

if the existing line is a flexible one, put in a vacuum hose the line
just collapses

your far better off to remove line atr dryer vacuum out what you can
then I use my shop vac as a blower. that sends a cloud of lint into
the yard, which means the line is nice and clean.

if the line is flexible dont accidently create a low dip in the line,
moisture condensates out, and blocks the exhaust./

I doubt the dryer has a pilot light. But in any event, the vacuum
would not effect it because I'm sure the movement of air when the
dryer is running is far greater than a vacuum.
Just a suggestion, if you have a flexible hose connecting the dryer to
the outside vent (especially if it's foil or plastic) just replace it
with the rigid corrugated flexible line .

Robert11 wrote:

Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

I just use a brush to clear any lint from both ends of the ductwork,
then peek through the ducting to check for accumulated lint inside.
In my experience, most of the lint gets stuck at the exterior vent
opening, followed by the opening at the dryer itself. If it's a
smooth duct, there'll probably be very little lint collected on the
inside. If it's flexible ductwork, there could be an accumulation
inside the ductwork. If they have flex ducting, you could do them a
kindness by replacing it with smooth ducting. It's usually a fairly
fast and inexpensive job - unless they've got an unusually long or
elaborate ducting to the outside.

HellT

In article ,
"Robert11" wrote:

Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob

I don't think it has a standing pilot light. My dryer is at least 30
years old, and it doesn't.

I don't think the vacuum would suck out the pilot anyway, as it would be
far removed from the exhaust.

Finally I don't think your plan is going to help any. Dryer duct
cleaning has been discussed much here recently; do an archive search. I
believe you need some mechanical means, because that dust is sticky and
adheres to the duct walls.

Robert11 wrote:
Hello,

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.

Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust. Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

Was wondering, though: is there any possibility that by doing so they will
snuff out the gas pilot light
on the dryer ?

Frankly, I am not even sure there is a pilot, but knowing the age of the
thing, I doubt that it has a
piezo type of igniter, which, I believe, all the newer ones now have.

So, is there much of a possibility in putting out the pilot flame ?

Or, is it in a spot that it would not even "see" the vacuum or air stream ?

Would hate for it to happen, as they would probably have to have someone
come in to re light it for them, as they couldn't do it themselves.

Thanks,
Bob


If you want to get the lint out use a leaf blower from the inside, right
in the dryer.

Lou

On Oct 9, 9:24*am, Mikepier wrote:
I doubt the dryer has a pilot light. But in any event, the vacuum
would not effect it because I'm sure the movement of air when the
dryer is running is far greater than a vacuum.
Just a suggestion, if you have a flexible hose connecting the dryer to
the outside vent (especially if it's foil or plastic) just replace it
with the rigid corrugated flexible line .

the vacuum would not effect it because I'm sure the movement of
air when the dryer is running is far greater than a vacuum.

I'm sure that the movement of air from my 2.5HP shop vac is greater
than the movement of air when the dryer is running. Hold one hand
outside the dryer vent and hold the other on the "blower" side of a
decent shop vac. Advantage: shop vac.

I'm sure that the movement of air from my 2.5HP shop vac is greater
than the movement of air when the dryer is running. Hold one hand
outside the dryer vent and hold the other on the "blower" side of a
decent shop vac. Advantage: shop vac.

If the pilot light is 8 feet away , the vacuum is not going to affect
it.