Hello,

My son has the typical home gas fired clothes Dryer, and a vent tube
leading to the outside.

I stuck my hand in it from the outside, and removed a fair amount of Lint.
But my hand, of course, would only go so far.

He was thinking of using my shop-vac, and inserting it from where it
exits on the outside.

Question: does he run "any" danger at all of extinguishing the dryer's
pilot light ? It's a pretty strong shop-vac.

If so, he would probably have to hire a plumber to re-light it, as he is
very "non-technical". Would like to avoid this, naturally.

(frankly, I am not even sure that there is a pilot light, but it is an
older dryer,and I doubt that it uses any electronic ignition scheme.
But, maybe ?)

Thanks,
Bob

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 19:33:32 -0400, Bob wrote:

Hello,

My son has the typical home gas fired clothes Dryer, and a vent tube
leading to the outside.

I stuck my hand in it from the outside, and removed a fair amount of Lint.
But my hand, of course, would only go so far.

He was thinking of using my shop-vac, and inserting it from where it
exits on the outside.

Question: does he run "any" danger at all of extinguishing the dryer's
pilot light ? It's a pretty strong shop-vac.

If so, he would probably have to hire a plumber to re-light it, as he is
very "non-technical". Would like to avoid this, naturally.

(frankly, I am not even sure that there is a pilot light, but it is an
older dryer,and I doubt that it uses any electronic ignition scheme.
But, maybe ?)

Thanks,
Bob

The gas line pilot light is not at the dryer vent exhaust.

With access, inside, he can use the shop-vac inside to clean the dryer
exhaust.

Even a strong air line can blow the lint outwards and outside.

One tool, attached on the air line is a reverse solution. The line
blows back inside or outside.

See: "The Reverse nozzle pushes material towards the operator."

http://www.ductcleanersupply.com/Products_Detail.php?ProductID=69

On 9/1/2013 6:33 PM, Bob wrote:
Hello,

My son has the typical home gas fired clothes Dryer, and a vent tube
leading to the outside.

I stuck my hand in it from the outside, and removed a fair amount of Lint.
But my hand, of course, would only go so far.

He was thinking of using my shop-vac, and inserting it from where it
exits on the outside.

Question: does he run "any" danger at all of extinguishing the dryer's
pilot light ? It's a pretty strong shop-vac.

If so, he would probably have to hire a plumber to re-light it, as he is
very "non-technical". Would like to avoid this, naturally.

(frankly, I am not even sure that there is a pilot light, but it is an
older dryer,and I doubt that it uses any electronic ignition scheme.
But, maybe ?)

Thanks,
Bob

The gas clothes dryer probably has an electronic ignition for a pilot
light rather than a standing pilot like a water heater. Dryer vent fires
are a common enough occurrence that you should keep the vent pipe clean
and a shop vac will work for a short pipe but there cleaning kits
for longer vent pipes that use a compressed air powered wand that is
pushed up into the vent to break up any lint that's stuck in there along
with brushes on rods and a vacuum collection system. Be safe. ^_^

http://dryerventcleaning.com/

http://www.lowes.com/pd_37653-59625-RLE202-L_0__

http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Clothes-Dryer-Vent

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=2893251

TDD

disconnect vent line indoors at the dryer. use a shop vac as a blower to clean the entire vent line easily. it will blow out a snowstorm of lint, espically if you have a long exhaust line....

blowing is more effective than vacuuming

On 9/1/2013 9:02 PM, bob haller wrote:
disconnect vent line indoors at the dryer. use a shop vac as a blower
to clean the entire vent line easily. it will blow out a snowstorm of
lint, espically if you have a long exhaust line....

blowing is more effective than vacuuming


I wonder if a leaf blower at the dryer end would clear the vent pipe
after removing the outside flapper of course. O_o

TDD

Bob:

I really doubt that using a Shop Vac vaccuum cleaner would cause enough air flow past the pilot light to put it out.

However, there's no harm in downloading a copy of your dryer's owner's manual, which will tell you how to re-light the pilot light if it goes out.

It'd be an appliance repairman you'd phone for that service, not a plumber.

I'd download the owner's manual from the manufacturer's web site, read the section on lighting the pilot light, and I expect you'll find it's a lot easier than you thought.

Bob wrote:
Hello,

My son has the typical home gas fired clothes Dryer, and a vent tube
leading to the outside.

I stuck my hand in it from the outside, and removed a fair amount of Lint.
But my hand, of course, would only go so far.

He was thinking of using my shop-vac, and inserting it from where it exits on the outside.

Question: does he run "any" danger at all of extinguishing the dryer's
pilot light ? It's a pretty strong shop-vac.

If so, he would probably have to hire a plumber to re-light it, as he is
very "non-technical". Would like to avoid this, naturally.

(frankly, I am not even sure that there is a pilot light, but it is an
older dryer,and I doubt that it uses any electronic ignition scheme. But, maybe ?)

Thanks,
Bob

If there is a fair amount of lint in the vent pipe, then there is a good
chance that there is a fair amount of lint in the duct work inside the
dryer also. This can seriously impact the dryer's efficiency..

In addition, if he uses dryer sheets, this can cause 2 issues:

1 - Dryer sheets can cause a waxy buildup on the lint filter which can
impede air flow. A quick test to see if the lint filter is clogged is to
run it under water. If the water doesn't drain out, it is clogged. Wash it
with warm soapy water to remove the oils.

2 - The same waxy buildup can occur on the blower squirrel cage causing
lint to stick to the fins, once again reducing the efficiency.

I clean the entire venting system on my dryer, internal as well as
external, once a year

Clothes dryers need to be taken apart and cleaned inside periodically, depending on how much they are used. If it’s an old dryer and has never been taken apart it’s very likely that it should be.

Very often, the drum seal in the back "leaks" and
lint gets all over the place, inside the machine.

That, and a couple other maint things that need
to be done.

..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 9/2/2013 8:26 AM, wrote:
Clothes dryers need to be taken apart and cleaned inside periodically, depending on how much they are used. If it’s an old dryer and has never been taken apart it’s very likely that it should be.

i replaced my washing machine hoses and later my dryer acted up, poor drying.

there was a low area in the vent line where moisture accumulated, which over time must of blocked airflow. i had noted my dryers exhaust was very anemic...

i found the water after reaching in the disconnected vent line and getting very wet

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 22:41:29 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 9/1/2013 9:02 PM, bob haller wrote:
disconnect vent line indoors at the dryer. use a shop vac as a blower
to clean the entire vent line easily. it will blow out a snowstorm of
lint, espically if you have a long exhaust line....

blowing is more effective than vacuuming


I wonder if a leaf blower at the dryer end would clear the vent pipe
after removing the outside flapper of course. O_o

Might blow apart any connections, particularly if there is a blockage.
If it happens inside a wall, it wouldn't be good.

I'd just buy a 4" vent brush and pass it from one end to the other or
use the shop vac.

On 9/2/2013 11:49 AM, wrote:
On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 22:41:29 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 9/1/2013 9:02 PM, bob haller wrote:
disconnect vent line indoors at the dryer. use a shop vac as a blower
to clean the entire vent line easily. it will blow out a snowstorm of
lint, espically if you have a long exhaust line....

blowing is more effective than vacuuming


I wonder if a leaf blower at the dryer end would clear the vent pipe
after removing the outside flapper of course. O_o

Might blow apart any connections, particularly if there is a blockage.
If it happens inside a wall, it wouldn't be good.

I'd just buy a 4" vent brush and pass it from one end to the other or
use the shop vac.


When I did a lot more wire pulling in conduit, I used either my CO2 tank
setup, air compressor or shop vac to blow or suck a rat through a
conduit. Hummm, now I wonder about blasting a brush through the vent
with CO2 or compressed air and a shop vac might pull it through too.
If a pull string could be blown through the vent, it could be tied to
a 4" brush and pull it through. ^_^

TDD

On Sunday, September 1, 2013 9:23:46 PM UTC-7, nestork wrote:
Bob:



I really doubt that using a Shop Vac vaccuum cleaner would cause enough

air flow past the pilot light to put it out.



However, there's no harm in downloading a copy of your dryer's owner's

manual, which will tell you how to re-light the pilot light if it goes

out.



It'd be an appliance repairman you'd phone for that service, not a

plumber.



I'd download the owner's manual from the manufacturer's web site, read

the section on lighting the pilot light, and I expect you'll find it's a

lot easier than you thought.

We clean them out all the time using various methods.

www.activeappliances.com







--

nestork