Has anyone Tried to Recycle heat from Dryer vent?

 I imagine putting some find of a filter at the end of the vent house would
do the trick, and direct the vent into the laundry room.     Some one
mentioned that the added humidity in the room might actually make the drying
process take longer (it need dry air).   Although in my case might not be a
problem because the room is very large (24x24).     Anyone ever tried this,
did it work good, any problems?      Thanks

 

I haven't tried it yet, but I keep eyeing a similar redirection.  The oil
tank for my home heating is above ground, very near where the dryer vent
exits.  On extreme cold days (teens, single digits), water in the tank will
occasionally freeze up and block the fuel feed.  I've been toying with the
idea of extending the vent to encase the tank feed.  Hmmm.

Joe F.

 

It's probably not water in the fuel.  All heating oil contains paraffin
(wax) dissolved in it.  When the oil get cold, the wax freezes out, blocking
the fuel feed.

  


Heating oil (and diesel) _is_ essentially "paraffin wax" -
it's just that it's (supposed to be) above its melting point.

In more extreme climates, you have to pay attention, because normal "summer
weight" fuel oils and diesels can freeze at 10-15F.  With a result that looks
very much like candle wax.  Normal winter weight is usually more like -35F,
but in some cases you need it even lower than that.

I used to work in a refinery lab, and one of the tests we routinely did
was check freeze points on fuel oils and diesel fuels.

The OP may wish to consider discussing with his fuel oil supplier what he's
getting.  They should be able to give him the exact specifications. He may
have to pay attention to what the supplier is providing in any particular
season, and judging whether he'll be using the summer weight stuff up before
it gets that cold.  Then again, a good supplier should be taking his usage
patterns into consideration when he fills the tank, and not "pushing"
summer weight into the winter.

If the problem recurs this winter, a top up of winter-weight may solve
the problem.

Extending the vent (and/or tenting it with plastic, say) may be a good
solution until you get the situation settled.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

 
You should be using kerosene or a mixture of fuel oil and kerosene
for an outside tank to prevent fuel gelling/waxing. We use straight
fuel oil up until the beginning of January and then a mix of the
fuel oil/kero until the end of Feb. Never had a problem that way.