In todays' economy, consideration must be given to every thing that causes us to pay out cash. Wether it be gas for our vehicles, or gas to heat our homes, efficiency is the bottom line of every calculation.
"Can We Recycle Dryer Heat?" is an Idea that I've been kicking around in my head for some time now. I decided to build this prototype just to see if there was any merit to recycling the heat. I got the Idea while I was doing a load of laundry one day. I thought about all those BTU's going up that vent hose into the great outdoors and I wondered, why send them outdoors when they can help to warm our place in the winter. I have a family of five and there is a lot of laundry done with a lot of drying so, I built this secondary filter to trap lint that might escape the primary lint filter in the dryer and channeled the heated air into our basement.
Constructing of the prototype was simple. I used a cardboard box, some wood battens, a hot glue gun and glue sticks, a mixed nuts can (or similar container with the right diameter for the dryer hose to fit on) and some duct tape. Construction time was about one hour.
I used duct tape on one corner as a hinge. The wood battens were glued on with the hot glue gun to form a jamb for the access door.
You can see how the door was framed first then the opening was cut.
The opening for the screen was then cut in the door and door stops were hot glued to the door frame.
The final steps were to connect the dryer hose and mount the unit for easy access to the door for lint removal.
I allowed the dryer to vent through this filter for 3 cycles (loads) before I posted this page. I noticed a reduction in cycles from the furnace during the operation of the dryer so, there is some benefit from the filters' use. Another benefit is the humidifier effect, the dryer blows moist air at first and dryer air as it progresses, not to mention the pleasant scent that fills the house. I will continue to monitor the pros and cons before I mark this one as valid.
I had a few concrens about the humidity levels from the dryer however, it doesn't seem to be any worse that the humidity left after a shower. In fact, I think the humidity left from showering is greater. I had this concern because my tools are stored in the same area as the washer and dryer, I will monitor them closely for deterioration.
I have monitored my unprotected carbon steel tools closely looking for signs of accelerated Iron Oxide formations (Rust) and none have been detected. From this preliminary investigation, it would appear that the house drinks in the moisture with relish. I think that if the house never reaches the point of saturation, moisture from the dryer will be dispersed evenly throughout the dwelling.
An unexpected event took place last night, I overheard my wife bragging to one of her friends about the device in the basement that was re-channeling the dryers' heat back into the house and, trust me when I say, that is a milestone because the only thing missing in my wifes personality profile is the "Smokey The Bear" hat......Simper Fi.......