I got tired of it! We have four kids, and it seems like the washer/dryer run all the time. I would look outside and see all that heat/moisture getting vented outside.... so I decided to put it to good use, instead.

Here's what I did....

Take a 5 gallon bucket and use a 4" holesaw to drill a hole in the upper side of it.

Insert a 90º fitting into that hole.

Pour a gallon of water in the bottom to catch most of the lint. (add bleach if you want, to keep it from possibly getting funky)

Connect dryer hose.

Place furnace filter material over the top, and attach with big rubber band. (zip ties will also work)

Note, I didn't bother cleaning the bucket, as it will collect a bunch of lint, anyway. (and the wife was in a hurry to dry her clothes) LOL

It works great! There's a LOT of heat and moisture that comes out of the thing. The filter material may need cleaned/changed from time to time, but that's no big deal. Total investment... maybe $10. :D

Here's the pics!

(maybe it will save you enough money to buy some FE parts)

Good Luck!






------------------------
Mike Burch
66 mustang real street
302 4-speed 289 heads
10.63 @ 129.3
http://www.mustangworks.com/cgi-bin/moi-display.cgi?220

I know that it's common sense, but don't try that trick with a gas dryer.

as well. Don't try this with a natural gas unit....great way to become one of those statistics!

There are reasons why ALL houses have a 4" hole in the side of them for the dryer.
Fire Hazzard
Air Quality
House Maintance Problems. Mold
Dryer Efficiency



68 Mustang F/B
67 Fairlane GT

My house was specifically built with an internal vent. You can't even begin to imagine how much trouble it was to install an external vent. The laundry room is in the middle of the house next to the maids quarters and I had to actually build a false wall to hide the pipe because I am on slab and have a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style roof. I couldn't go up or go under, made me want to hit the architect with a 2 X 4! LOL Hawkrod

Hawkrod

39 Ford Deluxe Coupe
59 Tbird 430
60 Lincoln Premier
(2)62 Tbirds
(3)68 Cougar XR7-G's
69 Cougar 428CJ 4 speed
77 1/2 Ford F250 4X4 w/460 swap
86 SVO mustang
76 F250 Crew Cab
1969 Mach I
look at my cars past and present at superford!

I know we had a set-up like that in our restaurant way back in the day. Just dump the water out once a week and you'll be cool.

Josh

the old folks that previously owned our house had a setup like this that would pump the dryer air into the crawl space (42" high) beneath the main living room. It did heat up the space but the air was rather moist, and would make the space smell musty. I have since vented it outside.

Those $8 diverter boxes just use a simple screen that doesn't trap all the lint, and clog up easily. The water in the bottom of the bucket traps most of the lint, and the rest gets trapped in the furnace filter. The filter should last a long time, as a 5-gal bucket has a LOT more surface area than a screen in a diverter box.

Moisture will collect on the nearby windows, but with the dry winter air, it dries off pretty quick. It's nice to have a little humidity and free heat from the dryer. Seems to be a big waste to send it outside. Plus, the dryer is sucking up heated, inside air and blowing it outside. You save 2X... and the dryer blows a LOT of air.

Using an electric dryer, and blowing it into a bucket of water does not create a fire hazard.



------------------------
Mike Burch
66 mustang real street
302 4-speed 289 heads
10.63 @ 129.3
http://www.mustangworks.com/cgi-bin/moi-display.cgi?220

a reasonably dry climate should work fine. Save what you can where you can. Heating systems can suck alot of moisture out of the air, and you have a nice little humidifier. Mike

I have no idea what is out there now, but ours had a small bucket, maybe 2 quarts.

...... who used this trick to keep warm in the winter. He had a small narrow utility room off of his apartment where the washer and dryer were. He had a small workbench that folded down from the wall, and he would rebuild small parts on it. Its how he started the steering rebuild business I now own.

During the winter, it was cold in the utility room since there was no heat vent in there. He routed the exhaust from the dryer into a duct hose, duct taped the hose into the pants leg of an old oversize pair of jeans, and vented the dryer into the jeans to keep him warm while he worked.

Hey, it saved him money when he little to spare AND kept him warm.

Well guys here goes I have a gas water heater and have not had it vented outside for over 35 years. Yes no outside vent! It does provide heat to the downstairs when the water heater is running and it runs every once in a while. Now think about it!!! your wife or you puts the 25 lb turkey in the oven at 6 in the morning and it is done at noon or therabouts. That oven just cycled on and off for 4 or 5 hours and you lived to enjoy it:) The water heater only runs for about 1/2 hour to get the water up to temp from a cold tank. Then it is off for a long time if water isn't being used as the tank is very well insulated. I know that from my RV as it will hold hot water for several hours when I turn it off while driving. OK lets hear it:)So this dryer deal sounds like a good way to save a little heat as most clothes are dry in about 45 minutes. Of course my house is not as well built and as tight as the newer ones. By the way oil is down to about 50.00 dollars a barrel and when it went up propane went up but guess what propane ain't went down yet:(

from their furnace being blocked and pumping the carbon monoxide into the house.

Just something to think about.

Josh