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View Full Version : Butterfly valve in dryer vent



Randall Clark
06-04-2021, 02:09 PM
This vent assembly had two plastic damper doors on the outside wall of the home and a butterfly valve about 6" inside of the vent (like the butterfly in pic). It looked like one assembly, not something someone cobbled together. I could not find a manufacturer or part number on the unit, nor can I find one like it on line. Question is, would this be approved for venting of a dryer? I would think lint would get trapped on the shaft section of the butterfly valve. Also, I think it would be hard to clean out the dryer duct.

Code related problems are that ducting must have a smooth interior finish and the cross shaft interferes with that. And screws cannot protrude more than 1/8" into the duct. Again, the cross shaft interferes.

I'm guessing this device was designed for bathroom venting but I'm curious what the manufacturer states. If anyone knows the manufacturer of this vent, let me know.

Jerry Peck
06-04-2021, 03:15 PM
I haven't seen one of those before, and I don't see it meeting code requirements for clothes dryer ducts, either.

I would need to see the listing information and manufacturer's installation instructions before giving it a 'pass'.

tkaiser1
06-07-2021, 01:03 PM
I haven't seen one of those before, and I don't see it meeting code requirements for clothes dryer ducts, either.

I would need to see the listing information and manufacturer's installation instructions before giving it a 'pass'.

This is a common backdraft damper for ventilation ducts, bath fans, etc. It's not designed for dryer ducting, for all the reasons the original posting mentioned. When I was project managing a Home Performance division of a design/build firm here in the Northwest, we used these commonly for the ventilation purposes mentioned. The manufacturer I'm familiar with (Columbia, sold in the NW by Gensco, possibly a subdivision of them) doesn't appear to have a website of their own.