****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I installed this since my dryer exhaust runs straight up the wall and to the roof. It was always clogging and it took forever to dry a load of clothes. There was a huge dust problem inside my house since the dryer just couldn't push the exhaust out and it basically blew out at every leaky point inside the dryer and the poor connection from the dryer to wall. I eliminated those leaks by using 2 back to back 90s and taped the connections then clamped.. I installed the fan at the midpoint of the duct in the attic and since its rigid I didn't bother to hard mount it to a structural support.. wired the switch in using 115v power tapped into the switch for my AC blower unit. It's a 15amp ckt.. the AC blower pulls 6 amps.. this blower pulls 4. So it'll be fine. I split the 240v ckt to the dryer in the attic just before it goes down the wall adding a deep double gang box and ran a single Romex 12/2 out as a switch leg off the supplied Switch/sensor and ran one leg of the 240 through the sensor. Added a second single gang box by the dryer vent duct and installed a plug where the returning hot from the switch turned the plug on and off... Then just plugged the fan in, turned the dryer on and the blower turned on just like it should.my dryer is electric but a gas dryer would just need the sensor switch inline with the 120v supply.. so not a big difference in configuration. I guess if I ever sell the house I'll need to inform the new owner of the change needed to activate the fan for a gas dryer. With this fan in line my drying time has nearly reduced by half. I tested it with a load of towels before and after... Before it took an hour to dry . Now it takes approximately 35 minutes. My prior lint/dust problem is now non-existent and it is consideraly noticeable when dusting, the laundry room is much cooler, and the overall amount of lint the dryer trap catches is less.. I'm guessing this is because of the reduced overall time the dryer is running in order to dry the load. I didn't bother installing a second lint trap in line before the blower simply because I didn't want to.. it would have been a real chore to put in the wall behind the dryer and it would have been difficult to access had I put one in line up in the attic. I'm honestly thinking it'll never be a problem but time will tell. Overall, this is a huge improvement from the original set up! I realize that a gas dryer is more efficient and I have always had gas in the past.. but I was left with using electric since my set went out and I got this set at a price I couldn't pass on. Either way, gas or electric; the addition of a duct blower is huge.. I never knew these even existed until one day when I had to clean the exhaust again.. I thought.. there has to be a better way.. there has to be a good solution to my all too common problem.. and within a 2 minute Google search I found it. Now I could have elected to buy the version of blower where the motor is located outside of the housing.. but the price was considerably more. And once I researched the subject as well as read numerous reviews, I decided on this one. It's American made.. has a long standing good reputation, Its affordable, and it plain works. There are similar clones out there but the internals are vastly different and the components are of lesser quality.. I have no hands on experience to back this up. But the information is out there.If you need a good solution to a problem such as mine. This is the way to go.Only con I can see is the need to wire in the sensor switch. I happen to be an electrician so it wasn't a big deal for me..but some home owners may want to have this done by a professional. Remember this.. there is a good reason why we have a National Electric Code and licensed and insured electricians... Poor electrical installations cause fires.. I'm pretty sure there is a simple solution to using a blower such as this without the need for an electrician.. like a fan with a sensor to detect air flow.. or heat.. but the electrical current sensing switch is reliable. Good luck with your search..
