Vented tumble dryers have been around for many years now but as of recent, there are other types of tumble dryers to choose from that don’t need a vent. This has resulted in many new homes not having the necessary ventilation hole in the wall to vent a tumble dryer because its not an essential requirement anymore.
However, vented tumble dryers are still very popular due to the fact that they are a fraction of the price when compared to a heat pump alternative. They also don’t require emptying of reservoir tanks, which would be needed with both a heat pump and condenser tumble dryer. Therefore, the process of creating a ventilation hole in the wall and using a vent kit to install a tumble dryer is still required and we show you exactly how to do it within this article.
Venting Outside Through The Wall Or Window
When it comes to installing a vented tumble dryer, you have the option of venting the hot air and moisture through the window or the wall. The easiest option is to place the hose out of the window whilst the tumble dryer in on. However, this isn’t the best method of installing a vented tumble dryer and you also have to remember to do it each time.
Therefore, the recommended installation method is to create a ventilation hole through the nearest exterior wall. Although this method requires a bit of time for the installation, it’s certainly a worthwhile task that you won’t regret.
In our installation guide, we install the vented tumble dryer through the wall with a vent kit.
What You’ll Need
- Tumble dryer vent kit
- SDS drill
- Core bit
- Masonry bit
- Pencil/marker
- Decorators caulk
- Screwdriver/cordless drill
- Tape measure
What’s Included In A Tumble Dryer Vent Kit
Unless the tumble dryer vent kit is already included with your machine, you’ll need to purchase one yourself. Whether you purchase it locally or online, there are hundreds of kits available that are suitable for installing a vented tumble dryer.
In terms of what’s included with a tumble dryer vent kit, most come with a flexible vent hose, ducting, external grill, jubilee clips, adapter rings as well as many extras that you may or may not need. In this guide where we install our very own vented tumble dryer, we used the following kit.
How To Install A Vented Tumble Dryer
1. Mark The Ventilation Hole
Whether you install the tumble dryer in your utility room or kitchen, it’ll need a ventilation hole that leads outside.
However, before you choose the location of the ventilation hole, it’s crucial that the exterior wall to be drilled through for the installation meets the following criteria:
- No restrictions that may stop you drilling through (for example, any pipes or wires)
- Higher than 30 cm from the ground
- Behind the tumble dryer
Once you are happy that the ventilation hole meets the requirements for the installation, you can mark out the centre point of where you want to drill through the wall. It’s also a good time to prepare the area ready for drilling because it can become quite messy.
2. Drill The Ventilation Hole
With the ventilation hole marked out, you can proceed to drilling through the exterior wall. To do this, we used a SDS drill and a 10cm core bit but you can alternatively use a masonry drill bit along with a hammer and chisel.
It’s important to note that most vents require a 10cm diameter but you’ll want to double check your particular vent kit before making the hole. From our experience, all the vent kits we’ve used are 10cm in diameter. If you want to see a video of us drilling through the cavity wall, we posted a video of the drilling onto our Instagram page.
As you can see from the hole that we’ve created, it leads straight through the cavity wall and outside. It’s also a perfect circle, which is due to the fact that we used a circular core bit, which we would highly recommend.
If you have used a masonry drill bit along with a hammer and chisel, you’ll want to ensure that there are no sharp edges and that it’s the required diameter.
Due to the amount of debris and dust that’s created during the drilling, it’s a good time to clear it away before proceeding with the vent kit installation.
3. Install The Vent Tube Through The Hole & Install The Plate
Once the hard work of drilling through the wall is complete, you can move onto installing the tumble dryer vent kit.
To begin, you’ll need to pass the vent tube through the hole and then install the ducting as shown in the photos below. When installing the ducting, the kit you buy should come with suitable screws that’ll hold it in place. It’s also good practice to seal the vent around the edges in order to prevent water or any insects crawling through.
4. Install The External Grill
After the ducting has been installed, you’ll want to pay attention to the outside wall. To ensure that it looks neat and tidy, you can install an external grill, which is available in a wide range of designs and colours.
Depending upon the grill you choose, most will either clip onto the vent tube or need to be fixed in place with screws. It shouldn’t be left loosely in place because it’ll more than likely fall off on a windy day.
After you’ve installed the external grill, it’s important that you check that the flaps freely open. If they can’t freely open and close, this’ll cause blockages in the grill, which will eventually lead to the tumble dryer overheating.
5. Install The Vent Hose To The Wall & Tumble Dryer
The final step of installing a vented tumble dryer is to attach the vent hose to the machine and ducting.
On both ends of the vent hose, you’ll need to tighten a jubilee clip or a suitable clamp to keep it secured.
Once the vent hose has been attached on both ends, you can push the tumble dryer back in place. However, you’ll need to ensure that the hose doesn’t kink because this can cause the machine to overheat as it’ll be unable to vent the hot air outside.
If this does happen, the heater fuse will trip out, which is the main reason for tumble dryers not heating up. Therefore, before you begin to push the machine back, ensure the vent hose is straight and there are no kinks.
6. Test The Tumble Dryer Works
Now that the installation is complete, you’ll want to test that the tumble dryer works and that it’s venting hot air outside. You’ll be able to tell if it’s working if the flaps of the grill are moving or by placing your hand near it.
Conclusion
Although extra effort is involved to install a vented tumble dryer through the wall, we strongly recommend doing it this way. This is because it’ll be less problematic and once it’s done, you shouldn’t need to access it again until you replace the machine. Another indirect benefit is that you’ll be able to keep the heat in during the winter with the window closed.
If you have any questions regarding your tumble dryer installation, feel free to get in touch and we will try to provide our assistance where possible.
