Can It Affect A Gas Line? (Code Examined)

When planning routes for your appliances, it is slowly to want to accept the same path for everything. Not only is it the almost efficient road, merely it would probable salvage precious space. Or inward other cases, paths ofttimes necessitate to cross over each other.

When it comes to your dryer duct too gas business, it can appear risky to take the ii touch on. Let’s wait into why that might be as well as figure out if yous involve to change your routing plans.

There are no rules in the IRC that prohibit dryer vents in addition to gas lines from touch unless the dryer manufacturer says that this is non allowed. Dryer vents tin can get hot plenty to soften plastic pipes as well as increment the force per unit area of the fas inward the pipes, only they cannot melt the pipes or cause gas explosions.

Surface Heat of Dryer Ducts

The most pregnant worry virtually having a dryer duct touch a gas line of work is that the oestrus of the duct would bear on the gas line negatively. This may live potentially unsafe inward multiple ways, which nosotros will become into afterwards.

For right away, it is of import to empathise that dryer ducts tin go significantly hot. The air that passes through the vents tin can range betwixt 120 together with 160 °F and can even hit upwardly to about 185 °F.

This agency that the surface temperature of the dryer duct measures at around 130 °F. If y'all make not go on upwards with routine maintenance in addition to your ducts go clogged, nevertheless, you tin wait much higher temperatures because heat is non able to escape equally easily.

Gas Line Materials

While gas lines tin can vary inwards material, they are typically made using steel, black atomic number 26, PVC, or copper. The material that gas lines can live made out of besides vary past local code. This means that where you live impacts what cloth you may have.

If your gas business is made out of metallic, such equally steel, and then you do not ask to worry well-nigh it melting from the estrus of the dryer vent. This is because metals have extremely high melting points that are mode beyond whatever temperature your dryer vent could attain.

On the other paw, you may require to be cautious if your gas job is made out of plastic, such every bit PVC. This is because plastics accept a much lower melting bespeak. PVC, for example, has a melting betoken of 212 °F; however, the textile begins to soften at temperatures equally low as 140 °F.

This agency that your pipes, if exposed to plenty estrus from the dryer ducts, tin can go soft as well as deform.

Another factor to consider, though, is that metals part as slap-up oestrus conductors. This agency that they can rut upwards whatsoever gasses passing through extremely well, which tin be a whole other issue.

Gas Ignition Temperatures

If yous are scared of the gas line of work getting likewise hot together with exploding if it touches the dryer duct, you lot luckily make not demand to worry. The gas line transports natural gas to your heating organisation.

Therefore, inward guild to combust, your piping would need to accomplish the ignition temperature for natural gas, which is over a thou degrees. So, your dryer duct will non blow upwards your gas occupation if the two come up into contact.

However, the extra oestrus from the duct tin bear upon the force per unit area inward your gas line. When the temperature of a gas increases, the force per unit area volition likewise increment. While it tin live regulated with a valve, if the pressure is too high, the gas can effort your heating components to overheat.

While your furnace volition often accept a regulator, the components inward it can easily become damaged from overheating. You will non, notwithstanding, require to worry nearly your furnace starting a burn. This is because furnaces accept prophylactic protocols inward place to shut downwards if it overheats.

Dryer Vents Can Touch Gas Lines

If your gas occupation is made out of a proper cloth that is able to handgrip the oestrus in addition to if it has a pressure regulator somewhere, whether that live a valve or furnace regulator, and then there should be no consequence amongst having your dryer vent impact your gas job.

To live extra safety, y'all tin can insulate your dryer ducts, which has multiple other benefits.

Illustration of back of a gas dryer with gas line connection, stainless steel connector and vent

What Does the Code Say?

When it comes to venting dryers, the International Residential Code (IRC), Section M1502 specifically, highlights that dryer exhaust systems should live independent of all other systems. However, they do not bring up or finish independent systems from being inward contact externally.

In add-on, they make not bring up keeping gas lines distanced from dryer vents (Section G2415). This means that at that place is nothing stopping you lot from having the ii systems impact.

Possible Exception

There is a possible exception that tin can forestall yous from having your gas line of work as well as dryer duct in contact. Section M1502.one of the IRC says the following:

“Clothes dryers should live vented inward accordance alongside the manufacturer’second instructions.”

This way that if the manufacturer of your dress dryer says to avoid contact between gas lines and the dryer ducts, then yous accept to follow their recommendation to live code-compliant.