We got a gas dryer mistakenly thinking we had a gas line.. we think this is it.. is it??? : diy

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Put a tray under it and open and shut it real fast. If water comes out, it's a water line. If you hear hissing and smell rotten eggs, it's a gas line. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Chances are you're not gonna blow yourself up with a fraction of a second's worth of gas leaking out, but for legal reasons this comment is a joke.)

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

good luck if you break it

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If it opens but not closing anymore you have a problem. This can happen with old valves.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If that happens, shut off the main and open the windows.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Or, shut off the main first. And do a proper inspection.

Why risk it? Don't fuck with pipes if you dont know what you're doing?

Utilities and electric usually require electricians and plumbers. And even though it might be common sense to you, the idiot who burned the house down thought it was too. It's why there's code, it's idiotproof. Each code is written in blood.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Well it's capped off too, so first you'll need to take that out.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Is it copper? Then it is water.

Is it cast iron? Then it is gas.

If it is plastic, what color is it? Blue, cold water. Red, hot water. Yellow, gas. Orange, not for you to play with. Clear, white, grey? Fuck that guy who did that.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Some older houses in my area have copper gas lines.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

East Coast?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Yea east coast. It's not code anymore, now you have to use black iron.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (2 children)

What's orange?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

Radiant heating.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Danger

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Not cast iron, it's rolled steel but the trade name is black iron pipe. Cast iron is used only in drainage.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Wait, you are buying equipment before you even know if it's even able to work.

Then you post a photo of some faucet on the internet instead of asking your landlord or whoever put this thing on the wall.

And you are about to put that rusty piece of 100 year old with paint on it into operation? When was it last checked? Is it tight? Are the pipes all right? Where's the counter when it's gas/water/whatever? Who is the provider?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Wait, you are buying equipment before you even know if it's even able to work.

What part of "mistakenly" did you misunderstand?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

i wouldntve posted if i knew literally anything. and i promise u internet strangers have more intelligent things to say than my landlord.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

They didn't post hoping to get lambasted, they already admitted to the mistake. Take it easy.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

TIL gas dryers exist

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Very common in the U.S. we have been marketed to for almost 100 years about gas appliances being better than electric. The common phrase "now you're cooking with gas!" Started as an ad on radio shows like Maxwell Coffee Hour, Jack Benny, Chase and Sanborn, Johnson Wax, and Bob Hope around 1940. Now it just means you're working hard/well, especially suddenly.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Now it just means you’re working hard/well, especially suddenly.

eh, the more we learn about gas appliances the more I think it's gonna mean 'you're fine risking your children's respiratory ability so you can have a fancy stove'.

I mean, how much benzene comes out of an electric stove? none.

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/16/1181299405/gas-stoves-pollute-homes-with-benzene-which-is-linked-to-cancer

https://www.massmed.org/Publications/Vital-Signs---Member-Publication/Connection-Between-Natural-Gas-Stoves-and-Pediatric-Asthma/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-health-risks-of-gas-stoves-explained/

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Agreed, and I wish I knew that when my kids were still little, but i section wasn’t available (in the US) then

Anyhow, huge difference here:

a stove is open flame in the living areas. While there may be a vent and you may even turn it on, there’s a huge gap between the flame and vent. So yeah, you’re polluting your living space
a dryer is directly connected to a vent to outside. It may not be the best for the environment but it doesn’t affect the air in your house

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Huh, always heard the phrase as "cooking with fire"

The firewood industry is slippery, haha.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I've always heard now we're cooking with butter!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They are so much better at drying than electric dryers. The gas heater dries out the air better so dries the clothes quicker. Electric just seems to make the clothes hot, but more humid. Depending on time of year and other factors they swing from a lot cheaper to operate, to eat more expensive. Not sure about the environmental impact of them though.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If it's in your laundry area and you already know which ones are the water lines, there's a good chance it's the gas line. I'd try following it back to the source to see if it connects to the gas line, if you can.

Also, you should know that there's a difference between natural gas and liquefied propane or LP. They burn differently, and there will be major issues if you hook an appliance configured for LP up to natural gas and vice versa.

You'll know you have LP if you have a tank nearby, and if so you will probably need to modify the dryer for it. The installers should be able to do this for you for an extra fee. Natural gas is usually delivered by pipes in the ground, and most dryers are set up for that from the factory.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

most dryers

All dryers.

For near enough to every single model not to matter the LP conversion kit is sold separately, also. For Whirlpool and their subsidiaries (Maytag) in particular, their LP kit lineup recently changed just to make matters more confusing, and probably not all retailers are up to date on which model requires which kit. So have fun with that.

TL;DR: Your life will be much easier if your house is served by natural gas rather than propane.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

My electric dryer isn't set up for it

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's undocumented but if you run the gas line into the drier drum, every electric model will accept it.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 months ago

Once

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I wasn't sure so I didn't want to make a definitive statement, so thanks for the confirmation.

Though I will say that I recently bought an LG gas dryer and converting it to propane just involved a new gas nozzle and turning a screw.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

No prob. You were on the right track.

One of my duties in life is maintaining a major appliance e-commerce web site with ~14,500 SKU's. So I might know a thing... or two... about appliances.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

As someone who's probably ordered the wrong part and then the right part from your site about a dozen times: Thank you for your service o7

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The NIBCO(R) bronze ball valve provides ease of operation with quarter-turn (90 degrees) open to close. The two-piece valve is ideal for commercial and light industrial process applications that may include HVAC, hot and cold domestic water, low pressure steam, compressed air, LP gas and natural gas.

https://www.nibco.com/nibco-products/valves/ball-valves/t-580-a/

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It almost certainly is a gas line.

Also, if your dryer were electric, the vast majority of full size residential dryers in the US are 240 volt machines and require a dedicated 240 volt, 30 amp NEMA 10-30 or 14-30 outlet on its own circuit, which has a socket face on it about the size of a baseball and is pretty tough to miss. If you don't have one of those in your laundry area, you ain't installing an electric dryer regardless.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (12 children)

Unless of course they join the rest of the (non American) world and get a heat pump dryer. They use 1/4 the amount of electricity in operate off of a standard 120 volt socket. I absolutely love mine, the only thing that takes longer is really thick towels and even then it's only like maybe an extra 15-20 minutes.

I went with the miele option but I believe that LG also has an all-in-one washer and heat pump dryer combo that is supposedly getting decent reviews

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

That does indeed look like a gas line with shutoff valve.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You could probably save money in the long run by purchasing a combo washer/dryer that dehumidifies the laundry and uses a heat pump. Watch for possible rebates starting next year.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (6 children)

I've yet to read a positive review of a combo washer/dryer, but I've admittedly only done a little bit of research. What model would you recommend?

Heat pump water tanks are amazing, especially in warm climates - its like air conditioning, but instead of moving heat from inside your house to outside, it puts that heat into your hot water tank.

I've never seen a heat pump dryer IRL. They must be new technology, and that makes me wonder if existing models are reliable?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

If you're worried about the combination which to be fair honestly I also would be I can at the very least recommend the Miele heat pump dryer. At this point I've had mine for several years and also convinced three other people to get it and all of us love it. The only thing that takes a little bit longer is particularly thick towels and even then it's only maybe an extra 15 to 20 minutes.

When you first get it I promise you that you will think your laundry is not fully dry when it's done, but it is. Humans are actually really really bad at sensing moisture our brain estimates it based on temperature and a heat pump dryer uses dry air and condensation from the cold side to not need anywhere near as much heat which is how they are able to use 1/4 the amount of power of a standard electric.

This is way better for your clothes it's a lot gentler on them it'll help them last longer especially shirts with designs on them they won't become a cracked and damaged anywhere near as quickly. But it takes getting used to because it's not going to be anywhere near as hot as your brain is used to dry laundry being so it'll feel like it's slightly damp but if you simply take it out of the dryer and allow it to cool fully then it'll feel dry again because it's back to what you're used to for cooled down dry laundry.

A trick that my grandmother taught me because she would air dry laundry a lot and it has that same problem is to touch the laundry to your lips as your lips are significantly more sensitive than your hands and they will give you a better feeling for if it's actually wet or not

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Lowering relative humidity by condensing water out on the cold side instead of strictly by increasing air temperature is a neat trick.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I can't speak to combo washer/dryers, but heat pump dryers have been around for several years. We got an LG one a few years ago because our old one vented into the garage and there was no practical way to extend the vent outside.

We're very happy with it. It does take slightly longer to dry clothes, and the capacity is slightly smaller than our old electric one, but they're also gentler on clothes. We haven't had a single issue with it yet over the years.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's an interesting point I hadn't considered. If the heat pump dryer is condensing water vapor and draining it via plumbing, and collecting lint in a filter, then there is no need to run an exhaust line through the exterior wall.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I don't know what conditions they rate them at, but the 2 I have used (vacation rentals) took twice as long as the screen says.

Maybe they rate them with a single sports jersey in Montana, but on the Carolina coast you're looking at 3 hours for a load.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I considered getting a washer that dries but was NOT the heat pump type when I moved to Japan (where most people do not have dedicated clothes driers except in the more inclimate places). The reviews all turned me off. I've heard good things about heat pump driers in general, so I'll maybe consider things again when my current washer dies (hopefully no time soon).

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