Blower vent line I/O

Finnish genius · May 21, 2010

Can I use aluminum dryer vent line.

achris · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Finnish genius said:
Can I use aluminum dryer vent line.

Is it rated to carry fuel? And it is flexible enough to cope?

PiratePast40 · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Are we talking about the air supply and bilge blower lines? If so, not sure why they need any special rating. Only safety requirement I know of is that the blower suction is supposed to be in the bottom third of the engine compartment. The aluminum dryer vent line is some pretty thin and cheap stuff. The fabric or plastic kind is probably a little more durable than the aluminum foil. On my boat, various things like extra line or lifejackets get thrown back there ocassionally and something flexible is probably better.

achris · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

When I read 'vent', I thought Fuel tank vent, sorry....

PiratePast40 · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

^^^^^ Thought that might be the case. Either that or you were hitting the Fosters a little early. Not that that's bad - I'm a long time Parrothead and firmly believe that it "it's five o'clock somewhere"

Finnish genius · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

I would have put bilge in there but didn't know how to spell it.They don't call me genius just
for the hell of it. There wasn't any plastic stuff in town will stop in Marquette tomorrow and get some if they have it. in any case will get something for it.

cr2k · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Don't see any reason the aluminum hose won't probably a little more resistant to oil and the like. If it's not somewhere it can get crushed.

smokeonthewater · May 21, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

NO use the proper stuff.... aluminum will come apart.... also most bilge hose is 3" and can be hard too find in dryer vent... If you can't find 3" plastic locally order it

lowkee · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

I bought a landscaping hose which kind of resembles a dryer vent, except it is pretty thick plastic (has splines so it is flexible) and I bought a 4"->3" reducer for when it meets the fan. The thin plastic wire-wrapped fan tube stuff which was in the boat was barely existing anymore, so I can't see how that is considered "more reliable" than thick plastic or aluminum. Check out the irrigation section of Lowes for some possible alternatives.

MahtyMaht · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

They also use a heavier wall 3" "aluminum flex liner" to vent direct vent gas appliances like gas fireplace inserts and freestanding stoves. If there's a stove shop around, see if their installer has some left overs.

CharlieB · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

lowkee said:
I bought a landscaping hose which kind of resembles a dryer vent, except it is pretty thick plastic (has splines so it is flexible) and I bought a 4"->3" reducer for when it meets the fan. The thin plastic wire-wrapped fan tube stuff which was in the boat was barely existing anymore, so I can't see how that is considered "more reliable" than thick plastic or aluminum. Check out the irrigation section of Lowes for some possible alternatives.

Bilge blower fans are available in BOTH 3 and 4 inch.

This is one case where bigger 'could' be better as in more air flow.

One 'possible question on using aluminum vs plastic, and this would need some research,
Is there any possibility that a air flow through a metallic tube (with fuel fumes present) could create a static charge and spark, igniting that air/fuel mixture?

Could this be why the builders used plastic?

I 'do' like the idea of a heavier hose, the lightweight ones do die from old age.

EddiePetty · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

achris said:
Is it rated to carry fuel? And it is flexible enough to cope?

....I'll repeat myself from a previous post !!!

#4 October 21st, 2009, 06:39 PM
EddiePetty
Petty Officer 2nd Class
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Courtland, Virginia
Posts: 184

Re: Blower Hose Replacement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

....my vote is AGAINST aluminum dryer hose, in my V 20 atleast.
The routing runs by terminal blocks, trim pump and battery boxes......I really don't need another potential electrical short !!!!

FWIW....Ed in 'ol Virginny

PiratePast40 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

lowkee said:
I bought a landscaping hose which kind of resembles a dryer vent, except it is pretty thick plastic (has splines so it is flexible) and I bought a 4"->3" reducer for when it meets the fan. The thin plastic wire-wrapped fan tube stuff which was in the boat was barely existing anymore, so I can't see how that is considered "more reliable" than thick plastic or aluminum. Check out the irrigation section of Lowes for some possible alternatives.

Bigger diameter hose isn't necessarily better. If the fan is designed for 3" hose then that's what you should be using. There's a direct relationship between area of the hose and velocity of the air moving through it for a fixed fan flow. Using a larger than designed duct will cause the air to move slower through the hose. You want higher velocity to capture fumes at the source.

Use the hose diameter that corresponds to the fan inlet.

smokeonthewater · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

alum dryer hose is a spiral wrapped strip that is crimped together... alum fatigues with repeated movement and becomes brittle..... another thing to consider is conductivity.... if the plastic hose contacts the positive lug on your starter you will never know but the alum is a different story.... as for the alum comming apart I speak from experience..... I used it for the dryer in my rv and it failed on me twice in 6 months..... I switched to plastic and have covered thousands of miles in 3 years with no problems..... It's fine in a house but not good for bouncing around

kilowatts · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Hi Guys:

I've been using aluminum dryer vent hose for the past several years with much success and with no drawbacks.

kilowatts

JimS123 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

kilowatts said:
Hi Guys:

I've been using aluminum dryer vent hose for the past several years with much success and with no drawbacks.

kilowatts

A few weeks ago I was on a trip and stopped at a full service gas station. The young girlie that came out to fill my tank was smoking at the pump. I questioned her about it and she said that the explosiveness of gas was a myth. She's been smoking at the station for years now and she never blew up!

PS - true story....and I left before getting the gas.

imraan47 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Thats what i got here:

I used stainless steel ring clamps to attach to the blower so its a tight fit. It was easy to use and seem's like it will last a really long time. Haven't been in the water yet though.

JimS123 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

imraan47 said:
Thats what i got here:

I used stainless steel ring clamps to attach to the blower so its a tight fit. It was easy to use and seem's like it will last a really long time. Haven't been in the water yet though.

OMG what a mess! Pardon me for being blunt...I don't mean to hurt your feelings.

You got an electrical conductor covered with wires and cables and all snaked together like a pretzel. Do any of the wires have any bare spots? Are you really sure? Is the blower vent electrically grounded? The vent is just an inch away from the battery terminal, and to add insult to injury the battery box cover is missing. The vent section that isn't connected appears to be in the wrong position to meet the proper ventilation requirements.

Don't start that engine!

PiratePast40 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

Maybe it's one of those things that's not intuitively obvious to some people. The example above looks like the blower discharge is forward of the fresh air intake. That would be backwards. The blower is supposed to suck from the bilge and BLOW air OUT of the boat - not pump air in.

As far as the battery cover, might want to give him a pass on the first go around since the cables aren't connected and the strap being present indicates that there may be a cover that just isn't installed yet.

I can't believe that they still sell that aluminum foil crap for dryer vents. For fire protection reasons, ridgid duct is required in many places both in the US and in Canada.

imraan47 · May 22, 2010

Re: Blower vent line I/O

JimS123 said:
OMG what a mess! Pardon me for being blunt...I don't mean to hurt your feelings.

You got an electrical conductor covered with wires and cables and all snaked together like a pretzel. Do any of the wires have any bare spots? Are you really sure? Is the blower vent electrically grounded? The vent is just an inch away from the battery terminal, and to add insult to injury the battery box cover is missing. The vent section that isn't connected appears to be in the wrong position to meet the proper ventilation requirements.

Don't start that engine!

First of there is a cover forthe battery..just not in yet because i took it off for work in progress with my electricals.
This is how the blower vents were hooked when i got the boat except that the tubes were broken and so i replaced them with the alum foil type as you see. Wire's are in top condition, no breaks or anything that could be touching that vent.
I havent extended the top vent tube down into the bilge yet but thats where that will end up. Otherwise this is exactly the way it was when i got this boat. So unless the previous owner messed around then i wouldn't know.
Regardless, i always open the engine compartment before starting my engine so that entire area is open for air.

Blower vent line I/O

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