Curious ... dryer vent use?

Community Support
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Hello. Has anyone used their laundry dryer vent as the Glowforge exhaust filter route? Does that even make sense, or is my brain squirrel running rampant again trying to come up with “a plan”, instead of spending money to buy the GF Filter? I’m serious on both points ~ don’t judge too harshly, please

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If you use the search function you will find the various discussions that have been held over the years concerning dryer vents for Glowoforge ventilation.

The GF filter is not a great option as it is expensive and the filters fill quickly (depending on what you cut) and can be expensive to replace. The exhaust fan of the Glowforge is not strong enough to push the smoke/particlulate outside if the Glowforge is far away from the outside. Is you Glowforge in your laundry room?

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It is, for all practical purposes, a dryer vent. But you probably want a dedicated one for a few reasons:

  1. You’d need to ensure the smoke doesn’t come back in through your dryer, so that’s at minimum a couple of gates and the risk of configuring them wrong, either blocking your dryer, or exhausting into your house.
  2. Buildup of soot and gunk from the Glowforge, and lint from the dryer, are potentially a dangerous combination.
  3. Many people find that the Glowforge’s internal fan isn’t adequate, and install an inline fan to boost the exhaust. This would be complicated sharing the outlet with a dryer.

If you can find a way to make another hole to the outside, that’s probably the best plan.

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I truly appreciate your input & will come up with another solution … thank you, thank you !!!

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The cost of a handyman putting a new dryer vent in the wall near your Glowforge is probably on the same order as the cost of a filter box, but after you spend that initial money, the dryer vent is free where the filter box needs a neverending supply of replacement media for $249 a pop.

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And highly variable in terms of availability with out-of-stock scenarios often lasting months.

I still have mine new in the box. Never used. The filter I was sold was a much more elegant design (sat under the GF) but turned out to be a fever dream :slightly_smiling_face: and was replaced by the sub-optimal current design.

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