Keeping the bike in the garage with a dryer vent

[markcjr]

I went into my garage this morning. It was cold out, and I noticed my dryer vent was spewing hot air onto my fork. It's probably moist hot air because most of the time, the clothes are wet. Just wasn't sure if the vent could actually cause fork and shock seals to dry out. I'll probably just throw my bike in the shed for the winter, just curious if anyone had ever had problems from this. My bikes not usually in front of the dryer vent, but with the onset of snow in Truckee (yeah right) I had to move my snowblower out and it's the only place my bike will fit.

[markcjr]

Mother in-law unit and garage were added on after my house was built. It's kind of nice because it keeps the garage warm. A lot of times if I need to go work in the garage I'll throw a load of laundry in the dryer.

[jm2e]

Kind of genius. Kind of a fire hazard? Why DO dryer vents vent outside? My garage is cold enough that I now have a blanket that I use specially for setting up the work stand in the living room for winter maintenance.

I doubt the dryer vent is nearly as harmful as your bike sitting on your car on a hot summer day. Sheds are for lawnmowers and paint, not nice bikes.

[BCMtnHound]

House I once rented had no exterior vent for the drier. It vented into the basement, with the vent hose connected to a bucket. The top half of the bucket had slats, and the bottom held a couple inches of water to catch the lint. This along with the big-ass old wood furnace in the basement nicely balanced out the humidity in the house.

[panchosdad]

Mother in-law unit and garage were added on after my house was built. It's kind of nice because it keeps the garage warm. A lot of times if I need to go work in the garage I'll throw a load of laundry in the dryer.

And you don't get too much moisture in your garage?

[markcjr]

No. Just lint.

[jm2e]

And fire.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I think a lot of drier vents go into the garage. It's not such a big deal. Your drier and drier vent have lint filters and by the time the air goes all the way down the vent and out into your garage, it's not that hot. I could swear I've lived places, even new places, where the drier vent just goes into the garage. No rain or snow on it, etc.
Can you just turn your bike around so the fork isn't right on the vent? Safest bet would be to move the bike a little bit.

[habituallybored]

I also lived in a house with the internal dryer vent into a lint trap with a water base.

Several people have mentioned fire hazards, I'm lost on that. What is the fire hazard as long as you keep the lint from accumulating? Capturing waste heat exhaust seems like a great idea as long as you can deal w the moisture.

[creaky fossil]

everyone knows dryer lint is prone to auto-ignition
all it takes is a paranoid mindset

be sure to listen to stuckie
he knows all about bikes
he's the expert in Missoula
everyone consults him

"hey you're on TGR right?"
"don't know what you mean bro"
"no, I've read your posts"
"no, I'm not on TGR"

he saddles up and hops his way down a trail, on the verge of falling the entire time

fast forward 3 yrs he looks for help with his new bike he doesn't ride
someone resembling yrs trly helps him get it running
the skills with wrench and with riding non-existent
but here he is
authoritative as fuck
because internet expert

[XXX-er]

I would quit spewing hot dryer air onto the bike but as long as the garage has a concrete floor I would think no problem

I kept a bike in an unheated out shed with a 1x4 wooden floor and the aluminium within a foot of the ground got some pit marks while the bikes hanging from the roof got no corrosion at all

[stuckathuntermtn]

And to add a plus 1 billion: I have a "garage" that is more of a shed. It's somehow colder and damper in there then it gets outside. It's kinda a miserable, neglected structure that cats sometimes seek shelter in, but it doesn't leak. The floor in there is dirt and old rugs. You could maybe squeeze a car in there if it was empty, but it would be hard to open the car door. For my bikes, I just make sure the chain is cleaned/lubed, and things like the crank bolts and pedal threads are greased, maybe clean off some other parts. They come out fine every summer. Cover skis in wax for the summer and there isn't even a hint of rust on the edges come now.
Not sure where my drier vent goes (I'm on the second floor. probably outside off the second story somewhere in the back), but if it went into my "garage" it would be an improvement.

[grinch]

I've had fork seals dry out in the cold shed. Just got them rebuilt shortly before winter/storage. I've been thinking I should take the forks and shocks off the bikes and keep them inside. Forks upside down and cycle the forks and shocks occasionally to keep seals lubed. I'll procrastinate some more on that though

[cjn1014]

I went into my garage this morning. It was cold out, and I noticed my dryer vent was spewing hot air onto my fork. It's probably moist hot air because most of the time, the clothes are wet. Just wasn't sure if the vent could actually cause fork and shock seals to dry out. I'll probably just throw my bike in the shed for the winter, just curious if anyone had ever had problems from this. My bikes not usually in front of the dryer vent, but with the onset of snow in Truckee (yeah right) I had to move my snowblower out and it's the only place my bike will fit.

OP, is your dryer natural gas or electric?

[markcjr]

Electric