Customer Reviews

Lambro #289W White Extention Draft Blocker

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have installed these on the last two houses I have owned. Having just moved into a new home, I will be installing as many of these as I can get to replace the exhaust vents (wall caps)on my outside walls. I have louver wall caps now and you can hear the wind whistling through the vent pipes inside the house when the exhaust fans aren't on. There ought to be a building energy code outlawing vent wall caps that leak air so easily. But the Super-Efficient Dryer Vent solves this problem of air infiltration, as well as that of rodent entry. You need this vent style in windy areas, and particularly if you have those dryer vents that have been installed at ground level. If the contractor has installed your vent in the foundation vent of your home, you are almost guaranteed an entry point for mice. With leaky vents at ground level, rodents can easily make their way into your home unless you have this improved style of vent. The top cover of this vent comes off easily so you can keep the device free of any lint buildup from that which gets by your dryer's lint filter, even though the lint buildup doesn't seem to prevent the vent's shuttle from opening and shutting as necessary.

The unit arrived in a timely fashion and was well packed for safe transport. Upon inspection I found that the unit was defective in design and manufacture since the "floating cap" would jam and not "float" and I quickly realized that the unit would not work as intended unless I made some functional modifications. Without making these changes the unit would in fact function far worse than the existing aluminum flap which I was replacing. This unit is designed to "float" or lift an internal vent cap unit by exhaust air pressure when the dryer is turned on. The floating vent cap is designed to be guided by vertical plastic fins which function to center the floating vent cap and to guide the cap to a close over the dryer vent opening when the dryer is turned off. The problem was that plastic guide fins were far too tight against the cap and the cap would not "float". Part of the problem was caused by the vent cap unit itself which should have been round but in fact was mis-shapped and was slightly out of round. The plastic cap unit was manufactured with a thin wall and I suspect that it became mis-shaped during the manufacturing process from being handled before it had completely cooled off and become set in shape. The cap unit should have been manufactured with some reinforement via a return or thickening at it's base to increase it's rigidity and help maintain a round shape but this was not the case. I concluded that getting a replacement unit from the vendor would likely not resolve the issues since these problems were essentially flaws related to the original design and manufacturing process. I resolved both issues myself however by using a dremmel tool to shave about a 0.25" off the thickness of the guide fins thereby increasing the clearance between the gude fins and the vent cap and by inserting a piece of rigid foam insulation inside the base of the cap unit to help the cap stay round and to somewhat increase its weight and assist it in closing. The unit now functions perfectly as intended. The cap no longer jams and it lifts effortlessly with air pressure when the dryer is on and seats itself properly when the dryer is off. I now have a warm dryer, warm laundy room and look forward to energy savings as well. I would say that this unit did not function as advertised out of the box. It's an excellent idea however and with the above modifications completed, the unit works very well indeed!

We installed one of these vents shortly after we bought our home 10 years ago - and it's worked perfectly all these years. It stopped the cold drafts coming back down the dryer vent and has never jammed in venting out the heated dryer air. And no insects or small animals have crept up the vent, something several of our friends had to deal with recently. Worth the cost!
***UPDATE***
Now at 13-1/2 years after installation, this thing is unstoppable. It will probably outlast the dryer, frankly.

I bought two of these. The 'cup-like' flapper device in one is not round so it sticks. In the other while more round, it too is flexible and not fully round. Neither one always come down to completely seal. General poor fit and finish.

I just bought a replacement from Heartland which has a virtually identical design. It seems to be a far higher quality plastic with much better fit and function. It opens and seals easily and completely.

My dryer vent hasn't been keeping out the cold air as well as I would like and being energy conscious, I decided to try this product. The idea of it seems to be very good. In other words the engineering is fine. However the material is just okay (thinner and more brittle than other plastic vents on my home) and the manufacturing quality is poor. There are gaps between the seams where the various molded pieces are assembled that will let in water and air. I am debating whether to try and patch this unit myself or simply toss it in the trash bin. Right now it is sitting in the basement awaiting disposition. I do commend the seller for prompt delivery.

Perhaps mine wasn't installed right but the top came off in a storm and is slightly cracked. It seems like a great product otherwise.

I liked the idea of getting a better seal on my dryer vent, so I decided to try this. I wish I had not. First, it doesn't come with the vent tube attached like other vents, so you have to go find one (especially if your old one is a bit corroded). Second, having found one at the hardware store, I inserted it, but it wasn't a very firm fit. So I pushed it in a bit more firmly, and the elbow split apart at the seam. Consequently, I then had to get several large matching wire ties to wrap around the elbow tube to make it stay together. Even then, there were gaps that needed to be caulked. The vent pipe also needed to be glued in place to stay firmly in the hole

On top of all that, unlike other vents, because of its size and weight, this unit really won't work well without screwing it to the wall as shown. Two problems with that. First, they dont' provide the screws, and, even if they did, ordinary screws wouldn't work for stucco. Second, the manufacturing is sufficiently poor that the mounting base on the bottom piece does not come close to lining up with the mounting base on the top piece. So the top piece is out about 1/2 to 3/4 inch from the wall, and not screwed on as shown on the picture. Forcing it to the wall would likely have broken it.

So, I have now (i) gone to the hardware store to purchase the vent pipe, (ii) gone to the hardware store again to get the giant wire ties to repair it, (iii) gone back again to get the caulk and glue needed to seal the seam and keep the pipe in place, (iv) finally found some screws that will work on stucco and have a whitish color on the heads that will match the vent, (v) put new holes in my stucco wall to mount it, and caulked all around to seal the edge as well as the seam. And even with all that, it still looks like it's not completely mounted correctly because the top portion just wouldn't line up.

With all that, does it work better than an ordinary vent? Yes, I think so. I like the comfort of having the perfect seal now when the dryer is not blowing, and now that the weather is getting colder, my wife is pretty convinced that the laundry room is not as cold as it was in prior winters. On the other hand, the lint tends to accumulate all over it, especially on the warmed caulk. Also, if you're just worried about small animals, there are vents with built in guards on Amazon that would look to be just as effective. But this vent would certainly do a better job than anything else of keeping bugs out, if you have an issue there.

But it just wasn't worth all the hassle. Would it be worth it if they included an attached vent pipe, had better manufacturing quality and included an appropriate assortment of screws and maybe sealants? Yes, I think so. And it would have been worth an extra few bucks for the added cost. If you live in a really cold climate, it might be worth it even with the hassle, although I wonder if much of the improvement might simply be the result of taking the time to caulk the edges for improved seal rather than from the vent itself.

The dryer vent has definitely decreased the draft coming into the laundry room and greatly decreases the opportunity for litle creatures to get in through the dryer vent. It was easily painted to match the house. The downside is the cheap plastic it is constructed with. We had one on out old house that was purchased 5-6 years ago and it was a stronger/higher quality product. The design was the same, it was just a better product, but isn't that the way most things were compared to today's products? Would still recommend this product.

My husband installed this dryer vent to replace the original 20 year old vent on our house. We're constantly making improvements to the house for improved energy efficiency, so we can't really say anything about energy savings from this dryer vent.

Our perception, though, is that we don't feel drafts in the laundry room anymore. Big improvement.

More significantly, since it doesn't hang open like the original vent, there is no way for critters to find their way inside the house. That's exactly what happened to some friends of ours and what will never happen to us with this dryer vent installed.

Visually, the vent is BIG, but you get used to it. If it really bothers you, plant a shrub!

Bottom line: I'm pleased to have a vent that doesn't allow airflow in/out of the house. I'm pleased to have a vent that doesn't allow small animals and/or birds into the house. It only took a few minutes to install with standard tools and some siding caulk.

Living in Maine has some advantages; Four distinct seasons, woods to walk/ski right off the porch, and no poisonous animals. One of the challenges though is the CCCCOOOOLLLDDDDD. Since buying our first home we've had the challenge of keeping our first floor bathroom warm with the washer and dryer being located there. We had tried different vents until we found this one listed. I bought one and installed it the day after it arrived, on one of the coldest days this year. The results were immediate. Our bathroom is MUCH warmer, in fact.. it can no longer be considered cold and we no longer fear getting out of the shower.

The only draw back is that my wife does a LOT of laundry and she and my daughter have a LOT of colored clothes. This air flow results in the link blown out to collect on the side of the house instead of blowing away from the house. But after a couple weeks a quick wipe with a damp cloth takes care of that.

A+! BUY!