3 Reasons Why Dryer Booster Fan Is Not Working

A dryer booster fan is an essential component of your dryer, particularly if you have a long length of ductwork running from your dryer to outside of your home. A dryer booster fan creates more airflow in the dryer ductwork, which leads to more efficient drying.

Dryer booster fans are pretty simple devices, but there are a few things that can cause them to stop working. Usually, the problem lies in a faulty switch, but it’s also possible for the problem to be caused by a buildup of lint in the fan, or because the fan’s motor has failed.

In this article, we’ll be taking a quick look at how dryer booster fans work, and we’ll also go over the various problems that can affect your dryer booster fan and show you how to deal with them. 

Like we mentioned, dryer booster fans are necessary to have if you have a lot of ductwork connecting your dryer to the dryer vent outside your home . This is because the air, moisture, and bits of lint in your dryer’s exhaust have a harder time exiting the dryer when the ductwork is too long, which makes your dryer less efficient and your drying times a lot longer.

A dryer booster fan generates increased airflow within your dryer’s ductwork, which helps move your dryer’s exhaust and all the moisture/lint in it through the ductwork more easily. Dryer booster fans are usually installed somewhere along the length of the ductwork.

Dryer booster fans connect to your home’s power supply via a standard electrical outlet and are designed to come on automatically when your dryer is running. This is done through the use of one of two types of switches, either a pressure switch or a current relay.

A pressure switch works by sensing when there is increased pressure in the ductwork, which happens when the dryer is on and exhaust is coming from it. It switches the fan on when it detects increased pressure and switches it off when the pressure goes back to normal.

A current relay is basically the same sort of thing, except instead of detecting when the exhaust is going through the ductwork, it detects when the dryer is on and receiving power. When it detects that the dryer is using electricity, it turns on the dryer booster fan as well. Pretty simple stuff.

If this is your first time installing a dryer booster fan in your home, there are a few things you should know beforehand. Let’s quickly go over some of these things now.

One important thing to remember is to not install your dryer booster fan too close to the dryer itself. This is because if the fan is too close to the dryer, the suction from the fan can pull excess lint into the ductwork, which can clog up the fan if enough gets in there. 

Related: Do Dryer Booster Fans Really Work?

In general, you should try and install your dryer booster fan at least 15 feet away from your dryer itself, but if you have no choice but to install it closer, you should consider installing a lint trap to make things easier on yourself.

As for when it’s a good idea to install a dryer booster fan in the first place, this depends on how long your dryer exhaust ductwork is as well as how many bends are in the ductwork.

For straight lengths of ductwork that are 25 feet long or more, a dryer booster is probably necessary. For each bend in the ductwork, however, shorten that length by 5 feet. Therefore, if your dryer exhaust ductwork has two bends in it, the maximum length it can be before you’ll need a dryer booster fan is 15 feet.

If your dryer booster fan isn’t working, the correct method of fixing it depends on the reason why it’s not working to begin with. Let’s check out some of the common issues that affect dryer booster fans and explain how to fix them.

The pressure sensor usually consists of a sensing line made of vinyl that connects to a circuit board via a diaphragm. When the dryer starts running, the positive air pressure flows through the sensing line and expands the diaphragm, which in turn causes a circuit to close. The closing of the circuit is what turns on the dryer booster fan.

Why It Fails:

There are a few reasons why your pressure sensor might fail, and not all of them have to do with your pressure sensor itself. If there’s a leak in the ductwork before the sensor or if the ductwork is clogged with too much lint, it can mess with the sensor’s ability to detect differences in air pressure.

A dryer booster fan is an essential component of your dryer, particularly if you have a long length of ductwork running from your dryer to outside of your home. A dryer booster fan creates more airflow in the dryer ductwork, which leads to more efficient drying.

Dryer booster fans are pretty simple devices, but there are a few things that can cause them to stop working. Usually, the problem lies in a faulty switch, but it’s also possible for the problem to be caused by a buildup of lint in the fan, or because the fan’s motor has failed.

In this article, we’ll be taking a quick look at how dryer booster fans work, and we’ll also go over the various problems that can affect your dryer booster fan and show you how to deal with them. 

Like we mentioned, dryer booster fans are necessary to have if you have a lot of ductwork connecting your dryer to the dryer vent outside your home . This is because the air, moisture, and bits of lint in your dryer’s exhaust have a harder time exiting the dryer when the ductwork is too long, which makes your dryer less efficient and your drying times a lot longer.

A dryer booster fan generates increased airflow within your dryer’s ductwork, which helps move your dryer’s exhaust and all the moisture/lint in it through the ductwork more easily. Dryer booster fans are usually installed somewhere along the length of the ductwork.

Dryer booster fans connect to your home’s power supply via a standard electrical outlet and are designed to come on automatically when your dryer is running. This is done through the use of one of two types of switches, either a pressure switch or a current relay.

A pressure switch works by sensing when there is increased pressure in the ductwork, which happens when the dryer is on and exhaust is coming from it. It switches the fan on when it detects increased pressure and switches it off when the pressure goes back to normal.

A current relay is basically the same sort of thing, except instead of detecting when the exhaust is going through the ductwork, it detects when the dryer is on and receiving power. When it detects that the dryer is using electricity, it turns on the dryer booster fan as well. Pretty simple stuff.

If this is your first time installing a dryer booster fan in your home, there are a few things you should know beforehand. Let’s quickly go over some of these things now.

One important thing to remember is to not install your dryer booster fan too close to the dryer itself. This is because if the fan is too close to the dryer, the suction from the fan can pull excess lint into the ductwork, which can clog up the fan if enough gets in there. 

Related: Do Dryer Booster Fans Really Work?

In general, you should try and install your dryer booster fan at least 15 feet away from your dryer itself, but if you have no choice but to install it closer, you should consider installing a lint trap to make things easier on yourself.

As for when it’s a good idea to install a dryer booster fan in the first place, this depends on how long your dryer exhaust ductwork is as well as how many bends are in the ductwork.

For straight lengths of ductwork that are 25 feet long or more, a dryer booster is probably necessary. For each bend in the ductwork, however, shorten that length by 5 feet. Therefore, if your dryer exhaust ductwork has two bends in it, the maximum length it can be before you’ll need a dryer booster fan is 15 feet.

If your dryer booster fan isn’t working, the correct method of fixing it depends on the reason why it’s not working to begin with. Let’s check out some of the common issues that affect dryer booster fans and explain how to fix them.

The pressure sensor usually consists of a sensing line made of vinyl that connects to a circuit board via a diaphragm. When the dryer starts running, the positive air pressure flows through the sensing line and expands the diaphragm, which in turn causes a circuit to close. The closing of the circuit is what turns on the dryer booster fan.

Why It Fails:

There are a few reasons why your pressure sensor might fail, and not all of them have to do with your pressure sensor itself. If there’s a leak in the ductwork before the sensor or if the ductwork is clogged with too much lint, it can mess with the sensor’s ability to detect differences in air pressure.