Gas
Add the BTU rating of every gas appliance on the floor. A twenty-stack floor of BTT dryers is a substantial connected load, and the utility service, the meter and the internal piping all have to carry it simultaneously.
Two numbers matter: total connected load, and delivered pressure at the furthest machine. A line that is correctly sized for the total but undersized for the run will starve the last dryer on the wall, which shows up as intermittent ignition faults that nobody can reproduce.
Venting
Every dryer manufacturer publishes a maximum equivalent length for the exhaust run. Equivalent length is not the tape measure — each elbow adds the resistance of several feet of straight duct, so a short run with five bends can exceed a long straight one.
- Use the specified duct diameter. Reducing it to fit a joist bay will cause trips.
- Rigid metal duct only. No flexible foil, no screws protruding into the airstream.
- Slope runs so condensate drains outward.
- Exterior hoods with backdraft dampers, positioned away from make-up air intakes.
- Individual runs where possible. Common manifolds work but need careful design and a much larger trunk.
Restricted venting is the root cause behind the majority of dryer faults, including the F02 high-limit trip, and it is the leading fire risk in a laundromat.
Make-up air
A bank of dryers can exhaust several thousand CFM. Without dedicated make-up air the building goes negative, burners starve, and other gas appliances can backdraft. Most jurisdictions require a make-up air system sized to the exhaust; treat it as part of the dryer package, not an optional extra.
Water
Each BCT washer takes standard 3/4-inch hot and cold inlets, but what sizes the service is simultaneous fill across the bank — the Saturday morning case where a dozen machines start within the same two minutes.
Most stores need a 2-inch or 3-inch service. Water heating capacity matters just as much: undersized hot water means cold washes by mid-morning, which customers notice immediately.
Drainage
A 3-inch drain per washer is typical, usually into a trough running the length of the machine bank. Confirm the building's sewer connection can accept the peak discharge — a 60-lb washer dumps a lot of water in a short window, and several doing it at once has backed up more than one store.
Electrical
200–400 amp service is typical for a full store. Three-phase is preferred where available, especially for larger washer motors. Each machine wants a dedicated circuit sized to its nameplate, and the panel needs room for the whole floor plus lighting, HVAC, signage and any water heating.
The order to do this in
- Choose the equipment mix so you know the actual loads
- Get written utility capacity confirmation for the space
- Have a licensed contractor price the upgrades
- Only then sign the lease
- Permit, build, install, commission
The equipment mix optimizer gives you step one, and the startup cost calculator has a line for the utility number once you have it.