So I just bought a house and a gas dryer, among other things. The manual says that if the dryer is installed in a garage, which it will be, that it needs to be raised 18 inches off the floor or it might asplode. Why is this? Apparently this doesn’t apply if the dryer is installed elsewhere, but that’s not an option.
I’m sorry to WAG as your first response, but I’m pretty sure I heard this addressed on a This Old House, so it’s only about 60%: You have to get the pilot light up out of the zone where gasoline vapors might be lingering about.
Kinda makes sense, except that all gas dryers have electric ignition as far as I know. Obviously the risk WRT gasoline vapor is the same regardless of the type of ignition, of course.
That may be it. Further googling on the subject found a page about gas water heater safety, which says the same thing. And I note that the water heater is on a platform about that height.
The 18" elevation is a requirement of the National Fuel Gas Code, which, like the National Electric Code, is incorporated into most local jurisdiction’s building codes.