Nick, I don't think I'd use that plastic corrugated stuff for exhaust. I might melt from the exhaust heat and catch on fire. Steel flex tubing is available, but if you're not running it that long, you can just blow the fumes out with a fan.
I think Mike meant using the wire to be able to get the valve stem thru the hole from the inside, since the spout is too small to reach thru, except maybe with a flexible grabber tool. But the wire is a good trick. The nut would go on from the outside.
