Ventahood ? - Does it have a damper

19 years ago

I am struggling to get this thing spec'd and I've run in to something I wasn't expecting. Where is the damper that would stay shut when the appliance is off? Or is there no damper?

I live in a very cold climate (zone 4) in a wood-heated house (with the main woodstove in the kitchen, no less) and can't afford to have twin 8" vent stacks sucking out all my hard-won heated air 24 hours a day.

Please reassure me that there is a damper! And if not could I/should I install a motorized one, and where in the run?

This is a 160 y.o. house and we spend a good deal of time closing 1/16th inch gaps around doors and wall penetrations. I can't imagine having two holes that large in my warmth-envelope.

And to avoid getting people worried needlessly: there is no problem with having the large cfm exhaust fans in a wood-heated room - all the woodstoves are air-tight and supplied with sealed outside air connections so they never connect directly to room air. And I'm not worrried about make-up air either, despite our vigilance with the caulking tube, we're still a pretty leaky place compared to modern construction. I just don't want to lose the heat we have up the stack!

Thanks for your answers.

Molly~

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

rfinley69
19 years ago
My ventahood liner has a damper door that is "blown upwards" by the fan motor, located on top of the magic lung mount, inside the exhaust pipe ring. Can't imagine a vent hood sold without one.
john_com
19 years ago
The damper is gravity operated. When in use it opens. Off, it falls shut.
When cleaning the unit be sure to re-position the damper correctly.
Related Professionals
McAlester Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Mason City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Gary Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Niles Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · San Francisco Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Jackson Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Petersburg Bathroom Remodelers · Santa Maria Bathroom Remodelers · Brunswick Kitchen Remodelers · Roanoke Kitchen Remodelers · Peoria Kitchen Remodelers · Amherst Kitchen Remodelers · Green Bay Kitchen Remodelers · Farmington Kitchen Remodelers · Seattle Kitchen Remodelers
antiquesilver
19 years ago
Owner of 150 year old house here. Don't you love it when people ask if you need makeup air?

I have a VAH (love it) & I leave the dampers open because my ventilation situation is less than ideal & I want all the suction I can get. To prevent cold air coming through in the winter, my solution is to ball up a thin, plastic, grocery bag & lightly stuff it in each of the fan areas (when I'm not using the vent, of course). It doesn't show & I think it keeps out more cold air & doesn't rattle from the wind like the dampers did. I'm sure that I will be severely chastised for this, but hey - it works for me!
Hester
velodoug
19 years ago
In addition to the damper above the blower that the others have mentioned, there is typically a damper in the roof or wall cap as well. Our house is a relative youngster at only 92 years, but we didn't worry about makeup air for our 300cfm VAH either.
housekeeping
Original Author
19 years ago
My thanks to all who answered! You have set my mind at rest and I'll carry on with the spec'ing. I'll probably wind up with more questions later - hope I haven't used up my whole quota, yet.

Molly
thull
19 years ago
FWIW, the VAH damper is pretty dinky plastic. I don't know that, with enough inside/outside temperature differential, it wouldn't still be letting air go up and out. Our stack cap doesn't have a damper, and I've thought about going back and adding an inline, spring-loaded damper (think Fantech makes one that'd be light enough not to ruin hood performance). But it's down the way on a long list of things to do.
weedmeister
19 years ago
You still might want to think about make-up air, sort of. Then at least you get to control where the cold air is coming from (inside the kitchen rather than from around the bedroom windows).

I mean, you might end up thinking it isn't worth it.