hi Steve thank you for making a video and explaining the sequence I got my boiler up and running thank you for sharing your knowledge. my problem was that I was control box that the damper plugs into thank you
Sorry I know this is an old forum. I installed a Crown boiler with this style damper about 12 years ago. Right from the gate it gave problems. I put it in manual mode and it's been running strong since. I actual forgot to fix it replace it 👍
Steve, great video. I took apart the round plastic cover and was thinking of only replacing the motor inside, not the whole unit. It's the motor inside the round plastic housing making the clicking sound. After seeing your video, I think it may just be wiser to replace the whole unit. Thanks!
steven lavimoniere hey Steve new tech here, i have a bad damper on a smith boiler and the wiring doesnt have molex plug like yours it wired into the relay. tried to find an exact replacement no luck. Can i replace with fields and what would be the wiring
msj103105 just get a new damper and a new wiring harnes and it will work fine .some of the old ones had a different connection at damper .the new style molex harnes is what you need
Steve I have Weil McLain cGa gas boiler a couple of yrs old, the control module has power and tstat light but doesn't turn on.. next step is usually limit then damper.. any suggestions?
Just replace the damper limit switches or relay, quicker and easier. I carry a bag of about 50 (they cost about $0.30 each in bulk) in the truck. Of course you will have to solder electrical parts onto a PC board. These damper electrical controls are cheaply made so they will fail in ten years or less.
We were freezing this morning. I used pliers for now to turn the Damper and allow it to stay on. Gears might need to be cleaned or something. In case I need to change the whole damper like you did all I need to do is flip the switch like you did? No need to mess with the gas lines? Thank you for your guidance. Great video
These dampers, especially by Field Controls, are defective by design. There's a cam that actuates the internal switches for it's position and the way they are shaped is flawed. So motor stops just shy of activating the last switch indicating it's fully open. I modified the cam so last 2 switches get activated in sync. Permanent fix. This is actually how they were originally designed and never had to replace the old style.
Hello. So we have been having issues with are carbon monoxide detectors going off from our boiler. We have had two companies come out and the draft pipe is clear and working properly. Just the other night the detector went off again and they believe the damper is malfunctioning even though it seems to be working when they are here. I have put in on manual so it is open all the time and no issue yet. My question is do you think the damper can be malfunctioning causing the heat not to vent?
@@teezee54 typically on the side of an automatic vent damper there is automatic or manual switch you wait till the furnace comes on the vent damper opens up and then you switch the switch to manual.
Absolutely! Leave it open. I rigged mines to stay open by glueing it in open position and disconnecting the small motor that opens and closes it. Not worth the nearly $400 they go for. Just a new piece is that much, not to mention paying someone to install it!!!
No problem. Wouldn't that damper motor fail premature again, due to it's aluminum surrounding being so tight? I have never heard one sounding like this, but again... It's for exhaust fumes.
Nicholas CeeA yes they are noisy there are a bunch of little cut pieces that make a tight fit when it shuts .i guess thats the only way they can make it
steven lavimoniere hey Steven good morning my name is Roger I have a well McLean boiler when I turn on the unit it's run for a while then the damper close and don't open back if I give it a little tap with a screw driver it reopen
Hi Steve , my name is Albert and l have a boiler problem, my boiler was installed on 2012. Thanks to answer I'll give you the actual parameters from my boiler bt= 142 F/ Sp=180 F/ HL=180 F/hdf=15/ tt=off/ df=off/ fla=0.00 uA/ run=2 hr 162/ Cyc=64 487/. Aquastat=220 F / Low Water cut off 250 F max temp 120. Pressure meter gauge shows 30 psi but there is no water coming out on relieve valve. Burnham boiler series 2 /164 BTU/Hr. The problem is it shot off when it's too cold works fine for 2 or 3 days then shot off. Before, l pushed reset button on aquastat and restart/ then that stop working/ so now with boiler on l disconnected the flame roll out switch and connected again then start working. l call service guy 1rst guy said l have to changed pressure gauge/low water cut off and aquastat $1350. 2nd guy said l have to changed intelligent hydronic boiler control . 3rd company guy said he thinks it's the vent damper that is not working properly. So three boilers professionals with three different solutions .Who is wright ? I spend near $600 dollars on this three company and no solutions.
Hi Steve I have a Weil Mclain gas boiler CG-5-SPDN the pilot won't stay lit I changed the thermocouple still won't stay lit . I found I have only 1.5 volts going to my gas control valve from the hot wire coming from the damper I have 26 volts going to the damper but not come out going to the gas control valve . Is the damper at fault or could it be something else in series ?
+Francis Bonadie if the part is not working properly you can put it on bypass /manual till you get a new damper control .once you get the new damper instailled go back to the auto setting for proper closing /opening action
i replaced one of these one time, 6 months later the guy worked up a homeowners insurance claim cause his house got hit by lightning, he was mad i didnt save the old one so he could make a claim 6 months later.
This is amazing. I have a very similar setup. I didn't know what the problem was. He wanted $1300 to swap out that part and put a chemical treatment in the boiler. How much would you charge to do the same work? Not to mention he also charge $225 just for coming out.
So mine was slanted almost vertical However it was the opposite way from your video so i thought it was strange but maybe just the way mine was I struggled with making it go fully vertical all the way with pliers It started to automatically try and go horizontal but kept getting stuck and flicking back a bit I thought it was trying to close but it was actually trying to open and i was just applying pressure in the wrong direction I started to apply pressure in the direction of your video and it essentially went 108 degrees then went fully vertical the other way and started working If this was difficult to follow: Imagine default (closed) position is horizontal and the part turns counter clockwise to open normally Mine somehow turned halfway clockwise and got stuck in that position I just needed to apply pressure and get it to the starting horizontal position then apply some more pressure and then it started automatically going counter clockwise and turned on
You shouldn't jump it. You are better off manually turning the dampener to the open position and switch it to hold open like Steve showed on the video.
Hi Steve great video I have a crown boiler everytime that I wiggled the plug from the damper on the control board the unit fired up and then shut off. am I supposed to have 24 volts at the actual control to make the damper work the unit is 16 years old?
My steam boiler similar issue. Tsat sends signal to turn on. Damper opens but burners don't kick on. It's a standing pilot . Happens sporadically and if I turn off Tsat then back on it works. I changed to new tsat same issues. Any ideas? Lwco is fine. Pressuretrol fine.
Hi Steve. I just changed the damper on my older Hydrotherm boiler. It does not open when the thermostat calls for heat. When I put it on manual and open the damper, then the boiler fires. Now after 2 weeks, the boiler doesn't fire at all even when I manually open the damper. Need some advice! Thanks.
+MOYFAMLY it might be the harnis or the control .its hard to tell unless i am there checking voltage to see whats really happing maybe the new damper is bad .i like to check voltage on stuff to see what really happening before changing stuff
Steve,I have a burnham and have had issues with damper getting stuck open, error 56, no heat. I replaced damper, got same error a couple times.I then saw that damper box was crooked, so I straightened 6 inch pipe and have not had an issue since. About 12 days. Could it have been as simple as straightening pipe? I've had 5 people here and nobody can totally pinpoint it. What are your thoughts?
Hi Steve, Two days in a row ,I wake up to a cold house. The 2 times I went down there I saw the pilot on and just gave my Honeywell D96 vent damper a little slap and both times the damper opened and fired right up. My problem is finding the replacement part. Any advise?
+TKDTRES GARCIA if its a old dampe with a flat plug you have to go with a new style damper and harnas or remove the damper and rewire the boiler,,,if its a square plug damper you can just replace the damper or there is a stay open switch you can turn on once running and it will leave the damper open . and bypass the end switch in damper
Just replace the damper limit switches, quicker and easier. I carry a bag of about 50 in the truck. Of course you will have to solder electrical parts onto a PC board. These damper electrical controls are cheaply made so they will fail in ten years or less.
Love this question even though it's late..... Williamson(WM is Older brother ) , Weil Mclain and HB Smith (commercial) ....LMAO ... I hate Burnham ...Slantfin is nice ..if they still make it... Peerless...over priced... So many out there....All boiler are the same....just like water heater...slap a label and you got a name brand...
@@stevenlavimoniere Correct. But if you hire a plumber to replace it, he will charge about 500 dollars. The part itself is about 150 to replace on your own. So it is only worth having a plumber do it if you expect to spend another 50,000 on heat over the rest of the life of the boiler or 15,000 if you will do it on your own.
l did changed the vent damper boiler still shutting off and shows Err 56 .with boiler on, l unplug roll over switch cable and plug it again then boiler restart.
Yes, after I changed the damper boiler was fixed. However the pressure gauge was high so I changed the pressure gauge. So the damper and pressure gauge wasn't good.
Thanks a lot for the videos Steve. I have learned a lot watching them. You are the man!
Just like the damper you talked about the other day and we got to see the expansion tank hanging there you talked about. Thank you for the video.
thanks for watching dc
very thorough!! It eased a lot of my fears and alot simplier than expected. Thanks, Steven! Keep em' coming!
Alicia Crenshaw thanks for watching the videos alicia
hi Steve
thank you for making a video and explaining the sequence I got my boiler up and running thank you for sharing your knowledge. my problem was that I was control box that the damper plugs into thank you
+angel c glad i could help
Came here to see what a damper was lol...mine is getting replaced as I type this. Same issue, I had no heat only hot water. Thanks!
Great video Steve. I have a vent damper to do this week. Good schooling!!
+Vincent Padalino i change out a lot of these
@@stevenlavimoniere
Is there also a spill switch in that flue? I don’t see one. Shouldn’t there be one in the flue also?
I never knw what that extra disc part was for till u explained it's for spark ignition system Good teacher Steve ur the best
254JROCK he n
Sorry I know this is an old forum. I installed a Crown boiler with this style damper about 12 years ago. Right from the gate it gave problems. I put it in manual mode and it's been running strong since. I actual forgot to fix it replace it 👍
Well done. Dunkirk builds a nice boiler a higher end Utica.
Hey Steven! Pleased i was sitting down when i leanrt there was a part you didn't have on the truck! Nice job.
i stock the 5" vent damper but not the 6 or 7" one
Awesome video Steve. I've seen a few others of yours. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Steve, great video. I took apart the round plastic cover and was thinking of only replacing the motor inside, not the whole unit. It's the motor inside the round plastic housing making the clicking sound. After seeing your video, I think it may just be wiser to replace the whole unit. Thanks!
+HL Morey its smart to just replace the whole unit .the price is about the same as just the motor
Very cool, Steven. The only reason for the damper is to keep as much heat in to raise efficiency? Never seen one before.
pretty much for the most part .one more thing that can break
steven lavimoniere hey Steve new tech here, i have a bad damper on a smith boiler and the wiring doesnt have molex plug like yours it wired into the relay. tried to find an exact replacement no luck. Can i replace with fields and what would be the wiring
msj103105 just get a new damper and a new wiring harnes and it will work fine .some of the old ones had a different connection at damper .the new style molex harnes is what you need
Steve I have Weil McLain cGa gas boiler a couple of yrs old, the control module has power and tstat light but doesn't turn on.. next step is usually limit then damper.. any suggestions?
Just replace the damper limit switches or relay, quicker and easier. I carry a bag of about 50 (they cost about $0.30 each in bulk) in the truck. Of course you will have to solder electrical parts onto a PC board. These damper electrical controls are cheaply made so they will fail in ten years or less.
We were freezing this morning. I used pliers for now to turn the Damper and allow it to stay on. Gears might need to be cleaned or something. In case I need to change the whole damper like you did all I need to do is flip the switch like you did? No need to mess with the gas lines? Thank you for your guidance. Great video
These dampers, especially by Field Controls, are defective by design. There's a cam that actuates the internal switches for it's position and the way they are shaped is flawed. So motor stops just shy of activating the last switch indicating it's fully open. I modified the cam so last 2 switches get activated in sync. Permanent fix. This is actually how they were originally designed and never had to replace the old style.
Thanks for your response.....has a customer ever asked you who your talking to down in their basement?
yes i tell them i am talking to the rats in the basement
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us. This has been incredibly helpful! You're the man!!!
Ray Jones thanks for watching
Learning with every video Steven! Your the best!
thanks brad
Nice repair. To bad the screwed up the piping!
yes it should of been 1 1/4 not 1"
Is a Dunkirk the best boiler brand to buy ? How about Lennox 80 + gas boiler ?
Good job
Thanks Steven for the video, it was what it was looking for.....
Hello. So we have been having issues with are carbon monoxide detectors going off from our boiler. We have had two companies come out and the draft pipe is clear and working properly. Just the other night the detector went off again and they believe the damper is malfunctioning even though it seems to be working when they are here. I have put in on manual so it is open all the time and no issue yet. My question is do you think the damper can be malfunctioning causing the heat not to vent?
Hey Steve once the call for heat end, the damper should close inmidiatle?
Wait till it opens put it on manual and walk away you'll never have trouble again.For the amount of energy is saved it's not worth the trouble.
How do you put it on manual?
@@teezee54 typically on the side of an automatic vent damper there is automatic or manual switch you wait till the furnace comes on the vent damper opens up and then you switch the switch to manual.
Absolutely! Leave it open. I rigged mines to stay open by glueing it in open position and disconnecting the small motor that opens and closes it. Not worth the nearly $400 they go for. Just a new piece is that much, not to mention paying someone to install it!!!
Higher level mama!! Respect everytime mi Bredda Steve
Great fix Steve!
thanks lando
No problem. Wouldn't that damper motor fail premature again, due to it's aluminum surrounding being so tight? I have never heard one sounding like this, but again... It's for exhaust fumes.
leanorlando thanks how they all are the ends are frayed and drag on pipe they all sound like that its the design of damper
Okay cool.
Nice video bro one question where you put the damper wires in relay ???
Just asking but why not just replace the motor assembly. Could have saved you a trip
i did not have one with me i usally just change out the whole damper this way there is no more call backs
Can you offer boiler refresher classes near me or can I be your camera man for a bit.
Coincidence? You talked about these and how they can go bad on a recent video. Seems like one of your easier service calls.
it was a easy one yes
This is my exact problem...Several no starts this week.
Thanks for the video. Noisy little bugger.
Nicholas CeeA yes they are noisy there are a bunch of little cut pieces that make a tight fit when it shuts .i guess thats the only way they can make it
This was helpful. Thank you sir.
What would be the reason that my gas boiler does not have a mechanical damper but instead a draft hood by itself?
the older one just had a draft hood no damper the damper only add like 1 % to efficenty not really a big deal
good job easy call and that looks like a good size house.
well house was not so big it was just a big volume water system
steven lavimoniere hey Steven good morning my name is Roger I have a well McLean boiler when I turn on the unit it's run for a while then the damper close and don't open back if I give it a little tap with a screw driver it reopen
Thanks for the value experience.
quang nguyen thanks for watching
Would a failing damper motor cause the spill switch to also trip?
Hi Steve , my name is Albert and l have a boiler problem, my boiler was installed on 2012.
Thanks to answer I'll give you the actual parameters from my boiler bt= 142 F/ Sp=180 F/ HL=180 F/hdf=15/ tt=off/ df=off/ fla=0.00 uA/ run=2 hr 162/ Cyc=64 487/.
Aquastat=220 F /
Low Water cut off 250 F max temp 120.
Pressure meter gauge shows 30 psi but there is no water coming out on relieve valve.
Burnham boiler series 2 /164 BTU/Hr.
The problem is it shot off when it's too cold works fine for 2 or 3 days then shot off.
Before, l pushed reset button on aquastat and restart/ then that stop working/ so now with boiler on l disconnected the flame roll out switch and connected again then start working.
l call service guy 1rst guy said l have to changed pressure gauge/low water cut off and aquastat $1350.
2nd guy said l have to changed intelligent hydronic boiler control .
3rd company guy said he thinks it's the vent damper that is not working properly.
So three boilers professionals with three different solutions .Who is wright ? I spend near $600 dollars on this three company and no solutions.
I know this is a late response.....wow...you couldve gotten anew boiler ....LOL
Hi Steve I have a Weil Mclain gas boiler CG-5-SPDN the pilot won't stay lit I changed the thermocouple still won't stay lit . I found I have only 1.5 volts going to my gas control valve from the hot wire coming from the damper I have 26 volts going to the damper but not come out going to the gas control valve . Is the damper at fault or could it be something else in series ?
Hi Steve, A question for you, should I run a damper on manual if the auto part is not working.?
+Francis Bonadie if the part is not working properly you can put it on bypass /manual till you get a new damper control .once you get the new damper instailled go back to the auto setting for proper closing /opening action
i replaced one of these one time, 6 months later the guy worked up a homeowners insurance claim cause his house got hit by lightning, he was mad i didnt save the old one so he could make a claim 6 months later.
This is amazing. I have a very similar setup. I didn't know what the problem was. He wanted $1300 to swap out that part and put a chemical treatment in the boiler. How much would you charge to do the same work? Not to mention he also charge $225 just for coming out.
Let the man make his living don't discuss any persons labor here. I belive the price is very comparable
Nowadays when you can work with your hands, you can ask whatever you like :-) the university yuppies will pay for it :-)
awesome video
So mine was slanted almost vertical
However it was the opposite way from your video so i thought it was strange but maybe just the way mine was
I struggled with making it go fully vertical all the way with pliers
It started to automatically try and go horizontal but kept getting stuck and flicking back a bit
I thought it was trying to close but it was actually trying to open and i was just applying pressure in the wrong direction
I started to apply pressure in the direction of your video and it essentially went 108 degrees then went fully vertical the other way and started working
If this was difficult to follow:
Imagine default (closed) position is horizontal and the part turns counter clockwise to open normally
Mine somehow turned halfway clockwise and got stuck in that position
I just needed to apply pressure and get it to the starting horizontal position then apply some more pressure and then it started automatically going counter clockwise and turned on
great video my question is if vent damper is open and all other components do but there is still no heat in the pipes, what could possible cause this?
Hi Steve, is there a jumper cable i can get somewhere to bypass this thing? What stores carry it, couldn't find one online. I've had it with this POS!
You shouldn't jump it. You are better off manually turning the dampener to the open position and switch it to hold open like Steve showed on the video.
Why do vent dampers fail so often today sir? Is it just poor engineering, expansion and contraction principals; causing too much friction? What?
Hi Steve great video I have a crown boiler everytime that I wiggled the plug from the damper on the control board the unit fired up and then shut off. am I supposed to have 24 volts at the actual control to make the damper work the unit is 16 years old?
+angel c change the damper control
hi Steven i got a question, our boiler is lit pipes is hot in the basement but not in the apartment, what could possibly cause this?
the knowledge of installer is also can be seen by him doing combustion analysis above the draft hood😂
My steam boiler similar issue. Tsat sends signal to turn on. Damper opens but burners don't kick on. It's a standing pilot . Happens sporadically and if I turn off Tsat then back on it works. I changed to new tsat same issues. Any ideas? Lwco is fine. Pressuretrol fine.
Italian ingenuity!
Great video, that's the issue I have, can I do myself?
I just learned something thanks
Hi Steve. I just changed the damper on my older Hydrotherm boiler. It does not open when the thermostat calls for heat. When I put it on manual and open the damper, then the boiler fires. Now after 2 weeks, the boiler doesn't fire at all even when I manually open the damper. Need some advice! Thanks.
+MOYFAMLY it might be the harnis or the control .its hard to tell unless i am there checking voltage to see whats really happing maybe the new damper is bad .i like to check voltage on stuff to see what really happening before changing stuff
well done steven....
thanks wink
Easy money... Good job.
thanks tim
simple repair...nice!
thanks for watching hllywd
Steve,I have a burnham and have had issues with damper getting stuck open, error 56, no heat. I replaced damper, got same error a couple times.I then saw that damper box was crooked, so I straightened 6 inch pipe and have not had an issue since. About 12 days. Could it have been as simple as straightening pipe? I've had 5 people here and nobody can totally pinpoint it. What are your thoughts?
How do we know the damper good or bad?
Funny, but that damper looks fairly new....Sure sounds like it is crumpling up a can when it opens/closes
Outer edge of damper plate has thin fin blades of spring steel for a better seal. Scratching noise is normal.
Great job
thanks man
Hi Steve,
Two days in a row ,I wake up to a cold house. The 2 times I went down there I saw the pilot on and just gave my Honeywell D96 vent damper a little slap and both times the damper opened and fired right up. My problem is finding the replacement part. Any advise?
+TKDTRES GARCIA if its a old dampe with a flat plug you have to go with a new style damper and harnas or remove the damper and rewire the boiler,,,if its a square plug damper you can just replace the damper or there is a stay open switch you can turn on once running and it will leave the damper open . and bypass the end switch in damper
Just replace the damper limit switches, quicker and easier. I carry a bag of about 50 in the truck. Of course you will have to solder electrical parts onto a PC board. These damper electrical controls are cheaply made so they will fail in ten years or less.
I want to get rid of this how can i by pass it which wire colors should i join together?
Four wires: I connected black with black and connected the other two
Do u install vent damper in open or closed position
george a ---- doesn't matter, the system will find itself once power is applied.
They need to make silent dampers lol
What are 3 best gas boilers in your opinion.
Love this question even though it's late..... Williamson(WM is Older brother ) , Weil Mclain and HB Smith (commercial) ....LMAO ... I hate Burnham ...Slantfin is nice ..if they still make it... Peerless...over priced... So many out there....All boiler are the same....just like water heater...slap a label and you got a name brand...
Hi Steve
Que hacer si si prende el piloto pero no prende la llama
will a bad vent damper on a boiler trip the high limit
+Zachary D. boiler will not fire if the damper does not open so the answers is no
But the boiler came with a 007, must be right... LOL
system needs a 0010 upgrade
Man that damper was noisy, nice simple repair
there all like that
Why is it so important to have a damper. What if it was always open?
IF IT STAYS OPEN YOU WILL LOSE ABOUT 1% EFFICIENCY OF BOILER
@@stevenlavimoniere Correct. But if you hire a plumber to replace it, he will charge about 500 dollars. The part itself is about 150 to replace on your own. So it is only worth having a plumber do it if you expect to spend another 50,000 on heat over the rest of the life of the boiler or 15,000 if you will do it on your own.
what can Couse the pilot to keep going out
I'm no expert her but you could either need a new thermocouple, or potentially a seperate issue is a large backdraft can put out the flame.
l did changed the vent damper boiler still shutting off and shows Err 56 .with boiler on, l unplug roll over switch cable and plug it again then boiler restart.
did you ever find an answer to this?
Yes, after I changed the damper boiler was fixed. However the pressure gauge was high so I changed the pressure gauge.
So the damper and pressure gauge wasn't good.
Did you just change damper or did you do damper wire harness too? also, what was psi on gauge?
These dampers are a poor desighn and they are junk..Any little bit of crap falls in there they fail