Should I replace the vent damper motor?

JoeChan

The motor for the vent damper in my 14yr old boiler died. It is now locked into the open position. The quote to replace it is $700. The heating guy says that I don't really need it. He thinks that because it's venting up the chimney, the loss isn't that great. I've already read that it's a bad idea to have a motorized vent damper for clay lined chimneys like mine (not sure it applies to gas fired boilers). So it is worth the money to replace it, or doesn't really little difference?

Mark N

Pricing is not discussed on Heating Help.

JoeChan

Oops. Sorry about that. I should have read it a bit more carefully. Yeah, so my main questions are:

- Is the damper that important to prevent heat loss.
- The bit about clay chimney shouldn't have a vent damper.

Mark N

They do help prevent standby loss. I don't know about the clay lined chimney. Is your boiler working? I though that when the motor goes bad the boiler won't fire.

Fred

Mark N said:

They do help prevent standby loss. I don't know about the clay lined chimney. Is your boiler working? I though that when the motor goes bad the boiler won't fire.

I think some of the dampers have a "Manual" open/lock on them to allow a by-pass.

JoeChan

The motor is flaky, so we lock it in the open position now. The question is whether the loss is significant enough to matter.

Fred

They do provide some energy savings. Hard for any of us to say how much in your specific situation. I don't know about the clay liner either. I'm sure someone more experienced with chimneys will jump in soon.
I think I'd get a couple more quotes and even look at the cost of a replacement motor itself.

jonny88

Was it originally oil fired boiler.if so you are required to have chimney relined.damper is there for a reason.you can leave it manually open your call your pocket