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Beckett AFG-Plastic Air Shutter

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STEVEusaPA
STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
in Oil Heating
I've noticed about 3 times now over the years, inside the housing on a Beckett AFG, there's this plastic air shutter/pump coupling combo. It opens by centrifugal force when the motor spins and closes when it stops. I've seen these on some AFG's that were installed late 80's/early 90's. I guess they were trying to replicate a Riello shutter to stop standby loss.

Seems like it was a failure as it didn't last long. The biggest problem is air/lint dirt sticking to them, then they rub and make noises. Hard to clean in/on/around them.
I don't see them listed in any current Beckett literature.

I just had a fuel pump replacement and ended up taking it off completely, kinda of a PITA.

I was just wondering if anyone knows the history on them.
Thanks
Steve
steve

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  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,523
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    LOL, @STEVEusaPA you my friend answered you own question. When oil prices shot up and "energy saving device" was the rage.
    We had stack dampers, air shutters stack heat reclaimers and other stuff.

    Most of it just caused other problems.

    The beckett air shutter was kind of looked at as a simple idea with not much to go wrong with it. But I guess there were some issues because their popularity didn't last.

    With tighter boilers and restricted flue passages they now have no use
  • Alan Welch
    Alan Welch Member Posts: 267
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    Inlet air damper is the name i remember, and could soot up a boiler quickly if it stuck closed. just replace with a Beckett drive coupling.
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,835
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    They seem to be always on the AFG's with the blue housing as opposed to white.
    Was it a 68 series WM?
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
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    @HVACNUT This last one was on an Ultimate Boiler PFO 3T 110, sticker says installed 1991.

    @Alan Welch I think you're right. There was a little sticker on the housing that I think said "Inlet Air Damper installed".

    @EBEBRATT-Ed Thanks for your thoughts Ed. Just funny I've never seen this part in any Beckett manual, from my original Nora Bronze manual, to all the classes thru out the last 27+ years.
    Yeah I still have a customer with an oversized WM 68 with a heat reclaimer on the flue pipe (wired w/fan). It 'heats the whole basement'. I told him you could really help your boiler out and just add some radiation to a zone, you have the boiler capacity.
    I also make him take it off and un-wire it before I start his annual service. It knocks about 200° off the stack temp and is probably condensing in the chimney.
    I've told him it's going to break, he said how? I said, when the chimney collapses.

    Thanks guys for entertaining my random thoughts.
    steve
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,523
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    LOL most of that stuff came in when oil prices went up due to the oil embargo 1977 ish. Flair "stack pack" flue dampers were a big thing to "trap the heat in the boiler"Most of that stuff started in the early 80s.

    Beckett used to offer those air inlet dampers, used to have a spec sheet on them

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