So virtually all fossil-fuel-fired heating appliances provide some sort of draft control or draft regulator to keep the draft at required levels both in the combustion chamber and out through the chimney. Too little draft can result in incomplete combustion, soot-clogging of heating equipment (dangerous), and more dangerous heating appliance malfunctions such as oil burner puffbacks and in some cases dangerous production of carbon monoxide gas that leaks into the building (a potentially fatal problem). Too much draft can also increase chimney temperatures to an unsafe level.

Too much draft increases heating appliance operating cost by venting heat out through the chimney instead of transferring the heat into the building where it was wanted. The force with which this air or combustion gas moves is the 'draft' inside of the heating appliance. Why we need the Barometric Damper or Draft Regulator on a Boiler or Furnaceĭuring oil burner operation, and also on some gas fired equipment, combustion air moves into the burner are and combustion chamber (as combustion air).Īs combustion continues (the fuel is mixed with air and burned), a mix of air and combustion gases continues onwards, moving out of theĬombustion chamber, up through the boiler or furnace heat exchanger, through the flue vent connector ('stack pipe or flue pipe' and on into the chimney where these gases are finally vented outside, usually above the building roof. The draft regulator in our photo shown just above is not working - and has been deliberately jammed - indicating that something else is wrong, probably a chimney problem or an oil burner operating problem: the technician was unable to get enough draft, so s/he defeated the regulator - this is not a good idea, as we'll explain below. The service technician adjusts the weight to control the swing or opening of this door which in turn controls the amount of excess air that can enter the flue and chimney when the oil burner is operating.

The face of the tee contains a round 'door' with an adjustable weight. On oil fired equipment the barometric damper, or draft regulator is typically a round Tee inserted in the flue vent connector between the heating appliance and the chimney. The barometric damper or draft regulating device we are discussing here is normally used only on oil-fired heating equipment, not on gas-fired equipment. Define Barometric Damper or Draft Regulatorīarometric dampers are devices used to regulate the draft on oil-fired heating equipment such as furnaces, boilers, or

DEFINITION of BAROMETRIC DAMPER / DRAFT REGULATORĭraft Regulators for oil fired heaters: Details about draft control on oil fired heating systems (such as the oil fired heater shown in the photo above), including furnaces or boilers, are discussed in this article just below.ĭraft Regulators for gas fired heaters: Details about draft control for gas fired heating systems, including furnaces or boilers, are discussed separately atĪt DRAFT HOOD, GAS HEATER for gas fired equipment.

Guide to Inspecting Barometric Dampers or Draft Regulators on Oil Fired Heaters, Furnaces, Boilers, Water Heaters We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. Here we explain the inspection and adjustment of draft regulators or barometric dampers on oil fired heating equipment:Ī Guide to Barometric Dampers on Oil Fired Boilers, Furnaces, Water Heaters: inspection, adjustment, cleaning, troubleshooting. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.ĭraft regulators / barometric dampers on oil fired heating equipment: InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest.

Oil burner draft control