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I have a POS Broan BP87 damper and when it gets windy the thing smacks and bangs loudly, I mean loud. In fact so loud you can hear it upstairs "crack!!" and it makes people jump. This is a brand new home, with a Broan BP87 Hood and this damper is a complete POS. The flaps are flimsy, not even really hinged. It seals nicely however when it is closed and prevents any backdrafts.
However, Broan, could you have spent like 3-5 cents to at least just put a simple cheap foam seal around the edges where the flaps make contact to prevent that metal on metal sound and another piece of foam in between so the flaps can't smack against eachother when they lift? I would easily have paid twice the $7.00 or whatever the Broan/Nutone BP87 sells for just to have a cheap 3 cent foam seal and another piece just to keep the flaps from smacking against eachother when they both lift vertically. Instead it sounds like gun shots are going off when it's windy!
Well, I was looking for a better replacement with an actual hinge and a spring to add a little bit of resistance to help prevent the wind from lifting the flaps up so easily and causing them to smack around so then tried the Air King E-22A.
Unfortunately the Air King E-22A is just a different kind of POS. It has hinge in the center, a spring and feels better constructed than the Broan BP87 but the SPRING IS SO WEAK I CAN GENTLY BLOW ON IT AND IT LIFTS UP!! This is not just a weak spring, it's a completely useless spring that allows this one to bang just like the Broan BP87. Not only that there is absolutely nothing to keep on flap from rolling over ontop of the other on the other side, which could easily happen while you don't even know it allowing lots of draft. Additionally the Air King E-22A's flaps don't seal where there are large gaps on the sides which defeats the purpose of a damper (to keep outside air, especially cold air out!).
Again very dissappointed, two companies, one Broan/Nutone and now Air King, both these companies have been in the ventilation business for a long time, why make products when they are practically useless or completely flawed? These sell for so cheap I'd easily pay double just for a decent damper for my range hood. THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE and a concept this simple shouldn't be that difficult. Now I feel like I have to build my own because these two companies can't.
I don't typically feel compelled to leave reviews just because I don't really like a product but this is something so simple it boggles my mind how two large companies in the industry could make them so flawed.
Broan/Nutone and Air King Listen UP! Make a "decent" damper that does a pretty decent job sealing drafts and doesn't bang, smack, crackle and pop, pay an extra few cents to make them and PEOPLE WILL GLADLY PAY TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU ARE CURRENTLY SELLING THEM FOR!! You can also advertise that they don't bang around!
I bought another BP87 to see if I can modify the stupid thing to not smack, crackle, pop loudly when it gets windy. My plan was to try and put a thin strip of foam around where the flaps make contact. SOMETHING BROAN COULD HAVE EASILY DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE FOR 3-5 CENTS AND JUST PASSED ON THE COST! I was able to cut the noise down by doing this but ended up having to bend the flaps to close properly and not jam, still seemed like it might jam, just to flimsy, not worth it.
UPDATE: I did send Broan a copy of my review and a link to the other one star reviews. They claim it isn't a common issue that they know of and sincerely apologized and recommended that an outside damper also be used. I told them that I felt it may not have been a problem if it was vented through the roof with the increased distance that the wind would have to travel and agree with the end cap w/damper. Unfortunately our builder didn't and it's stucco'd in. Broan offered to reimburse me for the BP87 but I explained it wasn't really about the cost, it's more about this making our new home buying experience miserable and having to rip out our hood range in our new home to search high and low for a decent solution.
UPDATED / SOLUTION, purchased Aldes 7" Backdraft Damper Model BDD7
Only thing is I had to carefully pop out the hinge rod by pulling on the sides and slide off the springs on each side, leaving just one spring in the middle because the damper didn't open on my fan's low setting because my fan moved so little air on the low setting where all 3 springs were too much resistance for the flaps. It has a soft rubber seal that the flaps fall on so no more metal on metal noise, has a real hinge and a spring. Just inserted the foam seal end into the top of my 7" range hood, used foil tape to secure it so it doens't push down when I reinstall the range hood into the ducting. NO MORE snap, crackle popping when its windy!! It's also more energy efficient by not opening when windy like the Broan BP87!
I just can't understand how it could be so difficult to find a good 7" Hood Range Damper which is the most common size but I'm glad I finally found it!! I really hope this helps some one out there in the same situation!!
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I bought this item and assisted a professional heating and AC contractor to attempt to install it above my kitchen range vent. It fit easy enough when attached to the unmounted fan/vent unit but clanked noisily when the fan is turned off. I've seen other reviews warning of this vent rattling noisily when the wind blows and I can see that happening as flimsy and light as the blades are. The only way I would resort to using this light a unit is if my kitchen vent fan was less than 100 CFM. In that case, you probably need to go buy a whole new vent anyway, because the one you have isn't exhausting enough air to bother with having it installed. My fan produces 250 CFM and could easily open the blades of a heavier duty unit. Even with three of us working together, the installer barely touched the damper from below while reinstalling the kitchen vent/fan unit and it warped, making it unusable. There is no center hinge, but merely a bend in the lightweight aluminum that "butts against the matching opposite one" to simulate a hinge. If either side of the "butterfly" slips loose or wears or bends, the whole apparatus is lost because it will no longer close cleanly.
I found another model on Amazon that has a center hinge and is actually $3 cheaper (they make it up on the shipping, so it's about the same total cost). It's a Lambro #1350 7" Aluminum In-Line Damper, and I recommend you order that instead. I haven't installed it yet, but the photo looked much better than the one above.
Best Deals for Broan BP87 7-Inch Vertical Discharge Damper
The damper can be a little noisy when it's windy, but otherwise works great. More importantly, the actual label on the item says it fits more models than were listed in the description:
Fits: Broan QT20000, 42000, 43000, 46000, Allure QS series, F40000; Nautilus NX series; Nutone WA6500, RL6300-H, RL6300D-H, SL6200, SM6500, Allure WS Series, RL6100F, PM25; Sears 515, 516, 517, 5261, 5271, 5502, 5512, 5522, 5205, 5215 Series
Honest reviews on Broan BP87 7-Inch Vertical Discharge Damper
Needed a 7" dia duct damper to keep out drafts this winter. It's hard to find
one in the 7" dia size. I ordered one last summer and it broke. The two thin
aluminum damper halves came unhinged and fell down into the fan.
I ordered some more in November. I figured that I could alter the damper to
make it last more than 45 minutes. It took OVER THREE weeks for them to arrive.
To strengthen the hinge pivot of the two damper halves, I used two small patches
of tape to keep them from coming unhinged. I would not recommend this item from
Broan because it is extremely fragile. If you have access to another vendor for
this item I suggest you try them instead.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Broan BP87 7-Inch Vertical Discharge Damper
When I replace my hood (Fan & Light)over my stove, it came with a rectangle shape hood damper, mine is round. I would of have to replace and move the duct work. This just slip right in. Save me alot of work.
