What is the use of this <expletive> thing?!

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

Hi Everyone

:mad::mad:

Can someone please tell me what the purpose of this <expletive> thing is?



At the moment the only thing it does is interrupt my sleep :mad:

When a small gust of wind comes by it lifts up those flaps that then smack down making one hell of a racket, and because it's 2 meters from my bedroom it inevitably wakes me up.

Unless this thing offers critical life saving functions I'm going to take a hammer to it and smash it to bits for some catharsis.

Thanks

tuisginideach

It's a vent. Alternative could be carbon monoxide poisoning!

looksee

Presumably it should have some sort of spring/lever/mechanism so it can be opened, or opens in certain circumstances. Its not supposed to clatter. Is it accessible to/by you?

Edit, or maybe not https://alexnld.com/product/air-vent-grille-ventilation-cover-plastic-white-wall-grilles-duct-200x200x40mm/ seems to be this and does not have a control on it, looks like air pressure from inside opens it. Is it yours? Can you get at it?

Homer

Buy a roll of padded adhesive tape and put long strips on each individual vent where it lays on the one below so that will soften the noise while still allowing the vent to perform its function.

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

looksee wrote: »

Presumably it should have some sort of spring/lever/mechanism so it can be opened, or opens in certain circumstances. Its not supposed to clatter. Is it accessible to/by you?

Edit, or maybe not https://alexnld.com/product/air-vent-grille-ventilation-cover-plastic-white-wall-grilles-duct-200x200x40mm/ seems to be this and does not have a control on it, looks like air pressure from inside opens it. Is it yours? Can you get at it?

I can get to it. It's why in my rage fueled head I want to smash it to bits!

Homer wrote: »

Buy a roll of padded adhesive tape and put long strips on each individual vent where it lays on the one below so that will soften the noise while still allowing the vent to perform its function.

This unfortunately it does not work well. The problem is that because any ol fart will cause the flaps to move the rising and falling makes slapping noise.

It helps for when the flaps fall but there is no answer to the rise.

The only sane~ish thing I can think of is to jam something in there to keep the flaps fixed in a certain position.

FishOnABike

What's on the other side of the vent?

Lumen

Do you own the property?

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

FishOnABike wrote: »

What's on the other side of the vent?

There are two of these "Sleep destroyer 9000" things. I've only taken a photo of the one.

The one leads into the lounge where there is a fire place but I never use the fire place.

The other one (the photo), I honestly don't know where it leads to. There is only one vent in the lounge so my guess would be that it runs along the wall to one of the bathrooms?

Lumen wrote: »

Do you own the property?

Nope.

KCross

Its either an extractor fan outlet from the kitchen or from a shower/bathroom to get condensation/fumes out of the house.
When you turn on the extrator fan or the electric shower see if the flaps open slightly.

Either way, keeping it permanently shut or open will have consequences for the occupants (draughts or fumes or damp etc).

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

KCross wrote: »

Its either an extractor fan outlet from the kitchen or from a shower/bathroom to get condensation/fumes out of the house.
When you turn on the extrator fan or the electric shower see if the flaps open slightly.

Either way, keeping it permanently shut or open will have consequences for the occupants (draughts or fumes or damp etc).

You're breaking my heart here, KCross.


When you saying keeping it permanently open will have consequences. Do you mean keeping it fully open or open in any state? What if I fix the flaps to say a 20' angle?

KCross

Kamari Poor Toupee wrote: »

You're breaking my heart here, KCross.


When you saying keeping it permanently open will have consequences. Do you mean keeping it fully open or open in any state? What if I fix the flaps to say a 20' angle?

Well, its hard to tell without knowing exactly whats at the other end but if you keep it open it will then allow a draught to go in 24/7 depending on how exposed it is to the prevailing winds.

If the other end is "open" well then you have created effectively an open window 24/7, increasing the heating bill.

Have you tried the previous posters suggestion of adding some tape to stop the noise of the flaps hitting each other? Is the flap rising really making that much noise?

I would have thought it would be the downward noise when they hit each other that would be the vast majority of the noise? Try that first and then see where you are at.

seamus

Keeping it permanently open will allow draughts. This kind of vent has flaps because it's supposed to only really be one-way, allowing a fan or other extraction system to vent, without allowing the outside air in.

The reason it bangs and blows is most likely because of another draught elsewhere inside the property. So when air blows in through that draught, it looks for a way out, and that way out is through those vents.

See if you can find where it leads to; if it's a bathroom or something, then fitting a draught excluder on the door and keeping it closed might stop the banging at night.

Afaik, those flaps are only held on by little plastic tabs either side. Fairly straightforward to pop them out. Don't break them; it's not your property

Poor Uncle Tom

Kamari Poor Toupee wrote: »

I can get to it. It's why in my rage fueled head I want to smash it to bits!



This unfortunately it does not work well. The problem is that because any ol fart will cause the flaps to move the rising and falling makes slapping noise.

It helps for when the flaps fall but there is no answer to the rise.

The only sane~ish thing I can think of is to jam something in there to keep the flaps fixed in a certain position.

:eek::D:D Script for a porn video....


The problem is that this vent cover is very poorly designed and causing nuisance as it flicks open and closed in small gusts of wind. There are several types of vent cover that can be swapped out for that one. Very small job and one that should be done straight away.

OP needs to get on the case of the building owner until it's done. Noise nuisance isn't funny when you're on the receiving end.

Lumen

If I was in that situation I would wedge the slats open and then duct tape a piece of open celled foam to the inside wall to slow down the air movement.

JimmyMW

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

:eek::D:D Script for a porn video....

Very Good, rough enough auld movie thou

Poor Uncle Tom

JimmyMW wrote: »

Very Good, rough enough auld movie thou

A whole vent system of a different kind....:pac:

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

Spent a bit of time over the weekend working on the problem, and no, it did not involve a hammer :pac:

Of the two vents, the one in the photo definitely goes to the ground floor bathroom. Turned on the extractor fan and the vent fans moved a little bit.

The other vent is joined to the lounge and kitchen. This is the vent that makes a racket with a bit of wind.

What I found curious is that the lounge/kitchen vent is the only one that makes a noise. Surely if both vents are hit by wind they'll both make a racket? But nope, only the one does it. The only difference between the two is the one vent has a drainage pipe in front of it. My guess is that the pipe cuts / twists / does something to the wind that causes it to lift the vent flaps.

What I did was simply fix the vents into place at a small angle and this way any air can still be exhausted from the inside.

I'm aware it comes at a small cost of extra heating but what I lose in cost I gain from being able to peacefully sleep.

Thanks for the all the help!

seamus

You don't say what the noisy vent is connected to - I'm assuming nothing. So it's possible that there's an ancillary draught in the walls between the block and plasterboard. The bathroom fan doesn't make noise because there's a sealed flue between the fan and the vent. So you need a draught inside the house to make it bang. But if the other vent is just for standard ventilation, then any bit of moving air outside the house will cause it to bang.

If the noisy vent is connected to a flue (extractor fan?), then you may be right that there's a strange anomaly with the drain pipe, and a gust of wind creates a small low pressure pocket outside the vent that causes it to open.

GreeBo

The vent should have a cowl to prevent exactly this noise problem.

looksee

There is an unused fireplace, that is where the inside draught is coming from - like doors slamming if you have both back and front open.