What is a good way to cover a heat vent to keep so much heat out of a room???

Question

I work 3 days a week at a school in a small classroom that has a very old heat vent up toward the ceiling that is broken and stuck open, for some reason it is like an oven in there! The janitor has told me he can not come up with any ideas on how to cover it for me and the children I work with and I suffer horribly! I would like to come up with something I can take with me to cover the days I have to work there as I came home yesterday sick from the heat!Are there any ideas out there? It is a fairly large vent. Any ideas? I got up on a chair and tryed to close it but the lever is broke off and it is rusted so badly I could not do much with it.

Answer 1

Take the vent out and cover the inside with aluminum foil then replace the vent. Fold the edges of the foil over so that it doesn't whistle when the blower is on.

Answer 2

It's probably a red-tape situation in getting the right person to fill out the paperwork and then to get approval from whoever owns the school just to get the money to have a professional replace the vent. I've thought it out, considered many scenarios and have not come to any better conclusion than just getting a new vent cover. Maybe the rest of the building is old and they are trying to save money, and the probably think the same kids aren't in the same room long enough to support the additional expense, but you might search for the right person for the job, or present your situation at a PTA meeting and maybe they can have a fundraiser to help solve the problem..

Answer 3

You probably have everything you need right in the classroom to solve your problem very simply. You really may not want to stop all the heat from coming in - just choke the flow down to a more comfortable level.

Get a piece of cardboard or posterboard and cut it to a size slightly smaller than the vent so that it just reaches one of the outermost louvers - round or square depending on the vent shape. Get about 4 spring type paper clamps and clip the cutout on the vent louvers. You are now done!

The heat could not legally be great enough to ignite the paper but could discolor over time. If you are really concerned, you can stick a piece of tin foil on the top side. You could even have the kids write or draw on the board to liven up the room or write interesting class related facts on it. Use your imagination. It could be a really neat class project. And of course you can put it up or take it down any time you want in seconds or adjust its size to allow more or less heat.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Heat Register Cover

Answer 5

There is usually a volume damper somewhere on the system, in the ductwork that leads to that register. If there is access to the ceiling, like by lifting ceiling tiles, it may be right up there. It's a paddle shaped thing inside the duct that has a handle sticking out the side so it can be adjusted.
Usually, there is a damper like this on commercial or residential ductwork, because balancing the flow at the registers is not a good idea, because people can change those, and mess up the flow to other places, and they tend to be noisy if all the volume is reduced there.
Tell that janitor to find it, and turn it down!

Answer 6

My parents used to have a "hood" that was magnetic and would re-direct the air into their room. Since hot air rises, perhaps keeping the air blowing across the ceiling instead of toward the floor will keep "ground level" cooler. I sympathize! Its very hard to teach uncomfortable children. How about instigating the parents or PTA to DEMAND action. Parents can get things done that teachers can't. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Put a piece of quarter inch plywood over it, you can adjust it as you need.

Answer 8

Duct tape its self or duct tape something over it non-flammable of course.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

Block it with a ceramic tiles(non inflammatory)