Hood · Parts
Backdraft Damper on a Wolf Hood
Its job
- Lives in the transition — the fitting on top of the hood where the duct connects — on most Wolf pro hoods and liners.
- Swings open as the blower pushes exhaust into the duct, then closes again once the blower stops.
- Holds back cold outside air that would otherwise sink down an idle duct and into the kitchen.
Signs it is going
- Gums up with grease at its pivot and stays shut or half-open, so the hood roars and the smoke lingers.
- Sticks open or gets bent, and cold air falls through the hood even on a calm night.
- Chatters or taps in gusty weather as wind at the outlet lifts it off its seat and lets it drop again.
Our order of work
- Reach the transition from the hood side and confirm the flap moves through its full travel and closes flat.
- Clean grease off the flap and its pivot, and straighten or replace one that is bent or binding.
- Look over the outside outlet from ground level for a jammed or missing flap, and tell you plainly when the fault sits in the duct rather than the hood.
Not every Wolf has one
Wolf builds the damper into the transitions it supplies, with three exceptions: downdrafts, low-profile wall hoods and transitions bought as accessories.
On those, nothing in the hood itself stops cold air unless a damper was added in the duct.
Wolf also notes that a cold-climate installation may call for an additional damper in the run.
Replacing one
Wolf does not sell backdraft dampers on their own. When a flap is past cleaning, we tell you which replacement suits your duct, and what fitting it involves, before anything is ordered.
Weather or fault?
A draught that comes and goes with the gusts is covered under cold air down a hood in a windstorm.
A flap stuck shut is the opposite trouble, and one reason a hood runs but will not clear smoke.
Two-Minute Check
Run it in order. Nothing here needs a panel off, a ladder or a wire touched.
- Run the blower for a minute, switch it off and stay by the hood — a small tap as it stops is usually the flap closing.
- On a cold, still evening with the cooktop off, hold a hand near the filters; a steady chill falling from the canopy means the flap is not shutting.
- Keep a note of whether draughts and tapping come only with wind or on calm days too — that separates weather from a stuck flap.
- Make sure the filters are washed and seated, since a starved hood may never push the flap fully open.
- Stop here — call Wolf Repair Woodinville, (425) 585-2373. Call (425) 585-2373