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austinjenna's avatar
austinjenna
Explorer
Oct 04, 2016

Stove exhaust vent tabs

One of my little tabs for the outside exhaust vent that keep the flapper closed broke last weekend and I cant seem to find them anywhere and not even sure if you can buy them separately. If anyone knows where to pick some up, please let me know.

Thanks

16 Replies

  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    I do not believe you can find them elsewhere but... There is hope

    Look in the hardware seciton at your favorite store for picture hangers

    One of them is shaped like a giant one of those tabs. If there is room you can mount this off to the side of the flapper and turn it so the "hook" part locks the tab when needed.

    Or you can mount the "Finger" off a common spark plug "Feeler" gauge, or any short strip of metal, next to the flapper using a screw.. Many options. Many many options.

    Here is a FREE option. Visit a Bicycle shop and ask for a BROKEN spoke, Now carefully bend it as follows.
    Bend an "EYE" for the scrw (use needle nose pliars) and then bend so the wire comes straight out from teh EYE (look at a common eye bolt at the hardware, that is your pattern) now about half to an inch out bend so that with the EYE lying flat the wire sticks up

    Now cut the wire off not far from that bend so you have a small NUB you can use to move it on and off the flapper.. you should get several such taps out of one broken spoke.
  • my flapper is 8-9 ft off the ground so there was no way to close the catch anyway. I took some #12 bare copper wire and some finer wire and made the flapper heavy on the bottom. I used the fine wire (drilling a few very small holes) to hold the #12 to the flapper and then applied some gorilla glue to the wire. It's been years since that repair and still working. The extra weight on the flapper holds it shut and the fan is plenty strong to open it. Going down the road???I really don't care if it opens/closes then. That RV is a sieve as far as air penetration anyway.
  • I had already used duct tape for the flapper hinge a couple of years ago, and would probably make something to work for a while.
  • I always worry about those, they seem flimsy. When they break, can you push the pin in, so there's a hole? If so, maybe a couple of stainless screws and a rubber band to stretch across and hold it closed?
  • Both of mine broke a couple years ago and I've been using a 4 inch piece of white duct tape. Fold one end over on itself so you have a handle to make removal easy. Works great. Price is right.
  • Don't know where to find them but I'm wondering if something could be made up using those little tabs that hold mirrors to a wall. Actually I think one tab should do the job.
    What's worse is if the flapper isn't tied down and flaps itself to death on the highway!

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