Selecting Heating Registers & Vents
The first thing to address when buying heating registers and vents is to determine which one you need, a register or a vent. Registers have a damper, or flap that can be adjusted by a knob or lever that allows you to increase or decrease the flow of air into the room. A vent has no means to adjust the air flow. Registers are typically used on "supply" runs, those are the places where the air flows into the room. Vents are generally used on "returns". It may feel as if there is no air going into a return vent, but if you place a sheet of paper over the vent, when your system is running, the paper will get sucked up against the vent. Vents may also be used in doors, walls and floors to allow the return of air from a room that has no return run of it's own. It's important not to confuse registers and vents because doing so could greatly decrease the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling system.
Sizing of registers and vents is based off of the size of the hole in the floor, wall or ceiling from which they protrude. Furthermore, the sizes of registers and vents is given with the height first and the length second. So, for instance, let's say you're replacing a wall mounted register in your hallway. You measure the height of the hole in the wall and get something between 4" and 4-1/2". Then, you measure the length and get something between 10" and 10-1/2". You would then need a 4" x 10" register. The face of the register you buy will measure considerably larger than 4" x 10", to cover the hole completely and allow for the hole being cut a little oversize.
You want to be careful about the quality of registers and vents that you buy, particularly for bathrooms and kitchens. Remember that the floors in these rooms get wet quite often, from spills, drips and mopping. If your registers are made from poorly plated steel or low quality brass, chances are they will rust and corrode very quickly in these rooms. This is why we carry the Decor Grates line of registers and vents. The dampers on their registers are molded plastic that will never rust or stick in one position. Also, most of their registers and vents are made from pre-plated metals. This means that the plating covers every metal surface on the piece, thereby preventing rust and corrosion.
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