Where to buy floor heat vent covers?

June 24, 2013 7:52 PM

I want to replace my floor heat vent covers with solid metal plates but my Amazon-fu and Google-fu are failing me. Online shopping geniuses of MetaFilter, please hope me! I'm in the USA.

Background: I don't use the propane heating system in my camper, so all the floor heat vents do is allow cat food, spilled liquids, dust, and other grime fall down into and accumulate in the heating system ducts. I want to remove these worse-than-useless vents and replace them with solid metal plates screwed into the same floor holes.

Specifications: The footprint of the existing vents is 9.5in x 5.25in, with a screw hole in the middle of the edge of each of the short sides. Apparently this is an odd size for vents (because it's a camper, I think). The covers need to be sturdy enough to be frequently trodden upon because all four vents are in the middle of the main walking path.

Alternate solutions: I've already tried those magnetic vent covers and they suck. If what I want isn't available off-the-shelf, I'm willing to have something custom made if I can find a machine shop that can do the work at a reasonable price. My fallback plan is to cover up the grates of the existing vents with duct tape if can't find something more durable and aesthetically pleasing than that.

I live in rural bumfuck, so I prefer to order online (shipping to Central Virginia, USA) than to schlep into town.

Please advise, thanks!!!

posted by Jacqueline to Shopping (5 answers total)

Is it possible to remove the current vents, place the magnetic cover on the bottom of the current vent and then reinstall.

This would stop anything from getting in the ducts, but would still have the grate exposed to the room...

Obviously this isn't perfect, but it's probably better than having the cover on the top side of the vents where they can be easily moved.
posted by NoDef at 8:05 PM on June 24, 2013

If you can't find what you need off the shelf, a local HVAC (heating, airconditioning) contractor - someone who does duct work - would cut pieces of suitable-for-walking-on sheet metal to size for very little money, I think. You could paint them to match your floor. I could get quotes here and memail them if you're stuck (USPS for the actual sheets, of course.)
posted by anadem at 8:15 PM on June 24, 2013

So I got these awesome grilles from Kul Grilles a while ago and I love them -- they're super solid and smart looking. However, I don't see any that screw in like it sounds like you're looking for, but maybe it's a place to start?
posted by emcat8 at 8:25 PM on June 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

Have you looked at reggioregister.com? They will drill the holes in the short sides of the grille, or leave them blank.
posted by wryly at 11:49 PM on June 24, 2013

If you really just want flat plates of metal, I'd bet you'll be stuck with having them custom-made. I'd go for 1/8" aluminum plate -- cut, drilled, countersunk, chamfered and maybe spray-painted. It's a simple project, but anything customized will be considerably more expensive than off-the-shelf parts.
posted by jon1270 at 3:44 AM on June 25, 2013