I just purchased my home a few months ago, and the AC was sub par during the summer. Now that winter is here, the house is extremely uncomfortable (cold).
My furnace shoots hot air up to one main exit, then branches to the two sides of my home.
I discovered two hinges, one on each branch, one of which when I rotated it, provided air to one side of my home (as many may expect)
The other, no matter how much I rotate or which angle I rotate the lever, the other side of that ducts remains cold and no air is pushed to the other side of my home.
Is it possible/smart for me, as a new home owner, to try to dissemble the ductwork in the problem area to attempt to free the valve or any possible blockage? One friend of mine told me to cut a hole in the side, use a coat hanger to try to open it, and seal it with duct tape.
EDIT
I noticed when looking at how I could take the duct off, there are no screws, just tabs. Please see attached picture.
Any help is greatly appreciated by me and my cold family 🙂
EDIT 2
Things are still not working in our home. I tried all different combinations of the two dampers open and close to no avail. I also drilled a hole and used a rod to ensure the left (in the diagram) damper was open which it was. There were no other obstructions in the way.
We are still hanging out in 65 degrees at max in cold, so please keep the suggestions coming.
Edit 3
Thanks to all that helped! Unfortunately, even a pro could not identify the problem and we ended up replacing the whole furnace. We are now a warm family again but after a hefty price tag.
Best Answer
Don't use duck/duct tape on HVAC ducts, use foil tape. Duct tape isn't designed to take the heat variations in duct work and will lose it's adhesion over time.
More than likely you can unscrew this section of duct work and remove it instead of cutting holes. With it removed, you can either fix the damper or replace the section with a new damper. If the damper itself is fine, the problem may be a clog in the duct itself which is easier to clean with the duct opened up. I've used the dryer vent cleaning brushes from Gardus which would work well for this job:
When reassembling, use self taping sheet metal screws to attach the ducts, and then cover the seams with the foil tape.