DIY Pressure Pan

A pressure pan is a duct leakage diagnostic tool, used with a blower door to identify exterior air leaks in forced air duct systems. It does not directly measure leakage rates, but measures the pressure difference between the house and a duct run during a blower door test. The test involves placing a gasketed pan over each register or grill, one at a time. If you have never used a pressure pan to detect duct leakage, you can do it yourself by following a few simple instructions.

Blower door system
Pressure pan

Instructions

- 1
  Open all the interior doors of the house so no room is isolated from the others. Turn off all combustible appliances such as water heaters, furnaces and boiler. Do not turn them on during the test. Locate the furnace and turn the air handler off. Remove all the filters from the duct system.
- 2
  Check that all grills and dampers are fully open. Open the attic or garage if you have ducts that run into those rooms. Set the blower door system down in any room. Turn it on to begin depressurizing the house. Let the blower door system run for at least 30 minutes.
- 3
  Place a pressure pan over any register or grille. Lay it down so it covers the entire area. This prevents any air from getting through. The gasket on the pressure pan forms a seal around the register. Record the pressure pan reading shown on your gauge, once it stabilizes.
- 4
  Remove the pressure pan and take it to the next vent. Set it down over the second vent or register and repeat the process. Take a reading and remove the pressure pan. Continue in the same manner until all the registers or grills have had the pressure pan over them and their pressure recorded.
- 5
  Turn off the blower door system and place the filter back on the duct system upon completion.

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