Patent ID: 8074892

Claim:
A gas ignition controller for controlling at least part of the operation of a gas fired appliance, the gas fired appliance having a combustion chamber that is vented to atmosphere via a vent, the gas ignition controller comprising: a non-volatile memory; a connector for receiving a plug of an optional damper, wherein the optional damper, when installed, can selectively open and close the vent of the gas fired appliance to atmosphere; a damper detector in communication with the connector for detecting if the plug of the optional damper is received by the connector; and a controller for controlling at least part of the operation of the gas fired appliance, the controller setting a damper present flag in the non-volatile memory if the damper detector detects that the plug of the optional damper is received by the connector; and the controller further ceasing to operate the gas fired appliance if: (1) the damper detector does not currently detect that the plug of the optional damper is received by the connector; and (2) the damper present flag has been set in the non-volatile memory.