Cap your fireplace chimney and conserve power
Homeowners will often make use of weather removing to stop typical air cracks, such as those that develop around home windows and doors. Yet they frequently forget the fireplace and the prospective it eats sending out big quantities of cozy air up the chimney. While a fireplace throat damper (cast-iron framework and door situated on top of the firebox) will certainly slow the leakage, it does not supply a tight seal. Glass fireplace doors will certainly aid, also, but the most effective seal for a fire place flue is a top-sealing chimney damper, likewise referred to as an airtight chimney cap.
These gadgets are installed on top of the chimney and normally are spring-loaded to guarantee a tight seal. To open the lid, a stainless steel cable television must be released. The cable operates from the damper at the best of the chimney to the fire box and may have to be switched out after several years hing on how typically you use your fire place. If a cable fails or if there is a chimney fire, the damper lid will certainly continue to be in an employment opportunity.
Chimney caps supply several other advantages. They secure out rain, maintaining your masonry flue and protecting against leaks. They also stop downdrafts and prevent entry by parasites, such as nesting squirrels and birds.
Two types of top-sealing dampers
There are usually two kinds of dampers, one with a pop-up lid called the LockTop chimney cap and one with a pivoting cover. The former is built of stainless and cast light weight aluminum and is offered with a chimney cap and mesh animal guard. The last is all aluminum, is available for square or round flues. Both have a silicon rubber seals and job equally well, but the pivoting damper style has a lower profile and is much less visible from the ground.
Top-sealing chimney dampers are likewise excellent for circumstances where a wood range or timber stove insert has been set up inside a fire place. In such instances, a round stainless steel flue will have been threaded via the fireplace throat damper, leaving a substantial space around its border. Non-flammable insulation might be used to stop conditioned air from escaping, however a top-sealing damper supplies a better seal.