How To Tell If Fireplace Is Open

Expect, don't light your fireplace just yet.  In order to be a responsible fireplace possessor, the commencement task you must exercise before enjoying a fire is checking to see if the fireplace damper is open up or closed.

Why You Should Check

First and foremost, y'all should acquire why you should always cheque to come across if your fireplace damper is open up or closed.  Why?  Well, an open up damper volition allow the smoke from the fire forth with other harmful combustion byproducts to escape through the chimney and be channeled safely to the outside.  An open up damper also invites outside air that assists in keeping the fire alive.

If your damper is closed while the burn down is burning, and then you could meet some serious trouble.  Not but will the fire struggle because information technology's non getting the outside air every bit its oxygen to fuel information technology, but your home will begin to fill with the toxic byproducts like carbon monoxide, a gas that can exist fatal to humans and animals.

Your home will fill with smoke, too, considering as the fire lives and breathes, there's no identify for the smoke to channel out if the airtight damper is blocking its only escape route.  So, fortunately because of this, you'll be able to realize your mistake nearly right abroad well before there's a determinate carbon monoxide issue at hand.

But don't exist mistaken, that's not an invitation for y'all to accept your time opening the fireplace damper back up once the room is flooded with smoke.  Don't put your health at chance by not checking the damper's position earlier you start the fire or by not dealing with the closed damper quickly if fume begins to billow into the home.

Investigating Your Fireplace Damper

You tin find your fireplace damper at the base of the chimney.  Know that at that place are iii main types of damper styles:

• Fireplace pharynx dampers
• Flue dampers
• Chimney cap dampers

Traditional dampers are located at the "throat" of the chimney, which is positioned within the chimney'south base.  It's reachable, merely hidden, and then the damper is hands accessible yet tucked out of sight for artful purposes.

Chimney dampers demand to be operated manually, and past that, there's usually a switch, a chain, a rotary style screw, or a handle.  For traditional fireplaces, the location of the damper'southward pull knob or chain is adequately obvious, like located on the fireplace's front face.

How to Tell if Your Fireplace Damper Is Open or Closed

Visually inspect

Get-go, perform a quick visual inspection.  Every bit mentioned, traditional dampers are located in the interior of the chimney'south base, and then you'll be able to crouch down and peer upward inside the chimney to meet the position of the damper.  The damper is a piece of metal that can be angled by using the knob or chain used to control it to the open up or closed position.  If it'southward too dark to properly see, then utilise a flashlight.

If you can run across up through the damper and past to your chimney's interior, and so the damper is open up.  If y'all only see the metal plate that's blocking your line of sight, then the damper is closed.

Check for a draft

Are you unsure as to whether the damper is open or closed?  Stick your hand near the opening of the fireplace.  If you feel air breeze confronting your hand, then it's safe to say that the damper is open.  If there's a articulate absence of a draft, so information technology's closed.

Check the controls

If you're familiar with your fireplace damper controls, this is a great fashion to quickly run across the position of the damper without having to poke your head up through the chimney.

Standard handles volition open the damper when they're turned away from you, so if you cannot turn the handle any further, then the damper may exist open.  Pulling the handle towards you will shut the damper.

Other fireplaces use levers to operate the throat dampers by switching information technology to the right or left.  A lever that's pushed to the left volition close the damper whereas a lever pushed to the right will open up it.

Finally, your fireplace damper may be controlled past a chain, a typical control for acme-mounted dampers.  The chain tin can be found on the within of your fireplace.  If it's hooked to the side of the fireplace wall, and so this probably means that the damper is closed.  A concatenation that's dangling freely and unsecured is a telltale sign that the damper is open.

Listening

You lot tin can also tell if your damper is open or closed just by listening.  You'd be surprised how amplified exterior noises become when the damper is open.  Yous'll hear a whoosh of air, the passing traffic outside, and echoing from inside the chimney itself.

Always Bank check Earlier You Lite

Never start a fire before checking to see if the damper is open or airtight.  There are many ways to check to see if the damper is open up or closed and afterwards getting into the habit, it should become quite obvious.  Put your safety first past taking a few moments to see the position of the damper earlier starting a fire because your life could depend on it.

Chimney Inspection and Cleaning

Before you start your chimney, yous'll want to get information technology inspected. Your chimney should become though proper inspection to ensure that information technology'due south safe to use. From evaluating chimney flue liners to inspecting hidden areas, your chimney will exist properly inspected and so you won't miss any maintenance requirements. Next, we clean out all the stains, mold and creosote so it will exist safe to utilise. Contact us today!

Source: https://verticalchimney.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-a-fireplace-damper-is-open-or-closed/

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