Fireplace Damper Vs Flue

Over time the extreme heat and rapid change in temperature.

Fireplace damper vs flue.

The glass between the firebox and your home prevents cold or heat from coming down the chimney and by leaving the damper open at all times you eliminate the risk of having gas build up or backdraft into your home. Even though this tendency can be regu lated by adjusting the damper us ing an oversized flue wastes space and materials. A flue that s too small will have insuffi cient draft. A fireplace flue damper enables you to control how much air flows up your home s chimney when the fireplace is in use.

Diving even deeper down the rabbit hole the all important damper is located inside the flue. This can warp and damage the fireplace damper thus needing replacement. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. It serves a few purposes including regulation of air flow and protection against rain and pests.

They usually operate by buoyancy also known as the stack effect or. Adjusting the damper allows you to burn a fire efficiently and safely. If the flue is open the smoke will go out of the chimney without any problem. Fireplace dampers sit almost directly above the heat of the fire.

Conversely outside air can enter through the flue into the firebox. The damper or flue damper is a small device inside of the flue. A damper must be in one piece that is snug to the flue in order for it to work properly. If the damper is closed then the smoke will come out of the chimney and fill out the room.

I tell folks to get the damper closed soon as possible after a fire. Some folks have commented about how the room with the fireplace as always cold or had cold drafts and sure enough they had not checked the damper and it was open. Check up into the chimney from your fireplace. The damper in a gas fireplace should remain open all the time.

The chimney houses the flue which is just the airway in which the smoke rises from the fireplace and exits through the roof. A flue is a duct pipe or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace furnace water heater boiler or generator to the outdoors. A flue damper is a device which is used to regulate the flow of air through a flue a pipe which vents hot air and gases from a wood stove boiler or similar piece of equipment. A flue that s too large may cause the fire to burn more vigorously than necessary.

In the united states they are also known as vents for boilers and as breeching for water heaters and modern furnaces. You know the flue is open if you can see the sky or have a throat dumper. A properly functioning damper is essential to any flue. Carry out a visual check.