Yes, your fireplace flue must be fully open when lighting and actively burning a fire. It allows the necessary airflow to feed the fire and ensures all toxic smoke, ash, and carbon monoxide safely escape up the chimney rather than pouring into your living room.
First, ALWAYS ensure the damper is fully open BEFORE lighting the fireplace. Otherwise, you and your home may be covered in soot and ash if the chimney back puffs. The damper has notches, so you can partially close it (throttling), like a manual stick shift in a car.
Explained, the chimney pipe must be a minimum of three feet above the roof but also two feet taller than anything within ten feet. The portion of the rule stating the pipe needs to be 2 feet above anything within 10 feet is where most people get confused.
If the chimney flue is left open after the fire goes out, all the heat generated will escape. Closing the flue will keep the heat inside; you must be careful not to close it too quickly, otherwise you may trap smoke and carbon monoxide in your home. It's best to keep the flue closed when the fireplace is not in use.
You must open the damper fully before lighting a fire. This allows smoke and gases to escape through the chimney instead of coming back into the house. If the damper's closed, you risk carbon monoxide buildup, which can be dangerous.
A fully open damper allows maximum airflow, making the fire burn hotter and faster. If you want a slower burn or a fire that lasts longer, you can partially close the damper to reduce the oxygen supply. Just be careful not to close it too much because it can lead to poor combustion and smoke buildup.
If you are looking at a duct that is coming off the furnace and going straight up like it is going to the upstairs, and the wing is in the same direction as the duct, it is open. If the wing is in the opposite or vertical position to the ductwork, then the damper is closed.
🔥 An open chimney flue is like leaving a window wide open in the middle of winter. Make sure to shut it tight when your fireplace isn't in use to keep the warmth in and your bills down.
A closed fireplace damper looks like a flat or slightly angled metal plate (cast iron or steel) that completely seals off the throat or top of the chimney flue. When closed, it blocks your line of sight, preventing you from looking up into the chimney.
Creosote ignites and burns off at approximately 450∘F to 500∘F (232∘C to 260∘C). However, completely eradicating thick, heavy buildup typically requires sustained flue temperatures exceeding 1,000∘F to 1,200∘F (538∘F to 649∘C).
Yes, mice absolutely can and do come down chimneys, utilizing them as warm, sheltered, and vertical pathways to enter homes. Mice are excellent climbers that can scale the exterior brickwork, enter through gaps or cracks, and move down the flue into the fireplace or attic.
Additionally, in the early 1980's, tests were conducted to discover which kind of wood created the most creosote in a regular “open” fireplace. The results were surprising. Contrary to popular opinion, the hardwood's, like oak and poplar, created more creosote than the softwoods, like tamarack and pine.
The "7 Times Rule" for chimneys dictates that the cross-sectional area of a masonry chimney flue cannot exceed seven times the area of the appliance’s vent connector (draft hood outlet) to ensure proper drafting and prevent acidic condensation. If the chimney is too large, it must be relined to prevent damage from cooling gases.
Your flue damper should always be fully open before and during a fire to safely vent smoke and toxic gases, and fully closed when the fireplace is not in use to prevent warm indoor air from escaping and cold drafts from entering.
It depends on the type of gas logs. If they are vented then you absolutely must leave flue open. If they are non vented it can be closed and will make more heat that way.
An open chimney flue appears as an unobstructed, dark vertical passage when looking up from the fireplace, often revealing daylight or a clear metal plate that has been moved out of the way. You will typically feel a cool draft of air coming down, and the control handle/lever will be in the upward or open position.
The worst firewood to burn falls into two categories: toxic and highly inefficient. You should never burn wood that produces dangerous chemical fumes or excessive smoke, nor wood that burns too quickly or spits hazardous sparks.
Hot fires kill creosote.
If you keep your chimney temperature above 250º F, you are far less likely to have problematic amounts of creosote accumulate between yearly cleanings.
However, if you have a smaller fire pit (less than 3 feet in diameter), you may only need 2-3 logs per hour. Conversely, for larger fire pits (over 4 feet in diameter) or if you're aiming for a roaring fire, you might need 5-6 logs per hour.
When the fireplace is in use, the damper (whether it's a throat damper just above the firebox or a top-mount damper at the top of the chimney) must be open. An open damper allows smoke to exit the chimney rather than backing up into the house.
However, when a chimney gets excessively dirty or clogged (by any number of things—debris and animal nests are common culprits), when your chimney damper is closed, or a part of your chimney is broken that prevents carbon monoxide and other combustion byproducts from venting, then you and your family may become at risk ...
A flue is the vertical shaft or pipe that vents smoke and exhaust out of your home. A damper is a movable metal valve or plate located inside the flue (or at its opening) that opens and closes to control airflow. Think of the flue as the chimney's hallway and the damper as the door.
Yes, traditional open fireplaces often make the rest of the house cooler. Because a fire requires oxygen to burn, it pulls conditioned, warm air from your home and sends it up the chimney. As this warm air escapes, it creates negative pressure, drawing cold, outside air in through window cracks and door gaps in other rooms.
Moisture influences how we feel. During the winter, colder temperatures drive down the amount of moisture in the air because cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air. NOTE: The amount of moisture in the air is measured by the dew point. So the lower the dew point, the drier it is.
The largest source of heat loss in a typical house is uncontrolled air leakage (drafts), accounting for up to 38% of lost heat. Warm air escapes through hidden cracks and gaps, while the following structural areas are the primary culprits for escaping warmth: