Gas Fireplace Damper Open Or Closed

A chain that s dangling freely and unsecured is a telltale sign that the damper is open.

Gas fireplace damper open or closed.

Is the fireplace damper open or closed. You can also tell if your damper is open or closed just by listening. How to open your chimney damper. If it s hooked to the side of the fireplace wall then this probably means that the damper is closed.

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. 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. In the picture above you see an open masonry chimney damper and the picture below shows it closed. It s not slightly open it s all the way open.

An open damper allows smoke to exit the chimney rather than backing up into the house. You ve got to make sure that vents ph up the house. The damper should always be fully open before lighting a fire and when the fireplace is in use. Unless you have a vent free fireplace the first step you should take before lighting a fire in a wood burning fireplace or gas fireplace is to open the damper.

Gasketed sealed doors keep cold air from infiltrating. Operating the fireplace with the damper partially closed will not. Note that most epa certified zc fireplaces do not have a damper. Just a bit of fyi.

If you start a fire when the damper is closed you ll realize the mistake quickly when the room fills up with smoke. And in fact in some gas log situations where it s conversion from a wood burner to a gas burning log they put a bracket on a damper to prevent you from ever being able to close it because that could be very dangerous. Close it when it s not it use. Close the fireplace damper in preparation for a hurricane or heavy rains.

If you home is 2 story and you leave the damper open and don t have glass doors the flow through the damper and this is with fireplace at room temp can be over 500 feet per minute. The damper in many zc fireplaces is a simple metal plate that pivots open and pivots closed when a lever is pushed or pulled. See hurricane fireplace tips to see more about why you should close the fireplace damper with you are expecting heavy rains.