Clean Sweeps of Michigan's Blog

Extra Protection with a Top Sealing Damper

Keeping moisture, debris, and animals out of your chimney is the most important thing you can do to extend the life of your fireplace system. Many homeowners, however, worry that their chimney caps are not doing enough to protect their fireplace systems.

One of the most recent innovations in the fireplace industry – the top sealing damper – was designed as a way to provide extra protection to your chimney system. Not only can top sealing dampers protect your chimney as well as if not better than a chimney cap, but they can also help save money by improving the efficiency of your fireplace system.

What makes top sealing dampers different?

Most homes have fireplaces with throat dampers. Throat dampers are located at the top of the firebox and separate the firebox from the rest of the flue. While the throat damper seals off the firebox, the rest of the chimney is left exposed. Because of this, chimney caps are needed to protect the top of the flue from animals, water, and debris.

Top sealing dampers, however, are able to seal off the entire chimney structure from the outside, not just the firebox. Located at the top of the flue, when closed top sealing dampers prevent animals, debris, and moisture from getting into the fireplace system. Unlike chimney caps, whose mesh sides can be damaged or pulled away by animals seeking entrance, the seal created by top sealing dampers is nearly impossible to break.

Top sealing dampers and efficiency

In addition to protecting your fireplace, top sealing dampers are also popular because of the energy savings they can provide. Because traditional throat dampers leave the chimney structure open to the outside, the air temperature in the chimney can fluctuate based on outside temperature. This can affect the air temperature is surrounding rooms, causing your HVAC system to have to work harder to keep a consistent indoor air temperature.

Because top sealing dampers close off the entire chimney system, the air temperature in the chimney remains more consistent. This, in turn, keeps your thermostat from running due to reaction to air temperature changes, saving you money on utilities.

How to use a top sealing damper

This clip is courtesy of Richie Baxley at Environmental Chimney Service in Asheville NC.

Just like a traditional throat damper, top sealing dampers must be opened when the fireplace is in use to prevent smoke and gasses like carbon monoxide from building up in your home. To use a top sealing damper, a lever or pulley in the firebox is used to open the damper before fireplace use. Once the fire is completely extinguished, the damper can be safely closed.

Some homeowners worry that top sealing dampers leave their chimney exposed when they are open. However, because top sealing dampers should only be opened when the fireplace is in use, the rising smoke and hot air act as a natural deterrent to animals such as birds and small mammals. Likewise, many top sealing dampers are designed to keep large animals such as raccoons out even when open.

Even if your home as a well-sealed throat damper, a top sealing damper can provide an additional layer of protection. Contact Clean Sweeps of Michigan today to learn how a top sealing damper can protect your chimney and help save you money!

Chimney Terminology: Chimney or Flue or Vent?

Despite its simple appearance, your chimney is much more complicated than it might seem. While chimneys may decorate your roofline, they serve a much more important purpose than for mere aesthetics.

Because there are a variety of different kinds of chimneys, many homeowners do not know the correct chimney terminology to use when describing their fireplace system. Below is a discussion of three of the most commonly confused fireplace terms: chimney, flue, and vent.

Chimney

The chimney is the vertical stack that extends from the top of your roofline, allowing smoke, gas, or other products of combustion to exit your home. A chimney may pass through other parts of the house before exiting your home; this is especially true in homes where the chimney is not on an exterior wall or is on the first floor.

Chimneys are typically constructed of bricks, mortar, or other masonry or are factory built and made of stainless steel. Some factory built chimneys are covered with a decorative chimney chase or siding or other roofing materials to match the rest of the house.

In a discussion of the parts of your fireplace system, the chimney tends to be the exterior portion that is exposed to the elements.

Flue

The term flue refers to the passage by which smoke, gas, or products of combustion are moved to the outdoors. Ducts, pipes, vents, and even chimneys can all be considered types of flues. The purpose of the flue is to protect the rest of the home from the heat of the byproducts of combustion caused by a fire.

Most homes with modern fireplaces have a lined flue. Many flues are lined with tiles, although they may need to be relined over time due to damage or decay. Chimneys with damaged flue liners are often repaired with cast in place or stainless steel liners to ensure the flue has no gaps or holes through with hot air, gas, embers, or sparks could escape.

Vent

Vents are similar to fireplaces and flues in that they may pass through other parts of the house and they do need temperature protection to prevent a transfer of heat from the vent to the surrounding building materials. However, vents are not designed to handle the high heat produced by wood burning fires. Because of this, vents are most commonly used with gas fireplaces.

Vents may exit vertically through the roof, but may also exit horizontally through a wall. Like chimneys and flues, vents allow the byproducts of combustion to exit the home while simultaneously drawing in outside air to fuel the fire. By drawing in air from the outside into a closed combustion system, fireplaces with vents are able to operate much more efficiently than their open hearth counterparts.

If you’re unsure as to whether your fireplace system has a chimney, flue, or vent, contact Clean Sweeps of Michigan today. Our highly trained staff can evaluate the health of your fireplace system while making sure you know the correct terminology to use for the future.