Your Fireplace Damper

Your Fireplace Damper. What is a damper? If you use your damper will 20 gallons of water mysteriously drop into your fireplace to extinguish the flames? No. Actually a damper is the open or close switch for your flue. The handle is usually just above and inside the fireplace. The handle is like a lever that turns the damper to the vertical open position and the horizontal or closed position. Damper open allows the smoke to spiral up and out of your chimney. Damper closed, and this is important, after the fire is out, and you prevent heat loss. If the damper is closed when you start your fire or while it is still dying out, smoke and fumes have no where to go but inside your beautiful living room. Not good. Dampers, in time, do rust out and or wear out. If yours needs to be replaced, the safest way to ensure that the replacement is the right size is to take the existing one into your supplier. They can give you a damper that is the right size for your chimney. Another type of damper attaches to the chimney cap. A long steel cable drops down to your fireplace with which to open or close the damper.