When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

On Sep 2, 6:01*am, mm wrote:
When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire. *

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? *Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days. The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. People have been gassed with CO. I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. It was of third
world manufacture.

On Sep 2, 2:53*am, harry wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01*am, mm wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire. *

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? *Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?




The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. *People have been gassed with CO. *I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. *It was of third
world manufacture.

wrote:
On Sep 2, 2:53 am, wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01 am, wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?




The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. People have been gassed with CO. I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. It was of third
world manufacture.

Fireplaces are a **** poor form of heating anyway. Put in an air tight
stove and you won't have to worry about it.

--
LSMFT

I look outside this morning and everything was in 3D!

mm wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

The 1700's house we lived in when I was a kid had dampers in all 6
fireplaces. No one had lived in it since the Civil War- so the
dampers were installed before that. They appeared to be original.


At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

Caves and teepees had no dampers. I think Franklin writes about
the value of a damper in his patent on his friend's stove. [around
1750 and not much like the 'Franklin' stove we know of today]


But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Originally, maybe. Houses don't usually have enough airflow to try
that today-- you could open a window in the room.


Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

I would guess mid-1800's-- but that's just a guess.

Jim

On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:20:09 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

mm wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

The 1700's house we lived in when I was a kid had dampers in all 6
fireplaces. No one had lived in it since the Civil War- so the
dampers were installed before that. They appeared to be original.


At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

Caves and teepees had no dampers. I think Franklin writes about
the value of a damper in his patent on his friend's stove. [around
1750 and not much like the 'Franklin' stove we know of today]


But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Originally, maybe. Houses don't usually have enough airflow to try
that today-- you could open a window in the room.


Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

I would guess mid-1800's-- but that's just a guess.

Jim

Thanks all. Thats' what I sort of thought, not counting what Harry
said.

On Sep 2, 10:46*am, mm wrote:
On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:20:09 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:



mm wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

The 1700's house we lived in when I was a kid had dampers in all 6
fireplaces. * *No one had lived in it since the Civil War- so the
dampers were installed before that. *They appeared to be original.

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

Caves and teepees had no dampers. * * I think Franklin writes about
the value of a damper in his patent on his friend's stove. *[around
1750 and not much like the 'Franklin' stove we know of today]

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire. *

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? *Hence the name?

Originally, maybe. * *Houses don't usually have enough airflow to try
that today-- *you could open a window in the room. *

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

I would guess mid-1800's-- but that's just a guess. *

Jim

Thanks all. *Thats' what I sort of thought, not counting what Harry
said.

==
Dampers controlled the rate of combustion in all kinds of stoves and
fireplaces. Without them a good many homes would have burned down. If
all the fireplaces in North America were closed off or removed we
could save one pile of money on energy. The wasted heat from
fireplaces is totally unnecessary.
==

On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:16:29 -0700, trader4 wrote:
Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a pull
chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another case
where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?

I've lived in a few UK houses with 'open' fireplaces, the youngest
probably a mid-1970's build. None of them had dampers. I've not seen many
in the US, but the few that I have had all had dampers (and also doors
that could be closed)

At a few of the UK places, we did have covers that would fit over the
fronts of the fireplaces and at least stop air movement and stop some of
the heat from escaping up the chimney.

cheers

Jules

On Sep 2, 1:01*am, mm wrote:
When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire. *

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? *Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

"It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps?"

I had a friend that moved into an renovated farmhouse. It had a great
room that was both the living room and dining room, separated by
furniture. There was a huge fireplace in the living room area and a
coal burning stove in the dining room.

They had been using the coal burning stove for a few weeks (topping it
off 3 times a day) and had used the fireplace for small fires on
occasion.

One wintry evening they threw a party and built a huge fire in the
fireplace, leaving the glass doors open for effect.

The house kept getting colder and colder so the husband went to check
the coal stove. The temperature was down and the coal was almost out.

Curious as to what was going on, he opened the door on the stove,
coating himself and most of the dining room area with coal dust.

Turns out the fireplace was pulling air down the coal stove chimney
and putting the coal out. Once he opened the door, the rush of air
spewed coal dust everywhere.

What a mess!

Years ago, I was helping my boss install a furnace. Of course, it was
cold. So, the folks lit a fire in the fireplace. The make up air came
donwn the furnace chimney, which was drawing pure fireplace smoke. The
bitter acrid smoke was really killing me. I ended up wrapping a
shopping bag over the end of the flue, and some duct tape. And then go
open a cellar window to let some make-up air in.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"DerbyDad03"
wrote in message news:b8efb838-4b44-4344-9082-

Turns out the fireplace was pulling air down the coal stove chimney
and putting the coal out. Once he opened the door, the rush of air
spewed coal dust everywhere.

What a mess!

On 9/2/2010 7:55 AM, LSMFT wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 2, 2:53 am, wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01 am, wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?




The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. People have been gassed with CO. I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. It was of third
world manufacture.

Fireplaces are a **** poor form of heating anyway. Put in an air tight
stove and you won't have to worry about it.


Exactly. An air tight stove doesn't need a damper.

On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:52:32 -0400, Tony
wrote:

On 9/2/2010 7:55 AM, LSMFT wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 2, 2:53 am, wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01 am, wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?




The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. People have been gassed with CO. I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. It was of third
world manufacture.

Fireplaces are a **** poor form of heating anyway. Put in an air tight
stove and you won't have to worry about it.


Exactly. An air tight stove doesn't need a damper.
Because an air tight stove, by design, has built-in adjustable
"dampers" on the air inlet side.

An airtight stove with no dampers would either not be an "airtight",
would not be a stove, or would be uncontrolable.

On 9/2/2010 9:07 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:52:32 -0400,
wrote:

On 9/2/2010 7:55 AM, LSMFT wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 2, 2:53 am, wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01 am, wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?




The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. People have been gassed with CO. I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. It was of third
world manufacture.

Fireplaces are a **** poor form of heating anyway. Put in an air tight
stove and you won't have to worry about it.


Exactly. An air tight stove doesn't need a damper.
Because an air tight stove, by design, has built-in adjustable
"dampers" on the air inlet side.

An airtight stove with no dampers would either not be an "airtight",
would not be a stove, or would be uncontrolable.

Not sure but I don't think they call the air inlet adjustments
"dampers". So with no dampers it would be controlled by the air
adjustments in the stove, nothing in the flue. Ah, I did see one post
somewhere that someone called them "air inlet dampers", but that isn't
the norm. You can call them what you want and I'm most likely know what
you are talking about, so being finicky about the correct term doesn't
matter much to me. I simply haven't seen a stove manufacturer call the
air inlets dampers. Maybe I don't get out enough. ;-)

mm wrote in
:

snip

....
It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?


No, dampers are not universal. My Heat N Glo Northstar doesn't have one.
It's airtight and fire is controlled by air in, not restricting smoke
out.
I thought it was strange when it was installed a couple years ago, but it
works fine.

--
Steve
southiowa

weltschmerz
Pronunciation: 'velt-"shmerts
Function: noun
: mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state
of the world with an ideal state

A more newsworthy question is when did they start putting doctors in
chimneys?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-s...imney/strange/

A California doctor trying to break into her "on again, off again"
boyfriend's home snuck down the chimney and got stuck there, where she died.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, wasn't found for three days. Kotarac had tried to
get into the home of her boyfriend, William Moodie, 58, with a shovel, and
then climbed a ladder to the roof, where she slid feet first into the
chimney. Meanwhile, Moodie slipped away unnoticed from another door, because
he was hoping "to avoid confrontation."

I've always wonder just how smart some doctors are and how they got their
medical license. Now I have even more reason to wonder . . .

--
Bobby G.

On Sep 4, 8:13*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
A more newsworthy question is when did they start putting doctors in
chimneys?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-s...a-doctor-dies-...

A California doctor trying to break into her "on again, off again"
boyfriend's home snuck down the chimney and got stuck there, where she died.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, wasn't found for three days. Kotarac had tried to
get into the home of her boyfriend, William Moodie, 58, with a shovel, and
then climbed a ladder to the roof, where she slid feet first into the
chimney. Meanwhile, Moodie slipped away unnoticed from another door, because
he was hoping "to avoid confrontation."

I've always wonder just how smart some doctors are and how they got their
medical license. *Now I have even more reason to wonder . . .

--
Bobby G.

==
Getting stuck you say?...has no one ever warned Santa Claus of this
danger?
==

On Sep 4, 10:13*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
A more newsworthy question is when did they start putting doctors in
chimneys?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-s...a-doctor-dies-...

A California doctor trying to break into her "on again, off again"
boyfriend's home snuck down the chimney and got stuck there, where she died.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, wasn't found for three days. Kotarac had tried to
get into the home of her boyfriend, William Moodie, 58, with a shovel, and
then climbed a ladder to the roof, where she slid feet first into the
chimney. Meanwhile, Moodie slipped away unnoticed from another door, because
he was hoping "to avoid confrontation."

I've always wonder just how smart some doctors are and how they got their
medical license. *Now I have even more reason to wonder . . .

The most unsettling part of that story:
"Moodie’s housekeeper noticed a strange smell and fluids leaking from
the chimney"
Eww.

R

On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 17:37:07 -0700 (PDT), Jack Hammer
wrote:

On Sep 2, 7:55*am, LSMFT wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 2, 2:53 am, *wrote:
On Sep 2, 6:01 am, *wrote:

When did they start putting dampers in chimneys?

At one time fireplace chimneys went straight to the top with nothing
interfering, right?

But my fireplace chimney has a damper, which I use to keep the indoor
air from escaping when there is no fire.

It can also be used to slow down a fire, perhaps? *Hence the name?

Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? * Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. *And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a
pull chain going down inside the chimney. * Or is this just another
case where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?

The
reason being there has been cases in the past where the damper has
been left closed or material has fallen on to the damper and blocked
the chimney. *People have been gassed with CO. *I bought a wood stove
a few years back that had a damper which I removed. *It was of third
world manufacture.

Fireplaces are a **** poor form of heating anyway. Put in an air tight
stove and you won't have to worry about it.

--
LSMFT

I look outside this morning and everything was in 3D!

I have seen many houses with a fireplace and heated by rads. I could
never figure out
why a rad-type heat exchanger was not build into the fireplace. It
would make the damn thing way
more efficient. You would still need a boiler but the fireplace would
help when in use.

Well, I've seen at least in magazines, fireplaces, metal I guess, with
a fan to blow air behind them to heat up the air for the room. I have
no idea how many have been sold.

On Thu, 2 Sep 2010 18:46:35 +0000 (UTC), Jules Richardson
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:16:29 -0700, trader4 wrote:
Aren't dampers universal in chimneys therse days.

When did that start?

It's not normal practice to put dampers in chimneys these days.

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used? Don;t know about what you do in the UK,
but here in the USA woodburning fireplace chimneys have commonly had
dampers for half at least a half a century. And I've seen the guys on
This Old House replacing old ones that didn't work correctly with new
ones that fit over the top of the chimney from the outside, with a pull
chain going down inside the chimney. Or is this just another case
where harry doesn't know what he's talking about?

I've lived in a few UK houses with 'open' fireplaces, the youngest
probably a mid-1970's build. None of them had dampers. I've not seen many
in the US, but the few that I have had all had dampers (and also doors
that could be closed)

It's the mid 80's since I was in London and I noticed that the
apartment was sort of chilly, by US standards. Maybe if hot air
escapes out the fireplace chimney, because of no damper, the British
are used to that??

At a few of the UK places, we did have covers that would fit over the
fronts of the fireplaces and at least stop air movement and stop some of
the heat from escaping up the chimney.

cheers

Jules

"Roy" wrote in message
...
On Sep 4, 8:13 am, "Robert Green" wrote:
A more newsworthy question is when did they start putting doctors in
chimneys?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-s...a-doctor-dies-...

A California doctor trying to break into her "on again, off again"
boyfriend's home snuck down the chimney and got stuck there, where she
died.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, wasn't found for three days. Kotarac had tried
to
get into the home of her boyfriend, William Moodie, 58, with a shovel, and
then climbed a ladder to the roof, where she slid feet first into the
chimney. Meanwhile, Moodie slipped away unnoticed from another door,
because
he was hoping "to avoid confrontation."

I've always wonder just how smart some doctors are and how they got their
medical license. Now I have even more reason to wonder . . .

--
Bobby G.

==
Getting stuck you say?...has no one ever warned Santa Claus of this
danger?
==

The only ending to the story that could be worse would be if no one noticed
the ooze and started a fire in the fireplace.

Reminds me of a story my cop buddy told me about a man who had hanged
himself in a tool shed - and no one noticed until the smell began to waft
through the neighborhood. All that was left was a dessicated hanging bag of
bones with a big, black greasy spot under it and a smell that could knock
you down. The shed was tight enough to keep out the larger critters, but
the insects had no trouble at all getting in. Worse, still, this happened
at about the same time the movie "The Human Stain" was released, leading to
an inordinate amount of very black humor in the squadroom. I can only
imagine what that house would have smelled like if the doctor had been in
the chimney for that long. I wonder if you can ever get that horrible smell
out?

If an anorexic lady doctor can't fit, in what chimney are Santa's remains to
be found?

--
Bobby G.

In article ,
"Robert Green" wrote:


the chimney for that long. I wonder if you can ever get that horrible smell
out?


Don't know. I know from lots of personal experience, that it almost
never comes out of clothes and it is hard to get it out of your hair.
ABout the only thing I don't miss about fire service is the annual
pulling the week old floater from the river festival (grin). The
saddest was the guy who committed suicide in his 6-month old Corvette in
August and wasn't found for over a week. (OH, the HUMANITY!).

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used?

In the "bad old days" (and even before that) the fireplace was used 24/7
in the "heating season."

The dampers are only needed when fireplaces are more of a decorative
accessory than a source of heat.

Today, unless you have essentially FREE wood, a fireplace just doesn't make
much sense.

If you have one, the odds are that you really will not be using it much so
you want a damper.

If you use LPG for your "fireplace," you may be better off with a "ventless"
fireplace. Your would semi-permanently block off the fireplace flue.

On Sun, 5 Sep 2010 02:56:26 -0400, "John Gilmer"
wrote:

So, you just let heat from the house flow out the chimney when the
fireplace isn't being used?

In the "bad old days" (and even before that) the fireplace was used 24/7
in the "heating season."

You're picturing a cabin with a single fireplace. Our old place
had at least 7 [I said 6 before- but remembered the one that had been
removed- and suspect the kitchen had one, too.]

The big main fireplace that was taken out long before I was alive
probably was burning 24/7 -- and the kitchen fireplace, if there was
one, probably burned year round. But the drawing room, dining
room, and all the bedroom fireplaces that were still there were
dampered & likely the servants fired them up as needed.


The dampers are only needed when fireplaces are more of a decorative
accessory than a source of heat.

Today, unless you have essentially FREE wood, a fireplace just doesn't make
much sense.

We agree here-- if you want heat, a fireplace is a loser- even if your
wood is free. Put in an insert- add a stove. [and for my money, I'd
only do that if the wood was free. I went to propane many years ago
& have always been glad I did. Even since propane became more
expensive than wood.

If you have one, the odds are that you really will not be using it much so
you want a damper.

If you use LPG for your "fireplace," you may be better off with a "ventless"
fireplace. Your would semi-permanently block off the fireplace flue.


That what I replaced my wood stove with. No mess, no work, more
control. And for 6-8 years it was cheaper than buying wood, too.

Only caveat is 'read up on sizing it for your space'. A too large
ventless will create CO risks.

Jim

"RicodJour" wrote in message
...
On Sep 4, 10:13 am, "Robert Green" wrote:
A more newsworthy question is when did they start putting doctors in
chimneys?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-s...a-doctor-dies-...

A California doctor trying to break into her "on again, off again"
boyfriend's home snuck down the chimney and got stuck there, where she
died.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, wasn't found for three days. Kotarac had tried
to
get into the home of her boyfriend, William Moodie, 58, with a shovel, and
then climbed a ladder to the roof, where she slid feet first into the
chimney. Meanwhile, Moodie slipped away unnoticed from another door,
because
he was hoping "to avoid confrontation."

I've always wonder just how smart some doctors are and how they got their
medical license. Now I have even more reason to wonder . . .

The most unsettling part of that story:
"Moodie’s housekeeper noticed a strange smell and fluids leaking from
the chimney"
Eww.

The only worse outcome I can think of is if the guy lit a fire with her
wedged in the chimney and he died from carbon monoxide poisoning. A modern
day "Romeo and Juliet" love story.

--
Bobby G.

Only caveat is 'read up on sizing it for your space'. A too large
ventless will create CO risks.

In theory, YES.

I would recommend that anyone burning fuel for heat should have a CO
detector or two.

Get the type that shows "peak" exposure.

I have lived in "mixed fuel" places for over 20 years. The only time the
CO detector registered non-zero was from my cooking stuff from my ELECTRIC
stove.

Center gas heat, gas water heater, or "ventless" gas heating never got the
CO detector off from ZERO!



Jim

That what I replaced my wood stove with. No mess, no work, more
control. And for 6-8 years it was cheaper than buying wood, too.

Only caveat is 'read up on sizing it for your space'. A too large
ventless will create CO risks.

Well, modern SOP for anyone with a "flame" appliance (stove, furnace,
insert, ventless heater) is to also have a battery operated, digital
readout, CO detector.

But most/all ventless units have an "Oxygen depletion sensor" which cuts off
the heat when the O2 level falls below something like 16%.

Since the ventless units work with grossly excess air, operation on the
"edge" of O2 depletion isn't going to produce any detectable CO.

BTW: The "exygen depletion sensor" is simply a clever relationship between
the pilot light and the thermopyle that operates the gas valve. When the
O2 levels fall, the flame shifts away from the thermopyle and the gas is
shut off.

If one grossly "supersizes" a ventless unit but the unit has a thermostat
it's unlikely to get to the point where the O2 level starts to fall.

There are two potential problems with the ventless units:

1) (as your mentioned) if you have a "tight" house, it actually might make a
dent in the house interior O2 level. If the "safety systems" fail, that
can cause a CO problem.

2) Some folks are sensitive to the combustion products (including "burnt
dust") from these ventless units.