Chimney Cap Vs Damper

A rain cap a chimney cover or an animal guard is something that mounts over the top of the flue.

Chimney cap vs damper.

With the ability to also serve as a chimney cap a top end damper can do a much better job than a traditional throat damper of keeping heated and cooled air inside your home. In the case of fireplaces it also slows down the heated house air from going up the chimney. On the other hand the sides of a chimney cap always allow air to flow. Chimney dampers the fundamental difference between chimney caps and dampers is that dampers shut off the flue restricting airflow.

The options for dampers vary with where the damper is installed. Chimney caps provide protection against natural hazards and debris while chimney dampers essentially act as a seal and are able to prevent air loss and down drafts. The payback period is different for different people but top sealing dampers pay for themselves over time. Mostly all fireplaces aside from gas will have a damper somewhere in their chimney system.

The best solution is to install a chimney cap that is compatible with your top damper. We would like to tell you more about the functions of chimney caps and dampers and how a top end damper works. If you are dealing with chimney swifts chimney caps are your friend. The inability for a chimney cover to close does work for gas fireplaces however since gas logs produce carbon monoxide all gas fireplaces must be open at all times.

Top dampers with chimney caps whenever your top damper is open rain or unwelcome visitors like birds squirrels bats or rats can enter. A damper is a device which slows down the flow of smoke. Some have a spark arrestor screen and some are constructed like a standard chimney cap and will keep the rain out even when open. Fireplace and chimney authority offers a wide variety of chimney caps from stainless steel copper and galvanized metal.

This is the main purpose of a fireplace damper.