Chimney Smoke Chamber Diagram

In a fireplace without a chimney cover the rain water will pool on the smoke shelf mix with the soot behind the damper and form an acidic slurry that can destroy the mortar joints.

Chimney smoke chamber diagram.

Typically the sides and front of the smoke chamber slope. If you can t reach it this isn t a diy project. Combustion chamber and smoke chamber fig. Smoke shelf is the area behind the damper that is nearly level.

This ensures total perimeter support for the flue liner. 5a optional smoke shelf configuration fig. It is at this point that a damper followed by a smoke shelf and a smoke chamber are provided to help direct the smoke and combustion gases out of the chimney to the outside as shown in figure 1. Dec 18 2015 wondering whats inside a chimney or what needs to be checked durning a chimney inspection.

The back of the smoke chamber is usually vertical. Most chimney fires start in the smoke chamber smoke shelf area so it s the most important area to clean figure a. If properly designed a smoke chamber is supposed to smoothly evacuate the smoke and products of combustion out of the fireplace to the flue and eventually out of the chimney to the outdoors. Keeping these joints in good repair with a high temperature refractory mortar will help ensure the fire is contained.

The smoke chamber is located just above the. The smoke chamber is the area above the fireplace firebox where you build your fire just below the flue. Parts of a fireplace diagram. This space is used to allow smoke to mix and curl in a circular motion and rise into the flue.

For the safety and efficiency of your fireplace it is important that any gaps cracks or holes in the smoke chamber be sealed and the brick corbelling be made smooth. It is the bottom of the chimney. Call our chimney sweeps in the gaithersburg md area for help. According to the national fire protection association nfpa defective smoke chambers are the third leading cause of chimney related house fires.

The purpose of the smoke chamber is to compress the byproducts of combustion into a smaller space the flue inside the chimney without causing. Most chambers are 3 4 feet in height but can be shorter or taller and out of proportion. The diagram shows the layout of a fireplace and chimney commonly found in a home but as all houses are built differently the layout and design of your fireplace may differ from the one shown above. Beginning at the level of the smoke shelf the front and sides of the smoke chamber are corbeled in and the rear wall is constructed vertically.

Since that area is hard to reach in some fireplaces check yours to see if you can reach into it and still have room to maneuver a brush.