How to Control a Fireplace Damper

A fireplace damper doesn't work in isolation but is one component of a system that functions (or malfunctions) collectively. It can help regulate the fire's intensity, but no amount of damper control will tame a poorly designed and poorly functioning fireplace. There are, however, steps you can take to determine how much the damper is influencing your fire. The smoke alarms might go off during this procedure but as long as the smoke is originating only from back-drafting out of the fireplace and you're tending to the situation, you'll know there's no safety concern.

Type of wood you normally burn in the fireplace Helper

Instructions

- 1
  Pick a time when the fewest occupants will be in the house and start a fire in the fireplace. Regardless of other circumstances, starting a fire should always be done with the damper in the fully opened position.
- 2
  Experiment with the damper by trying it in different positions. Do this during different stages of the fire. Begin early in a newly lit fire. Adjust again in the middle stages after a fire has been burning for a while. Finally, adjust the damper later when the fire has a fairly thick bed of coals.
- 3
  Have a helper keep an eye on the fire then go outside and check conditions, making note of the temperature, wind speed and wind direction. All these factors will affect how a fireplace behaves.
- 4
  Return to the inside and observe what the fire is doing. Adjust the damper to a more open setting if the fireplace is smoking into the room even slightly.
- 5
  Get comfortable with operating the damper under the current set of conditions.
- 6
  Repeat the previous steps at different times under different conditions of temperature and wind.

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