The Dangers Created By Fireplaces And How To Prevent Catastropy

By Author: Glen Kellogg
Total Articles: 20
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Dangers Brought About by Carbon Monoxide and Fireplaces
Carbon monoxide and fireplaces are a dangerous combination. Carbon monoxide is a type of gas that kills almost 300 people in their homes each year. Carbon monoxide is given off by burning any fuel. Therefore, any fuel-burning appliance in the home is a possible CO source. When appliances are kept in good working form, they produce little CO. Appliances that aren't operating properly can produce deadly CO concentrations in your home. CO poisoning can also be caused by using charcoal grill inside the house or when a car is left running in the garage. Sources of carbon monoxide include room heaters, furnace, charcoal grill, range, water heater, auto in closed garage, and fireplaces. Precautionary measures must be taken to avoid the deadly duo that's carbon monoxide and fireplaces that are inadequately maintained.

Fireplace safety tips include the following:

· Fuel-burning furnaces, appliances, or fireplaces should have at least one CO detector that's ideally situated, such as in a hallway or sleeping area.

· The fireplace damper must be opened ...
... before lighting the fire. It should be kept open until the ashes have cooled. The damper must not be closed if the ashes are still warm. The build-up of poisonous gases inside the home can be avoided if the damper is left open. When carbon monoxide

· Gasoline, charcoal lighter or other fuel should not be used to light or relight a fire since the vapors can explode. Flammable materials must never be kept near a fire. And, flammable liquids must never be stored in the home. Charcoal must never be used in a fireplace because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

· A chimney that is blocked or clogged due to leaves or soot can cause combustion byproducts, including CO, to be expelled into the home. Cracked masonry could also cause an obstruction. Regular inspection and cleaning using a chimney sweep can help helps prevent or remove blockages. The chimney could also be fitted with a screen cap to dissuade nest-building.

· A common source of carbon monoxide include wood-burning and gas powered fireplaces. To make sure there is fresh air, the window should be left open a few inches. Treated woods, painted wood, and scrap lumber should not be burned in a wood burning fireplace. Only seasoned firewood must be burned.

· The chimney dampers must also be opened before using fireplaces. Opening it can produce a draft that goes up the chimney. This will provide the fire air to burn efficiently at the same time providing ventilation of smoke and carbon monoxide.

· Gas logs or burners emit a lot of CO since the less-efficient, yellow flames are desired for a cozy atmosphere. Those who own ventless fireplaces must be extra careful since these appliance expel all combustion byproducts into the room. While the fireplace is run, the combustion process is fueled by the oxygen taken from the room. When there is less oxygen, the combustion becomes less efficient, giving off more CO.

· Regular inspection and maintenance of the flue, burner, and chimney should significantly lessen any CO troubles affecting the furnace.

· A qualified technician must be hired to examine chimneys and fuel-burning appliances. This is to ensure that these devices are functioning properly. The technician should also check that there is no blockage that's preventing the harmful fumes from being vented out of the house.

These are just some measures that people can take to guarantee a safety home. It's a better alternative to spend a few dollars on proper maintenance of the home than to suffer the consequences of neglect.

JB Anthony is the webmaster of Fireplace-Ideas.Info. Visit Fireplace-Ideas.Info now for tips on fireplaces, fireplace designs, and fireplace accessories.

How to determine if a reline with a chimney liner is needed:
The chimney has missing or damaged flue tiles.
The cross sectional area of the flue of a chimney venting solid fuels with no walls exposed to the outside below the roof line is more than three times the cross-sectional area of appliance flue collar.
The cross-sectional area of the flue of a chimney venting solid fuels with one or more walls exposed to the outside below the roof line is more than two times the cross sectional area of appliance flue collar
There are hairline cracks in the flue tiles or mortar missing between the flue tiles.
The system has a history of repeated excessive creosote buildup.
Deemed necessary by the appliance manufacturer.
Before making a chimney repair with a new liner read this:
Consideration should be given to determine whether the chimney is a good candidate for relining with a stainless steel system. A thorough inspection must be made of the general condition of the chimney. Loose or deteriorated mortar and cracked or missing bricks should be repaired.

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Care should be taken to locate and close any holes not being used as a thimble. The chimney should be thoroughly cleaned of tar glazed creosote, debris and other obstructions. Only one coal or wood burning appliance should be connected to a single chimney flue. Do not connect a wood burning appliance to any flue venting a gas fired appliance.

NFPA 211 requires that the chimney be at least 3 feet higher than the point where it passes through the roof and at least 2 feet higher than any part of the roof within 10 feet measured horizontally.

The Dangers of Fireplaces
By Jim McDonald
The high cost of heating fuel and the fear of ballooning utility bills may temp you to use your homes built-in fireplace as a supplementary heat source for your home.

There can be many problems with primarily ornamental type fireplaces that can put your home and family at risk. For occasional use these fireplaces may be safe enough, but continual heavy use can cause design and material problems to put your safety on the line.

Building functional, relatively safe masonry fireplaces or to a lesser degree, installing factory made fireboxes and stacks has become a lost art. Not every mason knows how to do it properly or for other reasons it is just not done properly.

Most experts agree that a fireplace wastes more energy that it supplies. A roaring fire can draw three to four hundred cubic feet of air per minute; this air has to come from outside the home to feed the fire. It may be warm in front of the fire but cold air entering the home through cracks or around door seals will more than offset any gain produced by the heat from the fireplace.

Continual or even occasional use of a fireplace builds up creosote on the chimney liner. This is especially true with a chimney built with commonly used clay flue liner tiles. Creosote comes out of the burning wood as a gas and then condenses on the relatively cool flue tiles as a tar like substance.

Over a period of time, quite a bit of creosote can build up coating the inside of the chimney with a combustible material. This combustible material only has to reach ignition temperature to become a roaring un-controllable blowtorch. A pro-longed fire in a fireplace may bring the flue temperature up enough to cause ignition, and let me tell you, I speak from personal experience, that chimney fires are no fun and will scare the ever-loving daylights out of you and possibly burn your house down.

Many fireplace potential problems are not visible and can't be found no matter who inspects it. So take my advice and consider your fireplace un-safe for prolonged use. It is just not worth the risk.

For further questions or for technical support please call (800) 943-1515
Or go to www.chimneylinerdepot.com
Glen Kellogg is a certified chimney professional that has single handidly revolutionized
the Do It-Yourself-Chimney-Repair-Industry by teaching homeowners how to save thousands
in basic installation and repair charges.