chrisprickett Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 I have an inspection this afternoon, where the SPDS (Seller's Property Disclosure Statement) states that the fireplace flue is under 10 centimeters, so it doesn't require a flue damper. I don't deal with many wood burning fireplaces... anybody got a reference? thanks in advance, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 If the flue is less than 10cm it has to be a pellet stove. I'd refer to the installation manual for the heater. 10cm is barely over 2 1/2 inches and dampening on a lot of these is a factor of controlling combustion air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Hi Chris, I see a lot of woodstoves here. Some have dampers but most do not anymore. Like Chad says, combustion now is usually controlled by regulating air intake. There is no discussion of dampers in my HVAC Code Check, although it has pretty extensive specs for wood-burning devices under ICBO, UBC and NFPA requirements. All it says for all is that the device must be installed in accordance with its labeling and listing, that the vent can't be any smaller than the collar and that (NFPA) the flue can't be any larger than 3 times the diameter of the vent collar. If they've disclosed that, my guess is that they'll have the installation manual lying around nearby to 'take the wind out of the inspectors sails' should he comment about the lack of a damper. Whenever I'm in doubt about one of these, I'll inspect it as I see it, state that I'm unsure about such-and-such requirement and tell them I'll check it out and call them with an answer. If it is something that I know I won't be able to do right away, I'll take down whatever data I can find off of the appliance, give it to the client and recommend the client obtain the instruction manual from the owner, to double-check it, or contact the manufacturer and request they e-mail or fax specs for the appliance to them. It seems to work fine. I've only had to ever go back once - when a client's insurance company insisted that a special form be filled out by and inspector to document everything about the stove. I was on-site 15 minutes and got paid $75. to fill in some blanks with data from the stove and sign my name to the document. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul MacLean Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Here I go, flying by the seat of my pants again, [:-dunce] but if I remember Dale Febs' Fireplace and the Inspector class right, a damper is not a required item. You don't have to have a damper in a fireplace...so a missing damper is not a problem (unless of course you're energy conscious). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisprickett Posted February 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Turns out, when I get there, it's an 8" flue, not 10 centimeters, as stated. It wa sone of those :builder special" gas fireplaces, where all they do is install the firebox, flue, and stubout, and you go buy the rest. I had not damper, but it didn't have anything else either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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