Does one need a chimney cap or not? Does the rain bother the chimney or affect the soot? If there is an inch of rain that means there is an inch or rain in the chimney, where did it go? When I run the wood stove I can hear the rain sizzling when it hits the stove pipe in the chimney. Why are some chimneys capped and others not? Some I guess have problems with squirrels or birds nesting in there and I can see a cap in that case.
A cap keeps crap out as well as rain, but the biggest advantage may be improved draft. When your furnace kicks on, for example, it takes a few minutes for the chimney to warm up and start drawing efficiently. The cap helps it warm up faster. That contributes to fuel savings. A cap also helps prevent wind from blowing DOWN the chimney.
I have at several locations had racoons, birds, pigeons all alive at the bottom, I pulled out the birds alive and let them go, the coon I smoked out, birds sit up there in winter with Ng for heat, die and fall in. A racoon can block a chimney. Unless its steel lined water will help shorten chimneys life from getting motar wet then freezing at night and eventualy brick falls apart blocking draft. Embers from a hot fire Ive seen come out my chimney. A cap has many advantages
Never had a cap on mine until first a bird, then a squirrel go into it. Both got in, could not get out and the cleanout is on the inside, not outside.
The cap keep things clear that way, but in my case it has a downside too. I have a wood burning stove. If the fire is on the modest size, I get condensation on the cap dripping down the chimney and enough to come out hte cleanout.
Ive seen caps like a cone, maybe thats for dripping, maybe angle the cap, maybe next year its to high now.
Blattus Slafaly wrote in news:br2dncVd74SJLXHVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
We never had a cap. Then we discovered a raccoon living in the chimney. My husband installed the cap. He waited until the raccoon left during the evening hours and then installed it. Good thing we only have a one story house.
No cap here, but I have a cat.
Bob (the cat) has not been outside since he was rescued as a feral kitten eight years ago.
One night, not long ago, as I was in bed reading, I heard a commotion in the washroom. Putting on my slippers, I investigated and found Bob with his front paw holding down an itty-bitty chimney swift.
He hadn't hurt the bird, just caught it.
He looked at me, grinned, and meowed.
I retrieved the bird, opened the door, and released it. The bird looked okay as it flew away into the night.
Not Bob.
Had he been wearing a vest, he would have popped the buttons! He was so proud, he wasn't fit to be around the rest of the night. He kept telling me, in emphatic cat talk, about his most excellent adventure!
Kind of endearing, really.
So, if it comes to a vote on the efficacy of chimney caps, I'm pretty sure I know where Bob would come down.
It's not just the chimney that can use a cap, my plumbing vents are now capped with screen since I had a squirrel go down one, drown and clog the drain line.
Caps are necessary. If rainwater gets into the flue, it can cause problems with the flue. In my case, where there is no cap and are no trees nearby, sometimes the rain goes all the way down to the damper. It makes the house smell like a camp fire for a few days.
Some chimneys are capped because those owners or installers knew it should be done.
Blattus Slafaly wrote in news:br2dncVd74SJLXHVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Just put one on. It serves several important & convenient purposes. A plain black 13"x13" will cost you 32 bucks (online info) at orange Borg.
[rant on]It was $23 in mid June when I got one. That's a 23% increase in 3+ months. Must be the added fuel cost for shipping weight, ehhh? Say it weighs maybe 6 lbs. That's a buck a pound increase. Bundle of shingles about 70lbs. Used to be about $15. Wonder why they are not $85 a bundle now. Last I saw the bundle that used to be $15 is now about 18.
Bastards.
[rant off]Red Green wrote in news:Xns9B31D54BAC4B0RedGreen@216.168.3.70:
Oops! $26 in mid June
I plan on making mine using a square block the size of the chimney wrapped with aluminum sheeting attached to angle iron with threaded rod to clamp it on the top cap.
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