Chimney caps

Paul_28

Are they needed?

Jack Rise

They keep the squirrels out!

Tom_22

I was wondering the same thing. I think they may be most useful in unlined chimneys to retard deterioration of the mortar joints. I don't know that they are of major benefit to a clay flue lined chimney. Probably some, but how much???

H. Green

Chimney Caps

Chimney Caps or vent caps are designed and manufactured for several reasons. Depending on the type of appliance and fuel utilized they may be required or, at a minimum, prudent.
Functions which various caps are certified to provide include:
Regulating or Equalizing Draft - Category I or II Gas Fired - Any cap for a vent or liner that is listed to UL 441, 1777, etc and intended for use with these natural draft appliances must pass a 'Draft Loss Wind Effects Test'. Unless the vent system will pass this test without a cap (unlikely) caps are required by the vent manufacturer.
Minimize Rain Collection in the Vent/Chimney
Prevent entry of debris (or birds or rodents)which may plug the vent/chimney

Dale

May be

They are definately required with B or L vent as part of a listed system. Besides the animal issue, not a small thing in some areas they can reduce the negative wind effects found at some locations.

Tom_22

I've never seen birds or rodents go into a chimney

>...Draft Loss Wind EffectsTest'. Unless the vent system will pass this test without a cap (unlikely) caps are required by the vent manufacturer.

Are you saying caps make the draft better?

> Prevent entry of debris (or birds or rodents)which may plug the vent/chimney


I've never seen birds nesting in a chimney unless it's covered. Birds like to hang out in covered places. The same with most rodent nests I've encountered. I've removed bird and rodent nests and sealed or grated the holes they go into a bunch of times, and it's always been some covered place like a horizontal dryer vent or in the soffit or under the eaves of a house.

I've never seen rodents nesting in a chimney. Wouldn't they fall down if they went in there? Maybe they do and the reason I never see them because I do roofing and I usually see only the tops of the chimneys.

TomBk

Paul_28

8X8

I have a 8X8 flue liner in the chimeny. Would someone recomend a cap manufacture.

Constantin

Well, there is a first time for everything...

... my mum had not one but three woodpeckers go down her chimney, which has a cap but did not have a rodent/bird-proof mesh cover. They flew about the house for a day (the flue damper was open), left little squirt marks everywhere, and also tried to peck their way to freedom. That was so weird, my mother thought the person alerting her about the woodpeckers was on drugs! The cleanup was not only yucky, but extensive too. Nasty critters!

Three weeks later, another lone woodpecker tried the same thing again. This time he/she encountered a closed flue. He/She pecked on it (loud!) but steel is still harder than beaks... We opened the windows, closed the doors to other parts of the house, and chased him/her out. The same day, I installed some fairly thick wire-fence up there to prevent any further visits from wood-peckers. My only mistake? A horizontal as opposed to a vertical wire-mesh installation. That only occured to me after I had finished the job... oh well.

Another story that comes to mind was from a Wallie or someone over at HVAC-Talk who had a CO-meter peg in a external heater house. Turns out that a (now dead) raccoon had blocked the flue pipe with his/her body. I don't know if that chimney was capped or not. However, I have seen raccoons on the prowl on top of house roofs in ME

For our house (currently under renovation) I specc'ed Locktops + a grilled chimney cap. The Locktops ought to do wonders for infiltration/heat loss, the grills will keep the vermin out. If possible, I will elect to put rain or at the very least rodent-proof caps on the roof vents (Radon and DWV). Just one dead squirrel can ruin your whole day...

Constantin

I'm just a fellow homeowner but...

... I thought the stuff over at Homesaver.com looked quite attractive. Not having used any of the stuff, I cannot say if it's any good. Cheers!

Glenn Harrison_2

You've never seen an animal in a chimney before eh!

Well here you go. Here's a Racoon I had to pull out of a boiler flue last winter. He crawed down an 8" round clay tile with no cap. Yes that's his tail sticking out theright side, and his head is at the motorized damper. About 3 feet long.

The one thing the picture can't show is the extreme humidity in the house from the boiler spilling 100% fumes into house, and the worst part, the SMELL of dead, roasted, bloody, rotted carcas thruout the house!!! Thank God no one was home.

By the way, I have pulled numerous birds out of flues, and a squirell (sp?) once also.

Any more questions about why you should have a chimney cap???

DaveC

Squirrels build their nest...

by dropping twigs down the chimney, until a cluster of them wedges at some point - then they drop leaves on top of that. I've seen flue blockages that were over 5 feet in depth - you need a weight on a chain to clear it. Birds do the same thing, if they're persistent enough, and they utilize anything they can find - rags, plastic bags, etc. Racoons and rodents are just looking for a way into the house. We had a boiler sent back here with a rat who chewed his way through the aluminum inlet air filter and got chopped up by the combustion blower and jammed it til it burned up! So - every chimney, vent, and air intake should have a stainless steel cap or screen, IMHO. Hope this helps!

BillW@honeywell

Add Merganser Ducks to the list...

They LOVE fireplace flues. They were a recurrent problem until caps were installed on the fireplace flue when I lived in the Adirondacks, and lo & behold, one showed up in my fireplace here in NJ! Offending duck was removed (alive but pretty dirty) and returned to the pond, and a cap was placed on the both flues the next day. No more quackers in the chimney!

Dennis Tannenbaum

Chiney Caps

One winter a racoon made his way into the my chimney of our guest cottage. The cottage waiting for the spring season when we open it. When I opened the door there were thousands of flies...so thick you could not see the opposite wall. A racoon had made its way into the chimney, died and attracted flies which layed their eggs and the carcuss rotted for 3 months. I cannot begin to tell you how horrible the scene was. The expense for two chiney caps would have saved me thousands.

DaveC

Smoked duck...

with orange sauce - my favorite! Thought I'd seen it all - definitely more appetizing than Glenn's racoon or the putrified cat that I found once, though =:^)}

Ken D.

Chimney caps

I have pulled many an expired bird and squirrel out of chimneys over the years. Mostly end up in the base. Practically speaking, I have seen improvements in draft on many an occasion when caps were installed. It seems that the caps help prevent certain downdrafts and increase the draft possibly by keeping the flue warmer.? Not always, but many times.

Rich Dodge

chimney caps

Chimney caps are needed. I have recently cleaned the remains of at least two pigeons out of our boiler chimney. One from the chimney and the other from in the boiler stack. We will be adding a chimney cap.

tommyoil

Live one

Had live squirrel run out into a basement when I pulled down some 10" flue pipe. She left the babies in the nest behind right there in the chimney base. Freaked out the customer when she saw me carrying out a nest full of baby critters. She was more worried about the mother/baby separation than the squirrel in her house. I offered to put them back and let nature take its course. She refused, and called animal control to catch Momma squirrel. I told her it could have been a whole lot worse. I could have fired the boiler before I pulled down the smoke pipe. I heard smoked squirrel tastes like chicken. Anyone for redneck stew???

J.C.A._3

While working for an oil co.

We wre called in to service a six-pack of Hydrotherm boilers that hadn't seen service for a few years. The building was a converted school, being used now as elderly housing. Something tells me that noone had ever removed the flue collars/connectors or checked the chimney base since replacement.I counted 11 pigeons and lost count of the #of starlings after about 15.

Seems they liked to sit with their butts over the edge of the chimney for a little warmth, but the CO would sometimes get the best of them and they dropped straight down to the base. Some must have just been dazed for a bit as they had walked right to the common 20" collector a good 10 feet from the breech. Funny how much weight they lose being dehydrated...."Light as a feather". Chris

Jack_21

My neighbor had a wild turkey

that used to sit on top of his chimney. He was heating with wood so every once in a while I'd see Charlie bailing out of the house with the smoke chasing him and he'd have to shoo the bird away. Charlie must have liked that bird because he did it time and again!

S Ebels

Cap with a screen

I pulled 23 starlings, 4 pigeons, 2 wood ducks and 3 mallards out of a chimney a couple years ago. The house was by a river in a small town near where I live in Michigan. Right on the river. The lady's boiler quit and alerted her to the problem which was, that the dead critters had piled up past the breeching openign in the chimney. Thankfully the spill switch on the draft hood tripped and locked out the boiler. The place still read over 35ppm when I checked ambient air CO later in the day.
Caps with screens are mandatory IMHO.

ScottMP

Sounds like

Dinner for four

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Harold

How about vents for Munchkin

What about caps for the vents for boilers such as the Munchkin. Is it useful and is there anything available for the concentric vent?