[Greenbuilding] Fireplace questions

[Clarke Olsen]

   I have used a 4" stovepipe to bring in outside air, with an 
off-the-shelf
   back-draft damper which, though plastic, was located 12' away (the
   intake passed through a utility space. The other way to limit heat 
loss
   from a fireplace is to have and use a damper in - or on top of - the 
chimney
   to cut the continuing draft when the fire is out.
   Clarke Olsen

On Nov 8, 2006, at 10:43 AM, Keith Winston wrote:

> The best argument against outside feeds is that negative pressure
> situations could result in fire being blown backwards through the air
> intake, which is typically made of plastic. I suppose either building 
> it
> of metal (though until you build it like another chimney,
> clearance-to-combustibles and all, you aren't theoretically safe), or
> one might be able to fit some type of one-way damper on it (like a cape
> damper built to withstand high temperatures). I have no idea if there's
> any evidence of this problem actually occurring in a properly designed
> and installed system.