If a person in the house has a stove, a fireplace or has his own bath, then you should think about a spark arrester in the chimney. This device is quite simple in design and very effective to use. The importance of the availability of this device is difficult to overestimate, because, despite its simplicity, it will carefully protect the room from sparks, which greatly reduces the risk of fire.
Spark arrestor purpose
The most relevant device will be in the house, which is built of flammable materials (wood). The chimney is an integral part of the house in which there is a furnace, but at the same time it is also a source of danger, since during operation the temperature rises to high values and sparks begin to fly. It is in order to neutralize sparks, and this device is intended. It is engaged in the "capture" of sparks flying out of the furnace, which significantly increases safety.
Design and use
The spark arrester in the chimney should be installed during the construction of the building itself. This requirement is one of the main ones, provided that a solid fuel boiler or stove is installed in the house. In its design, this element is quite similar to the deflector. However, this device is designed to be protected from the wind, not from sparks. It is also worth adding that the spark arrester on the chimney will also cost less than the deflector. Saving a large amount of material resources is achieved due to the fact that you can create it with your own hands from improvised means without buying expensive materials. The installation of this device is carried out on the upper edge of the chimney.
The design of any spark arrestor consists of several key details:
- The first important detail is the body, which is designed to connect other parts together, and also with its help the device is attached to the pipe;
- the grid - this is the part of the spark arrester that will capture and extinguish sparks;
- a small part will be required that will extinguish the emerging flame;
- visor.
Instrument Properties
The spark arrester installed on the chimney has a number of some properties that are characteristic exclusively for these devices:
- installation of this device is possible only on a chimney operating on solid fuel;
- the cell size of the part that is the spark arrester should not be more than 5 mm;
- the installation of a spark arrester in a chimney is mandatory if the roof itself is made of combustible or flammable substances;
- the installation of a spark arrestor will be mandatory if the chimney itself does not have any turns or bends, which is most often found in the design of the chimney of a bathhouse, sauna;
- this device protects not only from the ingress of sparks into the building, but also from other troubles, such as birds, for example, which can begin to twist the nest in the chimney;
- when assembling the spark arrestor into the chimney with your own hands, it is recommended to make the spark-catching grid removable, since this element is quickly clogged and will have to be cleaned.
Classes
Today, there are many different schemes by which you can assemble a spark arrester of a very different design. However, all of them can be conditionally divided into two large groups. The first category is devices that are manufactured in the form of a deflector. The second category is a device that looks like a casing, which is created using a metal mesh.
There is only one requirement, which is considered basic and must be met for any type of spark arrestor: this device must maintain constant normal traction, which is necessary to maintain the normal operation of the heating system of the house or bath. It is important to ensure that combustion products can move through the chimney without any obstruction.
Absorber principle
The question of choosing the size of the spark arrestor for the chimney pipe is a purely individual question, since this parameter will depend on the size of the chimney itself. However, it is worth noting that most often this characteristic is in the range from 80 to 550 mm. The size of the visor for the device will depend on the size of the entire pipe.
If we talk about the principle of operation of this device, then it can be noted that it does not change in any way depending on the design, layout or size of the structure. It is quite simple, and looks like this:
- fuel burns in the heating system, forming combustion products, which must be led out through the pipe;
- when approaching the exit, these substances will collide with the spark arrester and change their direction;
- right at the outlet of the pipe, sparks will be caught by the spark trap and extinguished in this element of the device.
The principle of operation is simple, but it is quite effective.
Spark absorber circuit
Of course, to purchase such a device and install it on the pipe is a fairly simple solution, but it is worth noting that it is somewhat costly. If a spark arrester for a chimney for a bathhouse or a house is still necessary, but you don’t want to spend money on its purchase, you can make it yourself.
There are several simple schemes, using which, you can make such a device. The easiest option is to install a plug on top of the pipe, in which you need to drill several holes. It is very important to monitor one crucial parameter - the cross section of the stub. This characteristic in numerical value should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe on which it is planned to be installed. This requirement is justified by the fact that the installation of the plug will be carried out on top of the pipe. Photo spark arrester on a chimney of this type is quite simple to find, and it can be used as a good example.
Device description
Of course, making this type of spark arrestor with your own hands is quite simple, but there are also some difficulties, the occurrence of which complicates the whole process. The most difficult aspect in the manufacture of the device is that it is not known how many holes should be and what diameter they should be. To solve this problem, some calculations are necessary. If you make a mistake at this stage, then installing a spark damper will lead to a decrease in chimney draft. In addition, there is another small drawback. A plug of this outdoor type will eventually become covered with soot, due to which an unpleasant odor may begin to appear in the room.
There is another simplest version of the spark arrester - a metal grid mounted on the pipe with a clamp. However, this option is also poorly distributed due to its disadvantages. The first minus is that too much soot will appear on the grid too quickly, which will greatly reduce traction. And the second minus is that the effectiveness of this device as a spark arrester is initially quite low.
Spark Arrester Production
The spark arrester assembly is as follows:
- The first thing to do before proceeding with the assembly is to measure the dimensions of the chimney. After all measurements have been made, a sketch of the future device is compiled. The best way is to make cardboard mock-ups, which are used for cutting metal parts.
- The grid for a homemade spark extinguisher can be purchased or homemade. If everything is simple with the purchase, then when assembling it with your own hands it is very important to choose the diameter of the rods correctly. This indicator should be from 1 to 6 mm.
- The connection of each individual structural element into one device must be carried out by welding. Welds must be cleaned after completion of work. The final fixation of all parts of the device is carried out using rivets.
- The finished structure is attached to the chimney.
How to install a spark arrestor in a chimney
The correct installation of this device will directly depend on the size of its parts. The installation process itself is very simple, but the difficulty lies in the possible mismatch of diameters. If this happens, the installation of the spark arrester will be impossible in principle. If an emergency arose, you can install a spark catcher without any additional mounts, but this is a very unreliable design. You can find many different photos of the spark arrestor on the chimney with your own hands, installed in this way.
The operation of this device is quite simple and it comes down to the fact that it is necessary to regularly clean the grid from soot and other contaminants. This suggests that during installation it is necessary to take care that, if necessary, it is possible to remove the mesh for cleaning.