I have been noticing chimney pots on the chimneys of some of the more interesting and “stylish” homes around me lately. Someone told me they actually give you a better fireplace draught. Does anyone know if that’s true? Or are they just ornamental? Also, where can I get them?
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IMO, a given chimney with a pot will draw better than the same chimney without the pot, but only because it's taller. Adding the pot is no better than adding the equivalent height of brick and flue tile. However, adding the pot is likely to be cheaper than extending the chimney.
I regularly see ads for chimney pots in Fine Homebuilding magazine. This Google search shows several sources.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22chimney+pots%22
If you're handy with clay, do a Google image search with this string and see lots and lots of ideas for making your own.
"chimney pot" OR "chimney pots"
Uncle Dunc is right, but he missed one thing. Chimney pots do increase the draft because they add height to the chimney, but also because they typically taper as they go up. This forces the air to move faster (think narrowing in a river = rapids), which therefore forces that smoke up and out faster, pulling the air below it along. Presto: better draft! This makes them a little better, in most cases, than just a taller chimney.There's a good explanation, plus lots of pictures on the Chimney Pot Shoppe's website: http://www.chimneypot.com.