Preventing a draught (1)

I decided it was time that the fire-hole door was smartened up a little.

Bright and Shiny, almost new looking

I don't suppose it will stay like this for long!

One point of interest surprised me and that was that the cast item in the picture is Aluminium and not iron or steel. It is thus quite a manageable weight to lift open. There is also a steel plate hidden behind which covers the fire-hole and prevents the Aluminium from melting.

The arm on the right is to latch on to a bracket to hold the door closed.

In use, when the door is closed, air is prevented from being pulled in through the fire-hole above the fire. Whilst a small amount of top air will reduce smoke, it also bypasses the air path through the fire grate and will reduce the heat output.