Thread: Fireplace Cleanouts - Donley Brothers - Ideas?

I inspected a 1960 ranch here in Massachusetts that had a brick chimney. In the basement where I generally find a single cleanout, there were two larger doors with louvers, one over the other. Between them was a crank handle that rotated a grate in the top and dumped whatever was on the grate to the lower opening. The cast iron door is stamped "Donley Brothers, Cleveland Ohio". Any ideas what this arrangement was designed for? I thought perhaps some sort of incinerator.

how many flue openings at chimney top? and did you stick your cam in there and take a picture up the flue and if not, Why?

That's wild... We have the exact same system on our (1942) house. In our case, the doors are installed on an outside wall, so they're not nearly in as good shape as the one you found. But you've helped solve the mystery of what those pipes in the middle were for; in our house they are plugged up.
Yes, it's a garbage incinerator. There's a single flue going up. Our lower door is rusted shut so I can't tell you what's behind it, but here are some pictures.
Donley1.jpgDonley2.jpgDonley3.jpg

On the left may be to crank (adjust) a damper or to chute ash dump from above, or both (closing the chute and opening a damper to the flue. I'd think the later. As Mrs. Sisson mentioned, it is more common than not to find a crank drive handle missing. Obvious defects, and legal issues regarding use. Level II for proper remediation and abandonment/decomissoning of incenerator and safety status of the chimney. Insurers/underwriters do not like them. Mass is one of the tougher regarding restrictions and environmental regulations.

Your example looks exactly like the one I saw. BTW, it had its own flue and below is picture of the clay tile liner. The flue looks like your picture. Now that you mention it, there was an old tin can in the one I saw. I'm going with incinerator.
I think my original post calling them "fireplace cleanouts" was not correct...
Thanks for the responses.
Don

Originally Posted by Donald Bissex

Your example looks exactly like the one I saw. BTW, it had its own flue and below is picture of the clay tile liner. The flue looks like your picture. Now that you mention it, there was an old tin can in the one I saw. I'm going with incinerator.
I think my original post calling them "fireplace cleanouts" was not correct...
Thanks for the responses.
Don

Needs Level II and rework even to properly decomission.

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