by blogediter | May 8, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, I have a Majestic SR42A 42″ prefab wood-burning fireplace with gas logs. The damper is 8″ round and opens/swivels in the middle of the circle. The firebox is a trapezoid with approximate dimensions of 24 X 33 with the sides being 15″.
There is a front “panel” that seems to be angled inward making the 15″ sides taller at the top and smaller at the bottom. There seems to be sufficient room between the damper and the top of the fireplace opening (9″) for a larger Chimney balloon. The front panel may also make a good “shelf” for the Chimney Balloon to rest on.
I’m wondering if the best bet is to go with a smaller Chimney Balloon and install it above the damper with the extender or get a bigger Chimney Balloon and install it under the damper, in the trapezoid firebox area. My preference would be for easy installation and removal as we use our fireplace a lot in the winter. I don’t mind if part of the Chimney Balloon or pole shows. – CA
A: Dear CA, You have a couple of choices in how to install your
Chimney Balloon.
Option 1: If you plan on putting in the
Chimney Balloon and leaving it (ie. not using this fireplace much) than I would suggest you get a 9×9 and put it above the damper with an HEK extender. This configuration will get your
Chimney Balloon up and out of sight from the
firebox area and it will give you a nice tight seal in the
flue area.
Option 2: If you will use this gas log fireplace regularly and you are looking for the easiest place to install a
Chimney Balloon to take it in and out. I would recommend you get a 36×15
Chimney Balloon and install it right in the firebox below the damper. When your damper is closed the handle will be up and out of the way and you have a nice trapezoidal spot there that is 9″ tall to put the
Chimney Balloon in. The only downside is that you may be able to see the
Chimney Balloon a little bit in the
firebox. Also, you will want to be careful of the sharp edges on the damper handle bracket that I see in this picture that holds the damper up when it is closed. Those brackets can have a sharp edge on the tip of them so you may want to put a piece of tape over that spot so you can get maximum longevity out of your
Chimney Balloon. Sharp spots like that can tend to wear out the
Chimney Balloon early if you are installing and uninstalling regularly. – Jason
by blogediter | May 6, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, My house has a standard colonial Chimney made in 1796. What size chimney do i have and what size Chimney Balloon should I use? – JS
A: Dear JS, Unfortunately, there is really no way I can estimate a size Chimney Balloon you would need without seeing the application or having some measurements of the flue. There were certainly no codes or standard sizes for 1796 fireplace construction. It really would be necessary to measure the flue first.
If this is not something you are comfortable with doing, any handymen service or chimney sweep would be capable of doing the measurement. Often times customers will hire a Chimney Sweep to do a chimney cleaning and request that the Chimney Sweep measure for a Chimney Balloon while they are there doing the cleaning. If you wish to do it yourself, you will find a very useful reference at our Chimney damper and flue sizing page: http://www.chimneyballoon.us/Chimneyballoonsizing.html
If you want a little more assistance you can email photos of the fireplace and flue area and I can give you more direction on specifically where to measure. You will be looking for a location in the flue to measure that is within arms reach and has roughly parallel walls. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. – Jason
by blogediter | May 3, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q:Jason, My fireplace chimney is very unusual since the flue is so far forward and the smoke shelf or smoke chamber is so deep. There is no place to put the Chimney Balloon that has parallel walls before the 8×18 tile flue. Do you see any options that may be easier to install in according to my diagram? – JA
Dear JA: This is not an easy install since your lowest point with parallel walls will be the flue tile above the smoke shelf. Looks like the 18″x 8″ location would be best with an HEK extender handgrip. The smoke shelf juts out so much that the CB handgrip would get in the way of it, if trying to put the CB into the chamber just above the smoke shelf. – Jason
Note: In this case, a Custom 18×8 with an HEK extender worked very well and was easy to install since the flue was only 13″ above the smoke shelf ledge.
by blogediter | May 1, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, We have a fireplace upstairs and one directly below it downstairs. Sometimes when we use one fireplace the other one will be smoky. Do we need more than one chimney pillow, or can we even use a chimney pillow in this situation? – LK
A: LK, When you have a fireplace that is one above another the two hearths usually have separate flues and dampers and they run to the roof in the same chimney structure. See the diagram of the two fireplaces sharing a chimney structure.
When you are using one fireplace and chimney your home is drinking in air from other places to allow enough airflow to feed the fire and to draft the smoke and heat upwards out the flue. The home will suck in air from the path of least resistance which is usually the other unused chimney (even if the damper is closed). This draw of air into the house is known as the “stack effect”.
So when the other chimney sucks in air from the roof it also sucks back in some smoke from the other fireplace chimney.
The solution to this problem is to use 2 separate Chimney Balloons, one for each flue. When you have a fire in one of the fireplaces then remove that Chimney Balloon in the used fireplace and leave the other one in place in the unused fireplace. This will force your home to find another less-smoky place to draw from, like doors or windows. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 29, 2019 | Gas Logs
Q: Jason, Should I be concerned about using the Chimney Balloon to plug the flue if I have a gas fireplace and the pilot light is continuously on? The fireplace also has glass doors that seal about 90% of the fireplace. – CT
A: CT, A small pilot light will not burst the Chimney Balloon, but do keep in mind that when you seal your flue you are essentially eliminating the outside air source for your pilot light. So if the flame goes out the fuel smell will go into the house, and likewise all gases created by the pilot light burning are going into the home. It is our opinion that the gas source should be turned off along with the gas to the pilot so you have no backup of any kind into the home due to the energy saving tight seal of the Chimney Balloon. We realize this is an overly cautious statement to make, but our customers safety is foremost to us. – Jason
