by blogediter | Apr 3, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: I have a top sealing damper, and I still get a draft from my fireplace. It cost me $550 to get the chimney top damper put on my chimney and it only half solved the problem. Will a $50 Chimney Balloon stop the draft that is still there? – DP
A: DP – I remember talking to a Chimney Balloon customer from Detroit on the phone for nearly one hour regarding this very same issue. The result of our conversation was that the lock top damper and Chimney Balloon damperwork well together. The Locktop (otherwise known as a top sealing damper) and Lymance dampers keep birds and animals out and the Chimney Balloon stops the convection draft and chimney odor. You can use one or the other alone, but using them together is a very effective approach at eliminating draft, odor and other infiltration. This is an issue that we have addressed before in the Chimney Balloon Blog, but it is worth revisiting since it is a common question.
The light draft you are experiencing with the lock top or lymance damper is very common with top sealing dampers. When you seal a chimney at the top you are making your chimney into a large stopped tube that still has to be filled with warm interior air, so your furnace heats that air and it rises up into the chimney. Over time this air cools against the cold metal of the top damper and starts to sink. When it sinks it creates a light cool draft sensation in the hearth or the opening of the fireplace. This makes it feel like the damper is letting in cool air.
If you install a Chimney Balloon low in your fireplace you will eliminate this cold draft sensation. You may have concerns about the lock top or lymance damper chain or cable interfering with the Chimney Balloon, but we have found most of the time the Chimney Balloon will form around this chain or cable without a problem. However, there are a few things to keep in mind about the chain or cable for a lock top damper.
In the picture above the top sealing damper cable as a very faint line just to the left of the Chimney Balloon valve in the picture (see the orange arrow). You can also see that the Chimney Balloon has folded around and enveloped the cable. You see the cable runs along the edge of the metal damper there as well. In this application, the cable is getting frayed over time as it rubs up and down against the metal edge of this damper opening. That frayed section of cable has little needle-like protrusions and a flat side that is like a saw blade in roughness. Also, notice that the Chimney Balloon is tight like a drum. It is probably a little two tightly inflated.
- In this type of application wrap packaging tape around your chimney top damper cable in the area, the Chimney Balloon will come in contact with it. This will keep the flat sharp end of this cable from cutting the balloon. Also, do not actuate the cable by opening and closing the damper while the Chimney Balloon is in place. Remove the Chimney Balloon before you move the cable.
- When the Chimney Balloon is installed do not fill it drum tight full with air. Leave a little springiness in it.
- Also, purchase a Chimney Balloon that is a little oversized to allow for the extra material to envelop the cable. Two or three inches extra in length and width should give you what you need. In this photo example, a 33×12 could have been used normally, but they bought a 36×15 to get it around the damper cable.
If you take these prescribed precautions your Chimney Balloon will work just fine with your top sealing damper and stop the cold draft. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 1, 2019 | Chimney Plugs, Press
I love the weekly home improvement column by Jim and Morris Carey (The Carey Brothers). They are nationally-recognized experts on home building and renovation and syndicated columnist as well. Personally, I read their articles every Sunday in the Janesville Gazette. In Feb 2006 the Chimney Pillow was honored to be mentioned by them on their tip of the day.
Here is a snippet of their article:
“…So, as the fireplace gets used, it can warp and rust to the point where it won’t close tightly. If this is the case with your fireplace, look into a “chimney pillow.” This pillow is like a beach ball or an air mattress.
Place the chimney pillow into the fireplace flue just above the damper.
Inflate it by using a hand pump, or blow it up by mouth.
Close the tap on the fill hose.
The chimney pillow will keep hot air in and freezing cold air out. A label or another reminder should be placed on the hearth or in the firebox telling you to remove it before starting a fire. Deflation takes about a minute, and no tools are required….”
Read the rest of the article by clicking here.
Above article in part, the image in part and related content are the property of On The House Syndication Inc. All Copyright belongs to On the House Syndication.
by blogediter | Mar 29, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Dear Jason, Help! I have a very nice EPA rated wood stove that was put in about a year ago. It was installed in my lower level and the trouble is it smells of creosote and smoke smell when I am not using it. I know it is negative pressure bringing the smokey stink back into the house. Can I plug the flue with a Chimney Balloon to prevent the backdraft from bringing the smell back in? – TW
A: Dear TW, It depends on what type of stove you have. The image to the left is the inside top of an Avalon woodstove that has firebrick baffles on the top of the firebox. These brick baffles can be removed and it gives you easy access to the round flue so you can install a 9×9 Chimney Balloon when it is not being used. In the picture, you can see the one brick is being lifted because they just set in there by gravity.
Other wood stoves are completely metal-clad in the firebox and the baffles are welded steel. In these fireplaces, you often have no access to the flue through the firebox.
On occasion, you can get access to another part of the chimney through a clean-out door portal. Usually, these are outside and near a bend in the chimney or pipe.
You have to have access to the woodstove flue or chimney to plug it with a Chimney Balloon. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 27, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Dear Jason, Do you make a Chimney Balloon for a 10.5″ diameter, circular chimney uptake? Your products seem to be made of squares or rectangles. I can’t put a square into a round hole and expect a snug fit…or can I? Thank you. RM
A: Dear RM, Thank you for your Chimney Balloon question. You present a very common question about the Chimney Balloon. How can you fit a square or tapered Chimney Balloon into a round hole (like a round metal flue)? The answer is… Chimney Balloons are flexible and only expand as far as the flue wall allows it to and no further, the extra material either folds or pops inward and the Chimney Balloon is still able to seal tightly.
We have a tradeshow demo that we use to explain it and I took two photos of the demo, so you can see what I mean. This image is a 9″ clear tube with a 9×9 Chimney Balloon installed in it. Your 10.5″ diameter flue would need a 12×12 Chimney Balloon, but it will seal the same.
However, if you really want to get around 12″ Chimney Balloon we do make those as a custom for the same price as the standard, it just takes 14 days to get a custom made and shipped to you. The rounds are not listed on the website, so you would need to call in the order and we can enter the order indirectly with proper build notes. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 25, 2019 | Gas Logs, Chimney Problems
Q: Jason, I live in Dallas TX and I have a gas log fireplace. Every fall I get wasps coming in through the fireplace chimney and they make it through the damper into the house. Right now I am running the gas log 24/7 to keep the wasps out, but I know it is going to cost me in the utility bill at the end of this month. If I put in a Chimney Balloon will it seal tight enough so the bees cant get in the house? Can the bees sting through the Chimney Balloon? – TY
A: Dear TY, In the late fall (usually November) we get inundated with calls from fireplace and gas log owners that have wasps and bees coming down their fireplace chimney and right around their metal damper.
The Chimney Balloon seals wall to wall inside the chimney flue so it is a very good way to plug the chimney nice and tight so the wasps have no entry point through the flue. The Chimney Balloon material is made of a multilayer laminate so the wasps would never sting their way through it. But, It is always a good idea to get the Chimney Balloon installed before the wasps start their annual pilgrimage down your chimney. Once wasps start coming in they generally do it en-mass, so it is best to cut them off first.
Plugging the flue will allow you to turn off the gas log fireplace and save some of that gas you are burning up. It also won’t hurt for you to look around for other entry points that the wasps and bees may be coming in through like soffits or window jambs – Jason
