by blogediter | Jul 18, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, I am trying to decide whether to put a Chimney Balloon in above or below my flue damper. You can see in the picture here what the damper looks like. The area below the damper is a trapezoid of 29″ x 20″ x 34″. Should I put a Chimney Balloon in this space?
The area above the flue damper is 30″x12″. You can see that in the second picture. – JR
A: Dear JR, By looking at this vestal damper application I would say the best location to put a Chimney Balloon in is above the damper door. The area below the damper has quite a bit of hardware in the way since the handle, the handle retaining clip, and the glass door retaining screws are all down there.
It also looks like your chimney flue was also recently re-mortared, although I am not sure it was done by a pro. The texture is quite rough and the surface is uneven. But this nice clean surface will make it easier to install the Chimney Balloon in that area.
You can put the Chimney Balloon in just above where the damper door is when it is open. When you inflate it in place the bottom of the Chimney Balloon will actually rest on the damper doors front edge.
Another option is to remove the damper door so you only have the frame of the damper in the fireplace and then install the Chimney Balloon just above the frame.
To remove the damper door just pull the cotter pin from the damper handle assembly ( you can see the cotter pin in your first picture) and remove the damper handle. Once that is removed you can reach up and lift the damper door off of the lip of the damper frame. There is no hinge on these dampers, they are just held in place by gravity.
Once the handle and door are out of the way you can simply install the Chimney Balloon above the damper frame. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 16, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Install low just above the damper
Q: Jason, We have a wood fireplace that we haven’t used since we bought the house (5 years) and who knows how long before that. So, I checked out the fireplace damper website and read the instructions for measuring my fireplace. It measured 12″ X 12″ with a carpenter’s rule, so I ordered a 12″ X 12″ Chimney Balloon. I received the Chimney Balloon and went to install it and promptly learned that the fireplace was not a comfortable and fun place to lay or sit in to install the Chimney Balloon and the enclosed plastic tubing was way too short! One trip to the hardware store to get six foot of tubing and I was in business. Since where my flue is getting “square” seems to be pretty far up (about an arm’s length or so, if I am sitting inside the fireplace) I had one heck of a time trying to get the Chimney Balloon in place. Attached is an image of the flue looking up from a sitting position. – JS
A: Dear JS, From the attached picture I think you are selecting a location that is too high to install your Chimney Balloon. It appears that there is either no damper in the fireplace or you put the camera up above the damper when you took the photo, so it would be better to choose a location that is lower and closer to the firebox to install your Chimney Balloon (See image below). A lower installation point is always preferable since you can guide the Chimney Balloon into place better with your hands while inflating and you don’t have to reach so far up to do it.This would require a larger Chimney Balloon for this installation, but if you send back the one you have we can credit the price to a larger Chimney Balloon. I am just taking an educated guess, but it looks like the flue down lower would take a 36×15 Chimney Balloon. Measure the area where the green arrows are in my picture and give us a call and we will get you a Chimney Balloon that is easier to install for this application. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 13, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Inflating a Chimney Balloon
Q: Jason, I am about to purchase one of your Chimney Balloon fireplace dampers, but have one question. Since this fills with air, Can I use my air compressor, or do I have to purchase your pump? – PS
A: Dear PS, The easiest and the handiest thing you can use to inflate your Chimney Balloon fireplace damper is good old-fashioned lung power. If you would prefer not to inflate it by mouth, you can use an airbed inflation pump or a low power shop-vac to inflate the Chimney Balloon.
I do not recommend using an air compressor to inflate the Chimney Balloon because air compressors will inflate the Chimney Balloon so quickly you might damage the balloon by accidentally over inflating it. The Chimney Balloon is only designed to take about 15 to 20 PSI and an air compressor can get to that PSI level so quick…it is just not worth the risk.
In the picture above is a battery powered air bed pump. In our test lab in the UK we use a rechargeable airbed inflation pump for testing. The nice thing about air bed pumps is they do not have enough power to overinflate the Chimney Balloon. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 11, 2018 | Chimney Problems
Q: Jason, When I went to install my 9×15 small Chimney Balloon I got it in there a little sideways. Is it OK the way it is, or should I remove it and install it again? It is sealing tight and no more air is coming through. – EC
A: Dear EC, The Chimney Balloon is in there a little sideways. The handle valve should be coming straight out the Chimney Bottom of the Chimney Balloon through the old damper opening, but if it fills the void and stops the air passage that is the most important thing. It certainly won’t hurt anything to have it in the flue that way you have it. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 9, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Newspaper burn
Q: Jason – I have heard that newspaper is not good to use to start a fire in a wood burner or fireplace. Why is this and what can be used instead? – MG
A: MG, I have also heard quite a bit of banter back and forth about the newspaper and how it is not good to use to start fireplace fires. Most of the nay-sayers point to the fact that the ink can cause sticky properties to chimney soot that helps to cause premature buildup of soot and creosote in the fireplace or wood burner chimney. They also say the plastic coatings on the slick pages can cause some toxins to enter your house when burned. It is a strong possibility that these folks are on to something. But they might also be full of hot air.
Honestly, I have not researched the studies done on this topic, but I do not burn newspaper in my fireplace. In my garage I have two recycle boxes for paper. One has newspaper and the other has paper shopping bags and brown cardboard. I simply take my starter paper from the grocery bag and cardboard box. I figure I will just take the high road on this one since it is not a big change. – Jason
