by blogediter | Jul 6, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Basement chimney
Q: Jason, My water heater vents into the chimney for the fireplace in my basement. Is it OK for me to put a Chimney Balloon in this fireplace? – LT
A: LT, By the looks of the location of where this vent from the water heater enters the chimney you should be able to put a Chimney Balloon into the fireplace as long as you put it BELOW the location where the heater vent meets the fireplace chimney. When you look into the fireplace and look up into the flue can you identify the location of this connection? If yes then measure an area below that point for the Chimney Balloon. Just to be on the cautious side I would put a Carbon Monoxide detector in your basement near the fireplace and the water heater to make sure the chimney is still drafting properly and the Carbon Monoxide is not backing up into the basement when the water heater is running. It is a good idea to have one of these devices on every floor of your house anyway.
by blogediter | Jul 4, 2018 | Chimney Problems
Smokey
Q: Jason – In the winter I like to start a fire in my fireplace to help my furnace heat up my home and save some money. Only I have noticed that my furnace runs almost constantly when the fireplace is going. What is the deal? – CH
A: CH, There is a number of studies and articles on open fireplaces and how they take more than they give. An open fireplace on average runs at about 10% efficiency. This means if your fire produces 1000 BTUs that only 100 are going back into your house. There are some things that you can do to improve that efficiency (here is an article on how to improve the efficiency of a fireplace) but the fact is most of the heat is going to go right up the chimney in an open fireplace. The only reason to burn in an open fireplace is to have the ambiance of the flames. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 2, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Fireplace wood burning
Q: Jason – I was helping my grandmother out by removing her fireplace insert wood stove since she doesn’t have the strength to use it anymore and it just leaks cold air in. When I finally got this 350lbs insert out I realized that the old damper was cut out with a blow torch when the insert was wood burning installed. this is a large fireplace so I got in there and measured the smoke chamber area for a Chimney Balloon. Will I have a problem with the Chimney Balloon since the damper is removed? I measured for a 48X18 Custom Chimney Balloon. -JC
A: JC, That is very nice of you to help out your grandmother like that. I certainly hope you didn’t pull out that old wood burning fireplace insert by yourself. It sounds like an old cast iron model and those can be real behemoths to move. You are fine putting a Chimney Balloon in the smoke chamber of this fireplace. I was hoping we could find a spot a little lower and smaller but after our conversation on the phone, it sounds like the smoke chamber is the best location since no other area has parallel walls. Just be very careful during install that the old damper hardware doesn’t have and sharp edges to it. Blow torch cuts can often leave very sharp edges that should be filed or padded so it doesn’t puncture your new Chimney Balloon. Let me know if you have any further questions. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 29, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Inglenook
Q: Jason, I am putting an electric ‘log burner’ effect stove into the original inglenook fireplace. Can I use a Chimney Balloon? – SP
A: SP, You absolutely can use a Chimney Balloon in your Inglenook fireplace. Just install it before you put the electric fireplace insert in, and make sure the Chimney Balloon is high enough as to not interfere with the electric insert. Considering you are in the UK you will want to contact Chimney Balloon LTD near Aldershot at 01252 319 325. Let me know if you have any further questions. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 27, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Chimney Balloon Cropped
Q: Jason, I purchased two Chimney Balloons. I have two zero clearance fireplaces and there is no way to put the Chimney Balloon above the damper and still be able to reach the air valve. I am disappointed in this design. I can’t be the first person to have this problem, so please tell me how to make this work. – KB
A: Dear KB, I have a prefab zero clearance fireplace in my home just like yours. These fireplaces tend to have higher dampers and a higher location that is easy to put a Chimney Balloon in. This is the very reason we sell the HEK extender for the Chimney Balloon. If we just made the handle longer in the general design of the Chimney Balloon then it would be too long for most applications and it would make the Chimney Balloon more visible when installed. So the Chimney Balloon Handle valve HEK extender is the ticket for you to have an easier go of using your Chimney Balloon. – Jason
