by blogediter | Mar 19, 2018 | Save Energy
Smoke Puffer
My smoke puffer has stopped working. The batteries are fresh and the unit has full fluid. The light does come on when the trigger is pulled. I am using a fresh set of regular Energizer batteries. (I’ve tried another set thinking it may be weak batteries but it isn’t.)
I’m not sure if the internal parts are bad. Are there replacement parts for the device? I use it every day for my energy audits. I’ve been using mine for about 6 months. It’s the best tool on the market for the draft testing smoke. – WA
A: Dear WA,
It sounds like the heating element in the Smoke Pencil took one jolt too many. We highly recommend rechargeable batteries to use with your Smoke Pencil, because alkaline batteries tend to create power spikes at the start and end of their power cycles (every time you pull the smoke trigger). These voltage jolts tend to be hard on the small heating element in the smoke pencil and eventually wear it down over a long periods of time (like 6 months). Rechargeable batteries, on the other hand, keep a nice steady voltage and don’t spike, so they are not hard on the Smoke Pencil and they can help it last many times longer.
I would really recommend rechargeable batteries for your Smoke Pencil, especially since you use it every day. We sell a rechargeable kit on our website www.smokepencil.com but to be honest you can use any AA rechargeable. This advice is too late for your current Smoke Pencil, but I tell you what, if you call in an order and ask for me, I will make sure you get free shipping on your next one. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 16, 2018 | Fireplaces
Draft Decor
If you have a fireplace that has a set of glass doors you have probably notices the vents both above and below the glass doors. Those vents are there to allow the fireplace to intake air and output heat.
These can also be present in direct vent fireplaces that have a sealed glass display. If you need to cover those vents up you can use vent covers made by Christy Walker Creations. They come in the black and gold variety to match your fireplace decor.
by blogediter | Mar 14, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Surface texture above my fireplace damper
Q: Jason, The brick and mortar texture above my fireplace damper is very rough as you can see in the photo of my flue. The walls slant away in weird angles like looking up from the inside of a pyramid. Will the Chimney Balloon damper be able to seal this area ok?
I have a large rectangular metal damper. I believe you call that type of damper a “vestal” style damper. – RM
A: Hi RM, Thank you for the photo of the fireplace flue and your damper. You are correct that you do have a vestal style damper. This style is quite easy to fit with a Chimney Balloon even if there are slopping and slanting and rough texture walls in the flue above the damper.
Measure the area above the fireplace damper with a folding carpenters ruler and buy a Chimney Balloon that is at least that dimension (i.e. If you measure 37″x16″ buy a custom 39×16 Chimney Balloon. Do NOT buy a 36×15 standard since that will be too small). Take the un-inflated Chimney Balloon out of its packaging and tuck the Chimney Balloon material above the flue with the long side pointing in the length direction of the fireplace. The handle of the Chimney Balloon will stick down through the open damper door. It is OK to leave the damper door open since the Chimney Balloon will be serving as the damper when it is inflated. And quite frankly it will do a better job sealing than the old tired metal damper.
The type of texture you show if your picture is actually quite beneficial for the Chimney Balloon since it gives the Chimney Balloon membrane a nice surface texture to grab hold of when you inflate the Chimney Balloon damper in place. The Chimney Balloon material is very flexible and will seal around any mortar or texture as it inflates. Just make sure you do not attempt to move the position of the Chimney Balloon after you have it inflated in place. If you do have to adjust the position of the Chimney Balloon remove most of the air volume of the Chimney Balloon before you reposition it. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 14, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Jasy reviewed our product and he mentioned that Flueblocker is a chimney insulator to stop cold drafts, insects, and odor from getting in your house when you’re not using your fireplace.
And this I made out of thick layers of wool from Herdwick sheep which is a durable, natural insulator. It comes in round or rectangular shapes and a variety of sizes.
And depending on your chimney, you can use this outside your damper or inside the flue pipe and all you have to do is to push it up in the chimney when you’re not using it. It has a reminder to remove it before you start a fire.
by blogediter | Mar 12, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Chimney Balloon 4 feet up
Q: Jason, I have attached a few photos of my fireplace and I was wondering how I can get the Chimney Balloon up into the first chimney flue tile if it is about 4 feet above the hearth opening? See the attached photos that the smoke chamber above the damper stair-steps upwards to a smaller square 11″ flue tile clay chimney liner.
I see you have a handle extender but I would need to link 3 of them together to reach this first flue tile. – TR
A: Dear TR, You are making this way too hard for yourself. In the picture of your fireplace firebox, I see the handle of your damper sticking down and it looks like a vestal damper. This damper is installed about as low as possible and this makes it very easy to just inflate a Chimney Balloon in above the damper door.
Take your folding carpenters ruler or tape measure and get the width and depth dimension of that area just above the damper door and that will tell you what Chimney Balloon size to get.
It is hard to tell dimensions from a photo of a flue, but I bet you will find the measurement is around the 36″x15″ size by the looks of it. When there is a large vestal damper the size is usually 36×15. Occasionally the smoke chambers will be up to 45×18 in the area above the damper if the mason that built it gets a little crazy with setting the bricks in the smoke chamber. Either way, it is worth a quick check before ordering. – Jason
