by blogediter | Jan 26, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Chimney Balloon
Q: Jason, I have two chimneys and I am not using them. I just bought the house so I don’t plan on using them this year at least. My heater is always on like every 10-20 minutes and as soon as the heater is off the house gets cold quick. I think that my chimneys are causing the heat loss.
I measured my chimney chute/hole and it looks like 12×6 (LxW). The problem is that it is about 36 inches up to reach this small 12×6 hole. I plan on getting a 36″ extender and two 15×9 ballon, is that a good size? Please let me know. – AX
A: HI AX, Yes, you did size this application up well. A 36 HEK and a 9×15 should go into your flue tile nicely. You will want to pre-fluff the Chimney Balloon when you go to do this higher install though.
Pre-fluffing means to separate the top and bottom membranes of the Chimney Balloon and crumple in the sides in, so effectively you are crumpling the Chimney Balloon material up on top of the handle valve. This gets the Chimney Balloon material to stand proud of the handle, but without adding air volume into the balloon. (See image at left)
Take the Chimney Balloon with the extender attached and align the crumpled Chimney Balloon material into the 12×6 spot you want to fill, then put a big puff of air in it. The sides of the Chimney Balloon will pop out horizontally and fill the cavity. If the balloon starts to tip when you put in this initial puff of air, remove the balloon and squeeze the air out of it and try again.
Once you are sure the Chimney Balloon is going in horizontally top it off with a little more air and close the valve on the bottom of the HEK extender. Higher installs can be a little tricky, so if you have any questions give us a call right away. – Jason
by blogediter | Jan 25, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
There are different structures of chimneys that we can see on the rooftop. These chimneys provide ventilation for hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside. Big holes remain open so all the rain, hail or dust will go straight into the home. The heat escaping out the chimney top make the birds sit upon because it is relatively warm. These must be closed and the reason why every single one of them needs Chimella Umbrella.
by blogediter | Jan 24, 2018 | Fireplaces
Stuck Fireplace Dampers
Q: Jason, I have two fireplaces in my house and would never use them because fireplaces are a MAJOR SOURCE OF POLLUTION AND SHOULD BE BANNED!
Anyway, the top fireplace was used by previous owners and the damper is in pretty good condition. The bottom damper wasn’t used much and ironically the damper is warped a bit and also rusted so that I can’t open it. How can I use a Chimney Balloon in this application? – BT
A: Dear BT, Because of the acids and moisture in Chimneys it is very common to find rust and corrosion on the damper like you found in your lower Chimney. It is also very common to find a warped and rusty damper even after little use. That is part of the reason that dampers are made so loose fitting. The heating and cooling process causes this to occur in almost any damper situation.
It is possible to install a Chimney Balloon below the damper as long as the walls are parallel and the Chimney Balloon has a point of contact on all sides and the damper hardware does not interfere. Otherwise, above the damper is the best location. – Jason
Note: In this particular situation we found some WD40 and persistence can loosen a stuck damper. Once the damper was open we got a measurement of the smoke chamber above the damper and got a Chimney Balloon to fit that area.
by blogediter | Jan 22, 2018 | Chimney Problems
Q: Hi Jason,
I am a South Florida resident with a Chimney in my home. Does a Chimney Balloon or Flueblocker help at all in reducing warm & humid air from entering the home? And for that matter, do they limit escape of cold air from the home? Thanks in advance for your assistance – MB
A: Hi MB,
Yes, the Chimney Balloon and the Flueblocker both help quite a bit from stopping hot and humid air infiltration. In the summer your AC, clothes dryer, bathroom vent fan, etc…can cause a reverse draft through the Chimney. This causes the fireplace to siphon super-hot air from your roof area down the Chimney into the house. If you have a wood burning fireplace this reverse draft will often manifest itself by a slightly smoky smell near the fireplace when you start to use your AC, clothes dryer, etc… Installing a Chimney Balloon or Flueblocker seals off the flue, so the Chimney cannot snorkel the hot air down into your home.
Cold A/C air, on the other hand, tends to stay low and doesn’t fly up the Chimney. So you will find your energy savings comes from keeping the hot air out. – Jason
by blogediter | Jan 19, 2018 | Fireplaces
Hi Jason, I just bought a house, and I have a fireplace that has been painted on the inside and out. Also it has been permanently sealed with expanding foam and foam board. I would like to open up the fireplace so it can be used again. I’m wondering if I just cut the foam out and start a fire will I have a problem with the paint and leftover foam? Will that just burn off? – RM
Hi RM, Well, the previous owners were obviously not interested in using that fireplace, because they took some semi-permanent measures to decommission it. They are typical DIY mistakes really, but they will take some effort to undo. First of all, if you just rip out the foam and fire up some logs you are going to have some toxic off-gassing of the foam and paint. It is not going to be good, so you have to do your best to get that stuff stripped.
1) Cut the foam out. Do your best to cut out as much of the expandable foam. You will have to use a scraper and wire brush to get all of it off. The good thing is it looks like they used it over the area that was painted. If you get that Great Stuff foam into bare brick it soaks in deeply, and it is a nightmare to get off. The paint may have kept it from soaking into the brick pores. DO NOT try to burn the foam it off at all. The smoke from burning expandable foam can straight up kill you. No joke, it is bad news if you burn it.
2) Get that paint off the walls next. There is a gel paint strip called Lightning Strip. You will probably have to buy it online. I don’t know of any chain store that sells it, since it is a specialty low vapor paint remover. Do not cut corners on this and get any old paint stripper. You are working in a tight space with this project, so you cant be using any old heavy vapor stripper. I have used Lightening Strip quite a bit to get latex paint off concrete and brick. You spray it on, and it releases the paint so you can scrape or scrub it off. Porous brick takes a few applications to get the paint out of the nooks and cranny’s.
3) Now that you have it back to original, size it up for a Chimney Balloon. The reason the previous owner plugged it was because it was drafty. So get that thing plugged right with a Chimney Balloon. If I was to take a guess on size (just by the photo). I bet it takes a 24×12 Chimney Balloon, but go ahead and measure and pick a Chimney Balloon size from your measurements.
4) Before you have your first fire have the chimney inspected by a CSIA chimney sweep. Make sure they do a level 2 inspection that includes fishing a camera down the flue to see how the flue liner or flue tile look. If they say you need a new liner get an inspection report with photos and have it quotes by 3 contractors.
RM, I’m sure you were hoping I would say: “Rip out the foam board and fire up the logs!” but that would be the dangerous solution for many reasons. Painting and foaming up a fireplace interior are very common mistakes well-meaning homeowners make, and it takes some work to undo. But if you follow these steps you can have a usable fireplace and still have it sealed tightly in the off-season. – Jason
