by blogediter | Jun 12, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Dear Jason, I have a chimney which used to be used for a wood burning stove. We removed the stove and wish to stop the cold air entering the house through the round chimney hole that is left. Basically, there is a hole in the wall of our house that leads to the chimney and I just have it covered with a loose fitting metal cover. Can your chimney pillow work in this situation?
My husband was thinking of stuffing the chimney hole in the wall with fiberglass, would this work? – EE
A: Dear EE, I am willing to bet you will find the diameter of that pipe to be 9″ or less so a 9×9 Chimney Balloon will work well. If it is over 9″ then you may need to go with a 12×12 Chimney Balloon.
If you call in your order we can adopt a 9×9 for you to have an extra short 3″ handle on it, so it is easier to put in the chimney pipe and clear the wall.
You will find the Chimney Balloon will air seal and insulate in one shot better than the fiberglass plug. The basement is generally the location that the home will draw in the air the strongest at due to the air stack effect in the home. The air will pass right through a fiberglass plug, but it won’t be able to draw through a Chimney Balloon. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 10, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, My fireplace was constructed with a 42″ metal heatelator box. The walls above the damper taper to a 16″x12″ opening about 28″ above to face. This seems to be the nearest location that has any ledge to grip. However, just above this metal, the ledge has an 18″x16″ dimension that tapers up to a 12″ square flue liner several feet above. Of the sizes you list, only the 15″x36″ would seem to be big enough at this location, but it’s disproportionately long for the 18″ width of that opening. Would maybe consider using a 15″x15″ and an extender, placing it higher up in the chimney? Suggestions, please. .DW
A: Dear DW, You may have a wood burning fireplace insert instead of a built-in Heatelator, but either way this would be my advice… Order a custom 18X18 Chimney Balloon and also get a HEK extender for the valve. This will allow you the reach to get to this higher height in the flue. That area above the metal ledge is where you want to install it as long as that metal edge does not have any dangerously sharp edges. A 18X18 Chimney Balloon with an extender will cost $64.99 including USPS shipping. Custom Chimney Balloons do take 14 days from your order to ship, due to building time. You can call the customer service line if you have any further questions about this particular application. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 7, 2019 | Gas Logs
Where to Measure a Heatelator Pre-Fab Fireplace
Q: We have a 2 sided fireplace on the ground floor of our house and a 3 sided fireplace in the basement. Our house was insulated from electric heat. When we have a fire in one fireplace we get smoke coming back into the house through the other one. Would a chimney pillow stop the smoke from coming back in? Thanks very much for you help.- JU
A: Dear JU, Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you have two separate chimneys for your two fireplaces they just share the same chimney structure? (like in the picture on the left)
If the answer is Yes, you do have two separate fireplaces and the flues are separate. Then the Chimney Balloon will stop the smoke from crossing over and re-entering the house through the other chimney. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 5, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, I have several questions. My experience with inflatable devices is that they leak. Can one insert the Chimney Balloon and leave it in for months, or does it gradually leak air?
Can one use the Chimney Balloon in a fireplace that one uses almost daily? For example, inflate the Chimney Balloon in the morning and then remove it in the evening when one wants to build a fire? If this is done, does the Chimney Balloon get “messy” covered with soot etc? We have the fireplace cleaned yearly but use it a lot.What is the life expectancy of a Chimney Balloon if it is inserted and not removed for months (a fireplace that we don’t use) vs. one where we would remove it quite often. I wonder if the Chimney Balloon is to be used only in a fireplace that is not used often. Thanks! – JT
A: Dear JT, If you use a wood fireplace daily you are going to find a Chimney Balloon to be a hassle to take in and out every day, however, if you have an offseason that you don’t use your fireplace (like the summer), you will find it a keen energy saver during that offseason.
You have probably gotten pretty used to inflatable mattresses, beach toys, and rubber or latex stuff made with a variety of cheap inflation valves. It is very true that these items don’t hold air long term because it leaks out of the valve. They don’t even hold air for 24 hours.
However, If you put a Chimney Balloon in and leave it in, it will stay inflated for 6 months to 12 months, no problem. The difference is our valves and seams are made to be absolutely airtight, so the only pressure difference you experience is from the air pressure inside the Chimney Balloon due to temperature differences increasing and decreasing air volume. I would suggest once a year as the temperatures outside get cooler, top the Chimney Balloon off with air just to keep it at nice and snug.
On the wear-out question… There are a number of variables to this question, but I will try to answer it generally. If you are installing a Chimney Balloon and taking it out every day you could expect your Chimney Balloon to last a few months before it wears out. IF you put the Chimney Balloon in and leave it in, and once every year top it off with air, you can have your Chimney Balloon last 10-15 years before the top side of the balloon will start getting brittle from the acrid creosote fumes.
I tried to cover your questions as thoroughly as possible. Let me know if you want me to clarify anything. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 1, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
HEK Chimney Balloon
Q: Hi, I stumbled across your site today, and I am very interested in one of your Chimney Balloons. I have a question. My chimney has a system to take cold air off the floor in front of the hearth, and draw it through some pipes that run through the flue. This warm air is then fan forced out above the fireplace. The question is whether your Chimney Balloon will go between these pipes and the damper, or squeeze through between the pipes, and be inflated above them. I can take a digital picture and send or maybe take some measurements and send those… – CF
A: CF, Most people refer to those systems as heatilators (but that is a brand name.) A deflated Chimney Balloon needs a gap of 2″ to 2.5″ to fit through. Once you are through these pipes you should be good to go. I would suggest using a folding carpenters ruler to measure the pipes so you can tell how large a Chimney Balloon you need. You may need to consider an extension for your Chimney Balloon if you plan on reaching very far past the heatilator pipes to inflate the Chimney Balloon. The Handle/valve Extender kit (HEK) will give you an extra 16″ of reach to add to your 12″ Chimney Balloon handle.
