by blogediter | Apr 10, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason – My husband insists on using rubbish to start the fire in the fireplace, We are not just talking paper and cardboard, he will take a small plastic bag of garbage from the kitchen and put the logs on top of it and light it. I think it stinks and is dangerous, but he says “Well it is better than sending it to the landfill.” Please tell him that this is not a good thing to do. – GD
A: Dear GD, I make it a point to not get into the middle of spousal arguments but Im going to have to make an exception on this one. It is an absolutely terrible idea for your husband to use garbage to start the fire in the fireplace. Burning plastics create terrible caustic fumes that are harmful to people and their lungs. It may appear that all of the smoke and fumes are going up the chimney but you mentioned that the practice of using garbage to start a fire “stinks” and I am assuming you mean the smell of burning garbage stinks. The fact that you can smell it in the house tells me that you are getting fumes into the house. Furthermore there could be other items in the trash that he is burning that he didn’t know was there…chemical cleaner containers, paints, or other items that emit even more toxic fumes than plastic. From a chimney standpoint, the soot created from burning garbage can be very sticky and cause rapid buildup of creosote and other stinky deposits in the fireplace and chimney. This makes cleaning the chimney more difficult and sometimes more expensive. In short Mrs GD…your husband is being a meathead and he needs to stop burning his trash in the fireplace. (Note: In case your husband is a big fella, tell him I mean meathead in the most endearing kind of way.) It is time for him to use cardboard or paper shopping bags as this is the cleanest burning handy kindling he will find in the house that wont give him premature lung problems. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 8, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason – I have a decision to make. I can either pay a chimney sweep $950 to replace my metal flue damper or I can just have him clean the chimney and buy a Chimney Balloon. Which one should I do? – TR
A: TR – Well to be honest with you $950 sounds like a rather large amount to replace a metal damper, I hope he including a chimney cleaning with that quote. I am of course assuming that your fireplace is of a standard make & size. If your chimney required a custom fabricated damper it would be much more expensive and would have been obvious from the quote.
The answer to this question lies almost entirely in two questions …How often do you use your fireplace? And how concerned are you with conserving your homes heat?
If you use your fireplace less than once a week on average you would certainly be better off just going for a chimney cleaning and a Chimney Balloon. In this case you are an occasional user of your fireplace and it spends much more time out of use than in use. You want as tight of a seal on your fireplace flue as possible to maximize heat savings and minimize chimney creosote smell.
If you use your fireplace more often than once a week on average you probably are not that concerned about loosing heat from your home since fireplaces tend to waste much more heat than they create for your home. The US Department of Energy states that regular use of an open fireplace will actually increase your heating bill. The major point of the Chimney Balloon is that is saves heat, not that it is easier to use than a damper.
So in this case you want to consider replacing the metal damper. You will get an inferior seal on you flue with a metal damper, but it will more convenient for you to use than a Chimney Balloon. As it is, most homeowners forget to close their damper after having a fire, and you may grow weary of installing and uninstalling your Chimney Balloon and some day you will just stop using it.
TR, I could give you a pat answer that “Of course the Chimney Balloon is your best option!!” but I think you will appreciate seeing it from both sides. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 5, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, On the “Sizing a Chimney Balloon” portion of the Chimney Balloon fireplace damper website it says to find a spot in the chimney that is low, like in the smoke shelf of the smoke chamber or by the damper, to measure for and install your Chimney Balloon? Why shouldn’t I just measure higher-up in the flue and install a Chimney Balloon up there? A smaller Chimney Balloon costs less money. – JC
A: JC, I know it is tempting for you to think we recommend a lower install location because we are just trying to sell a larger more expensive Chimney Balloon. But that is not why we suggest this. There are a number of reasons why you should install a Chimney Balloon in a lower location. Here are a few:
- It is best to install a Chimney Balloon in an area that you can reach with your hand because it will be easier to install and uninstall. When installing the Chimney Balloon you may need to prod a corner into place or adjust the alignment of the Chimney Balloon with your hand, and this is easier to do if the Chimney Balloon is installed in an easy to reach location. We make handle valve extenders for the Chimney Balloon in case it is not possible to install in an easy to reach location.
- If you do have a smoke shelf or smoke chamber then this structure shelf will help to support the weight of the Chimney Balloon once installed. The Chimney Balloon is designed to hold itself in place just by grabbing the flue sides through air pressure, but a smoke shelf makes its job even easier as it gives the bottom of the Chimney Balloon a location to rest. If the shelf is unusually deep and you need the valve of your Chimney Balloon to be somewhere other than the direct center of the Chimney Balloon this can be done through our custom order process. Here is a link to the blog about how to order a custom Chimney Balloon.
- If you install a Chimney Balloon low down you will be sealing off more of the fireplace inner chimney surface from your home. There are two advantages to this. If the creosote of your fireplace is particularly smelly or humid this isolates your home air from being contaminated by the chimneys smoky creosote smell. The other advantage is that heated air in a fireplace chimney tends to naturally cool and sink and create a draft sensation (Here is an article that addresses problems with top sealing dampers that tend to not stop the chimney draft)
The damper photo image above is a perfect example. The fireplace owner told us the chimney area is humid and sooty and smelly and the damper leaked cold air. We recommended a Chimney Balloon to be installed just above the damper, nice and low. After the customer installed the properly sized Chimney Balloon and used vinegar to neutralize the smokey aroma, the stinky fireplace smell stopped for good. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 3, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: I have a top sealing damper, and I still get a draft from my fireplace. It cost me $550 to get the chimney top damper put on my chimney and it only half solved the problem. Will a $50 Chimney Balloon stop the draft that is still there? – DP
A: DP – I remember talking to a Chimney Balloon customer from Detroit on the phone for nearly one hour regarding this very same issue. The result of our conversation was that the lock top damper and Chimney Balloon damperwork well together. The Locktop (otherwise known as a top sealing damper) and Lymance dampers keep birds and animals out and the Chimney Balloon stops the convection draft and chimney odor. You can use one or the other alone, but using them together is a very effective approach at eliminating draft, odor and other infiltration. This is an issue that we have addressed before in the Chimney Balloon Blog, but it is worth revisiting since it is a common question.
The light draft you are experiencing with the lock top or lymance damper is very common with top sealing dampers. When you seal a chimney at the top you are making your chimney into a large stopped tube that still has to be filled with warm interior air, so your furnace heats that air and it rises up into the chimney. Over time this air cools against the cold metal of the top damper and starts to sink. When it sinks it creates a light cool draft sensation in the hearth or the opening of the fireplace. This makes it feel like the damper is letting in cool air.
If you install a Chimney Balloon low in your fireplace you will eliminate this cold draft sensation. You may have concerns about the lock top or lymance damper chain or cable interfering with the Chimney Balloon, but we have found most of the time the Chimney Balloon will form around this chain or cable without a problem. However, there are a few things to keep in mind about the chain or cable for a lock top damper.
In the picture above the top sealing damper cable as a very faint line just to the left of the Chimney Balloon valve in the picture (see the orange arrow). You can also see that the Chimney Balloon has folded around and enveloped the cable. You see the cable runs along the edge of the metal damper there as well. In this application, the cable is getting frayed over time as it rubs up and down against the metal edge of this damper opening. That frayed section of cable has little needle-like protrusions and a flat side that is like a saw blade in roughness. Also, notice that the Chimney Balloon is tight like a drum. It is probably a little two tightly inflated.
- In this type of application wrap packaging tape around your chimney top damper cable in the area, the Chimney Balloon will come in contact with it. This will keep the flat sharp end of this cable from cutting the balloon. Also, do not actuate the cable by opening and closing the damper while the Chimney Balloon is in place. Remove the Chimney Balloon before you move the cable.
- When the Chimney Balloon is installed do not fill it drum tight full with air. Leave a little springiness in it.
- Also, purchase a Chimney Balloon that is a little oversized to allow for the extra material to envelop the cable. Two or three inches extra in length and width should give you what you need. In this photo example, a 33×12 could have been used normally, but they bought a 36×15 to get it around the damper cable.
If you take these prescribed precautions your Chimney Balloon will work just fine with your top sealing damper and stop the cold draft. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 1, 2019 | Chimney Plugs, Press
I love the weekly home improvement column by Jim and Morris Carey (The Carey Brothers). They are nationally-recognized experts on home building and renovation and syndicated columnist as well. Personally, I read their articles every Sunday in the Janesville Gazette. In Feb 2006 the Chimney Pillow was honored to be mentioned by them on their tip of the day.
Here is a snippet of their article:
“…So, as the fireplace gets used, it can warp and rust to the point where it won’t close tightly. If this is the case with your fireplace, look into a “chimney pillow.” This pillow is like a beach ball or an air mattress.
Place the chimney pillow into the fireplace flue just above the damper.
Inflate it by using a hand pump, or blow it up by mouth.
Close the tap on the fill hose.
The chimney pillow will keep hot air in and freezing cold air out. A label or another reminder should be placed on the hearth or in the firebox telling you to remove it before starting a fire. Deflation takes about a minute, and no tools are required….”
Read the rest of the article by clicking here.
Above article in part, the image in part and related content are the property of On The House Syndication Inc. All Copyright belongs to On the House Syndication.
by blogediter | Mar 27, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Dear Jason, Do you make a Chimney Balloon for a 10.5″ diameter, circular chimney uptake? Your products seem to be made of squares or rectangles. I can’t put a square into a round hole and expect a snug fit…or can I? Thank you. RM
A: Dear RM, Thank you for your Chimney Balloon question. You present a very common question about the Chimney Balloon. How can you fit a square or tapered Chimney Balloon into a round hole (like a round metal flue)? The answer is… Chimney Balloons are flexible and only expand as far as the flue wall allows it to and no further, the extra material either folds or pops inward and the Chimney Balloon is still able to seal tightly.
We have a tradeshow demo that we use to explain it and I took two photos of the demo, so you can see what I mean. This image is a 9″ clear tube with a 9×9 Chimney Balloon installed in it. Your 10.5″ diameter flue would need a 12×12 Chimney Balloon, but it will seal the same.
However, if you really want to get around 12″ Chimney Balloon we do make those as a custom for the same price as the standard, it just takes 14 days to get a custom made and shipped to you. The rounds are not listed on the website, so you would need to call in the order and we can enter the order indirectly with proper build notes. – Jason
