by blogediter | Jan 30, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Mikes Chimney
Q: Jason, We are trying to measure our chimney interior, but it is definitely impossible for us to get an accurate measurement. I personally thought it was about 24″ x 15″, while my financée thinks it’s 16″ x 14″…
We need to guess because we cannot reach the part where it begins to shrink in size. Nor will be able to stand in the chimney to place the Chimney Balloon inside. Currently, the only option we have is to lay on our back and reach upwards…Any suggestions?
We just moved into this house last month, and have realized that there is no damper. I personally noticed this when we got an $1100 oil bill after only 3 weeks..so all our heat escapes straight out the chimney. Any suggestions?
Also, the shape of our chimney is not at all like any of the examples you have on your site. How do we get some help on sizing, and learn exactly where to place the chimney pillow. We would like to get this in place as soon as possible, as it’s REALLY cold this time of year! Would it help if I drew an approximation of what our chimney looks like, and sent that your way to help? An immediate response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks-OTCR
A: OTCR-That drawing was very helpful, thank you. I have a few more questions for you before I answer with the best location. Is the inside surface of the chimney a rough material like brick or is it metal lining? Down near the base (the bottom of your drawing) is that the hearth opening? Does the top of the hearth have parallel walls? Regarding the lip drawn at the bottom of the drawing, is that a ridge at the top of the hearth? – Jason
Q: Jason – The chimney is definitely brick. Here is a scanned copy of what my chimney looks like. the bottom drawing is the view when laying on one’s back and looking up. Does this help with deciding the size and location of the Chimney Balloon?
As for the hearth, or what I believe you’re asking, there is a lip and then it opens up again before it becomes narrow. it only looks to be parallel at the very top where the chimney levels off and goes straight up. The bottom picture is exactly what i/we see when I lay on my back and look directly up.
(my fiancée drew the picture!!). I would guess that the opening is almost parallel. – OTCR
A: OTCR- Great, that is the best of all situations for surface texture and location. The slant of the chimney walls will force the top side of the Chimney Balloon downward, and the lip will force the bottom of the Chimney Balloon upward, effectively sandwiching it into place. The texture of the brick will also help the Chimney Balloon grab and seal to the sides of the flue wall.
So, measure the length and depth (width) of the opening just above that lip. When you know what those dimensions are, you can email them to me and I will let you know the size you need. There is a high probability that this will require a standard size Chimney Balloon. But custom sizes are available up to 3 feet by 6 feet in dimension.
Q: Jason – Okay I did the best I could when measuring just above the lip… I got 24 inches (or JUST short of 2 feet) by 14-15, possibly even 16 inches… boy is it cold in there… it’s definitely wasting our heat and we just had a huge snow storm…OTCR
A: OK a custom 24×16 would be the best fit for your fireplace. Unfortunately, it is a custom size that will take 14 days to build but I will get a hurry-up on your order and see if we can get done earlier. I feel very bad for you with that $1100 heating bill. – jason
by blogediter | Jan 28, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
As the United States Manufacturers Representative for the Chimney Balloon product line, I get the occasional honor and privilege to spend time with the inventor of the Chimney Balloon, David Woodman and his delightful wife Irene. In January of 2007, I took my first trip across the Atlantic to spend time with David and Irene as they hosted me at their home in Aldershot, England. See pictures below.
I was intrigued by the fact that David had worked on a variety of engineering projects over his well-traveled lifetime. Some of his most complected engineering projects included controls and design for British battleships, and complicated solid state electronics and robotics for assembly and manufacturing. On these and other smaller manufacturing projects David acquired a mastery of knowledge in plastics and metals properties and attributes.
David and Irene were wonderful hosts. They are proper and warm and inviting people with wonderful stories and a scrapbook full of travels. They have a real appreciation and knowledge of architecture and history. Irene also makes a mean espresso that managed to fend off my jet-lag for hours.
Their home “Victoria House” was a spacious 3 story home with ample room to host, do business, and relax. I was enamored with the AGA stove and the built-in espresso maker in the kitchen. With 5 fireplaces they had a variable showroom display of Chimney Balloon applications. It was no wonder David invented Chimney Balloons, it was purely out of necessity!
by blogediter | Jan 23, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, I have a wood buring fireplace and I installed glass doors from Home Depot. Can I close the doors while a fire is burning? – TS
A: TS, You will definitely lose less heat from your home if you burn with them closed. Granted you will be loosing out on some of that nice radiant heat that the fire is kicking out, but it is better to forfeit that than to give your fireplace open throttle to suck the heat out of your home.
I burn with my fireplace doors closed every time I use the fireplace. However, I do not use my fireplace much since it is such a losing battle to heat my home when I use it. When I do use it…it is nice and toasty warm up next to the fire and the rest of the house gets frigid cold because of the chimney air draw. I have resigned myself to using it in the fall and just plugging it with a Chimney Balloon for the other 3 seasons.- Jason
by blogediter | Jan 7, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Pot belly
Q: I have a pot belly stove with a bad damper on it. Can I use this Chimney Balloon to stop up the chimney? PBS
A: PBS, If you can reach into your pot belly stove and touch the location where the chimney meets the stove you can likely use the Chimney Balloon. That spot where the chimney meets the stove would be a good place to put it. I would recommend you put the reminder card on your handle if you use that stove at all. Odds are you have 9″ Dia stove pipe. If you do, a 9x9 Chimney Balloon will work well.
by blogediter | Jan 2, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Fall & Winter
Q: Do I close the chimney damper after installing the Chimney Balloon? – SR
A: You can have the damper closed if you have the Chimney Balloon installed up in the chimney far enough to close the damper and clear the damper hardware. But doing this is kind of like making sure to close your screen door when your heavy storm door is already closed. The screen door (damper) is not holding much back, the storm door (Chimney Balloon) is doing the bulk of the work.
There are a few things to keep in mind though if you do decide to close the damper.
1) When you inflate the Chimney Balloon make sure to install it as high above the damper as you can comfortably reach after it is snugly in place remove the long clear inflation tube from the valve handle and store the inflation tube.
2) If you try to force the damper closed and the Chimney Balloon is not high enough, it may put upward pressure on the valve section that is sealed to the Chimney Balloon portion. That is a little tough on your Chimney Balloon since it puts constant undue pressure on the valve and balloon seal.
3) The other issue is if you close your damper you may forget you installed the Chimney Balloon and just open the damper and start a fire. So make sure you put the red reminder card that is included with your Chimney Balloon in a very visible place, like on the burning grate or by the gas spigot lever.
I leave my damper open and leave the inflation tube attached so it dangles just above my head when I open the glass doors to the fireplace. With this solution, I still have no draft problem since the Chimney Balloon seals the flue tighter than my metal flapper damper ever did. – SR
by blogediter | Dec 24, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Bad Brick
Q: Jason – I have an old chimney that occasionally drops a brick off the outside of the chimney or inside of the flue. The damper of this fireplace is in terrible shape and I want to use a Chimney Balloon to seal it up, but will the Chimney Balloon stand up to falling bricks? – TR
A: Dear TR, The answer to your question is…maybe. I have seen the Chimney Balloon hold back quite a bit of falling debris before. Some masons even use a Chimney Balloon in a fireplace they are demolishing just so they don’t fill the house with dust and crumbled mortar. But I cant tell you a brick falling from 2 stories up won’t puncture it because that fully depends on the shape of the brick, the velocity it hits with, and the way you installed the Chimney Balloon. That and we really have not done any testing on the Chimney Balloon on falling bricks. But you pose a very interesting question.
I may be stating the obvious here, but if you have entire bricks spalling from your chimney and dropping both inside and out…you have a real problem. You should not be using this fireplace or chimney at all and you should have it looked at by a professional. This chimney may be on the verge of collapse and this can be a deadly situation. – Jason
