by blogediter | Apr 19, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, I am very interested in this fantastic product. I live in Australia – do you have any reps here that I can purchase one from? I have a ‘Coonara’ style fireplace. Its a freestanding wood fire with glass door and a flue that goes up into the plaster roof lining and up outside where it has a pointed swivel thing that moves with the direction of the wind. My problem is that when its windy we have an enormous amount of wind noise that belts down the flue, even with the flue closed. Can I use one of your products?? If so would I have to take the swivel thing off of the roof to add the Chimney Balloon? Thanks very much for taking the time to read my question and I await in anticipation your response. Regards, CS – Melbourne Australia.
A: Dear CS, First I will answer your question about the chimney. The weather-vain on the top will not interfere with the Chimney Balloon installation at all, but it may be causing some of the wind noise you are experiencing. and the Chimney Balloon should work well with a Coonara style fireplace. The only hang up may be if the baffles in the fire box give you access to the chimney. You need to be able to touch the chimneys interior in order to install a Chimney Balloon.
For ordering you will receive better service through the New Zealand distributor which can be reached through the website www.chimneyballoons.co.nz or this number 03-314 3832. You will want to speak with Kathy (email: [email protected]), and i am sure she will be happy to serve you.
by blogediter | Apr 17, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, I spoke to you on the phone about my double sided fireplace. There is about 3.5″ from the bottom of the flue to the top of the arched opening into the family room. The dims are 42″ x 27.5″. None of your customer sizes looked like they would work. Can i get one 45″ x 31″? How much(go easy on me)? I live in Ohio. – KK
A: Dear KK, I would go for the exact size that you need since these large Chimney Balloons can be pricey. A 42×27 Chimney Balloon is a rather large Custom Chimney Balloon. I put that size on our Chimney Balloon custom page for you in case this is what you decide to do. Here is a link to the 42×27 order page, it costs $139.99.
You may find a better location to install a Chimney Balloon if you look for a spot with parallel walls either above or below the damper. Keep in mind you can use an HEK handle extender to install the Chimney Balloon higher. Large Chimney Balloons are difficult to make properly and require a lot of material so they do cost more than the smaller models. – Jason
by blogediter | Apr 12, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason – I have a heck of a time getting my fire started without getting smoke into the house. How can I get the fireplace fire burning without smoking the living room up? – PR
A: PR – So you start a romantic evening with your lovely wife, a bottle of wine, a comfy blanket by the hearth and then you set the smoke alarm off while trying to start the fire and the kids wake up and blow the whole evening. I only know this because I have done it myself.
Houses can be very tight nowadays, and it can be hard to get that initial air movement started to get the fireplace to draw well. Once the fire is blazing the natural lift of heated air helps to keep the smoke going out the chimney instead of into the living area. Starting a fire that is smoke free from the beginning is a bit of an art. Here are a few tips to start it off right.
- Glass doors are invaluable especially if you have a vent on them that is low to the floor. Open the lower vent, start the fire, then close the glass doors and they will keep 99% of the smoke going where it is suppose to go.
- If you have no glass doors, then you have to get the fire as hot as possible as quick as possible. My favorite way to do this is to use paper shopping bags. You can fill the bag with cardboard (not glossy print cardboard is preferable) or more bags. I usually fill two bags with dried twigs from the ash tree in the back yard. These twigs are excellent kindling and the tree drops them all year long. Light the bag in three spots on the bottom and you will have a roaring start to a fire in no time. Some people swear by newspaper, but I have read quite a bit on how the ink can create an undesirable sticky property to soot in your chimney.
- As a last resort you can crack a nearby window or door to allow a better draft for the fire. But who the heck wants to do this in the winter?! It is bad enough that the fireplace is going to suck your expensive home heat out the chimney. Like you really want to open up a window and let the cold winds blow! As I said, this is an absolute last resort.
- Once the fire is going strong you will get less smoke if you keep it burning hot. When you get down to coals it will not be producing much smoke as long as you have well seasoned wood. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 29, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Dear Jason, Help! I have a very nice EPA rated wood stove that was put in about a year ago. It was installed in my lower level and the trouble is it smells of creosote and smoke smell when I am not using it. I know it is negative pressure bringing the smokey stink back into the house. Can I plug the flue with a Chimney Balloon to prevent the backdraft from bringing the smell back in? – TW
A: Dear TW, It depends on what type of stove you have. The image to the left is the inside top of an Avalon woodstove that has firebrick baffles on the top of the firebox. These brick baffles can be removed and it gives you easy access to the round flue so you can install a 9×9 Chimney Balloon when it is not being used. In the picture, you can see the one brick is being lifted because they just set in there by gravity.
Other wood stoves are completely metal-clad in the firebox and the baffles are welded steel. In these fireplaces, you often have no access to the flue through the firebox.
On occasion, you can get access to another part of the chimney through a clean-out door portal. Usually, these are outside and near a bend in the chimney or pipe.
You have to have access to the woodstove flue or chimney to plug it with a Chimney Balloon. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 22, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, I am very interested in a Chimney Balloon for my fireplace damper. I have a question that does not appear to be answered in your FAQ’s. How do you install a Chimney Balloon with a dampener handle sticking down into the firebox area? I cannot remove the handle and it would seem to be an object preventing a seal. I am sure there is an answer to this and await your reply. – DS
A: Hi DS, I don’t mean to be picky about vocabulary (It was not my strong suit in school either) but the correct word for the metal door in the fireplace is a “fireplace damper“. It is a common slip of the tongue, people call them dampers all the time.
In your particular application, I would recommend that you take your Chimney Balloon measurement above the damper opening. This location will get your Chimney Balloon up and out of the way of the damper hardware that is below the damper door.
From the picture, it looks like the damper is nice and low, but photos of flues can be deceiving in depth. If you cannot easily touch the damper door with two hands I would recommend you purchase a HEK valve extender with your Chimney Balloon to make the inflation go easier. – Jason
by blogediter | Mar 18, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason, One of the fireplaces in our 1844 house has an oven built into the fireplace hearth face, which we’ve never used. The oven has a door, and there is a clean-out door below the oven door. Can you make a guess if the Chimney Balloon would seal off the oven as well as the fireplace in one shot? Thanks, MB
A: Dear MB, A picture is worth a thousand words. Thank you for that photo of the hearth fireplace oven.
Sealing both with one Chimney Balloon is not recommended since you don’t know how high up the connection may be in the flue. I would sell them individually.
On the fireplace…I would measure the area where the fiberglass is at (I can see the yellow sticking down just below the lintel). I understand that is a trapezoid shape, so you will need a measurement of the front, the back, and the depth of that flue opening.
If this main fireplace flue has a fireplace damper you will also want a measurement above the damper since that may be a better location to install a Chimney Balloon if the damper hardware is in the way in the lintel area. Sealing the large flue is the main issue and that will stop most of the air infiltration, so let’s do that first.
If you still have the draft coming through the hearth oven then we can do a separate Chimney Balloon for that inlet. My suggestion for the oven would be to measure the shoot that runs out of the top or side of the oven enclosure. It should be a smallish rectangle or square vent heading up like a chimney.
With those measurements, we can get this fireplace air sealed, so the cold draft is not an issue anymore. – Jason
