I think I have a hole in my balloon

Q: Jason, I have a Large 36×15 Chimney Balloon and over the period of 1 week it tends to get soft and let outside air blow by it. It doesn’t get totally limp or fall from the chimney. Is this normal? RP

A: RP, No it is not normal. The Chimney Balloon is designed to be airtight and should only need a little extra air every 12 months. It probably has a small pin-hole at the seams and as it loses a little air pressure the pinhole closes and keeps it from going totally limp. The Poly tri-laminate that makes up the balloon portion of the Chimney Balloon is a very tough material that resists stretching and abrasions very well but occasionally a sharp bit of metal or hardware in the flue can puncture all 3 layers of a Chimney Balloon and cause this to happen.

The fix is very easy. Find the hole, cut an oval patch out of some thick gauge packaging tape, and tape over the hole. The toughest part is finding the hole. What our testing and return personnel does to find and patch a pinhole is:

  1. They inflate the Chimney Balloon with a cordless air pump until it is drum tight full. Then they pass the Chimney Balloon under a showerhead to make sure all the soot residue has been removed, and they dry the Chimney Balloon off with a rag.
  2.  Then they hold the Chimney Balloon about 3 inches from their eyelashes and pass the entire surface of the Chimney Balloon past their eyelash. The cheek and the eye are so sensitive to air currents that it will be easy to sense when the pinhole passes by the eye or cheek and blows air at it. they then inspect that area closely with a flashlight to find the exact spot that the hole is at.
  3. They cut an oval patch out of very thick gauge 3M packaging tape and they place the patch over the hole so there are no bubbles or wrinkles under the patch.
  4. Then they let the Chimney Balloon set for 48 hours fully inflated to make sure it doesn’t lose any air.

If you want to do this on your own you are welcome to do it yourself. Or you can mail it to our return testing lab with a note explaining the situation. They will be happy to do it for you and return it to you free-of-charge. Here is the link to the contact info for our return lab: http://www.chimneyballoon.us/contactus.html

Welcome, Please read this first.

Welcome to the Chimney Balloon Blog. This blog is specifically designed to be a searchable database to answer any question you could possibly have about Chimney Balloons and fireplaces. Most of the blog is composed of questions and answers that Chimney Balloon customers have emailed us about the product. We research our answers thouroughly and would like to share those answers with you.

Occasionally your host, Jason Raddenbach, will also speak on topics such as home energy conservation or his experiences with other home energy conservation products, both good and bad.

We try to keep to these fine boundries in our blog, but if you would like to chime in with anything, feel free. We may move our conversation to the “personal” catagory though if we get too far off topic.

The fireplace flue walls slant under my damper, where do I put the Chimney Balloon?

The fireplace flue walls slant under my damper, where do I put the Chimney Balloon?

Chimney Balloon sizing

Q: Jason, I have read in your Chimney Balloon sizing instructions that I need to find a location in my flue or firebox to install a Chimney Balloon that has roughly parallel walls on at least 2 sides so the Chimney Balloon can lodge itself in place during installation. In my fireplace 2 sides of the walls of the firebox taper upwards to a damper that is controlled (or actuated) by 2 chains (See picture). Does this mean I can measure the area below my damper (where the ruler is in my picture) and install the Chimney Balloon there? If yes, what do I do with the chains? – SH

A: Dear SH, Thank you for the picture, that did help to clarify what you are looking at. And yes, you can measure and install the Chimney Balloon in the area below your damper in this case. When you install the Chimney Balloon either push the chains to the side or allow them to rest on the top side of the Chimney Balloon. To get the proper sized Chimney Balloon you will want to measure the area where your folding carpenter’s ruler is at in this picture. If your measurement is 24″x28″ then buy a Chimney Balloon that is at least that size and it wouldn’t hurt to buy one slightly larger in both width and length. – Jason

Sideways Chimney Balloon install, Is it OK?

Sideways Chimney Balloon install, Is it OK?

9×15 small Chimney Balloon

Q: Jason, When I went to install my 9×15 small Chimney Balloon I got it in there a little sideways. Is it OK the way it is, or should I remove it and install it again? It is sealing tight and no more air is coming through. – EC

A: Dear EC, The Chimney Balloon is in there a little sideways. The handle valve should be coming straight out the Chimney Bottom of the Chimney Balloon through the old damper opening, but if it fills the void and stops the air passage that is the most important thing. It certainly won’t hurt anything to have it in the flue that way you have it. – Jason