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
by blogediter | Mar 25, 2019 | Gas Logs, Chimney Problems
Q: Jason, I live in Dallas TX and I have a gas log fireplace. Every fall I get wasps coming in through the fireplace chimney and they make it through the damper into the house. Right now I am running the gas log 24/7 to keep the wasps out, but I know it is going to cost me in the utility bill at the end of this month. If I put in a Chimney Balloon will it seal tight enough so the bees cant get in the house? Can the bees sting through the Chimney Balloon? – TY
A: Dear TY, In the late fall (usually November) we get inundated with calls from fireplace and gas log owners that have wasps and bees coming down their fireplace chimney and right around their metal damper.
The Chimney Balloon seals wall to wall inside the chimney flue so it is a very good way to plug the chimney nice and tight so the wasps have no entry point through the flue. The Chimney Balloon material is made of a multilayer laminate so the wasps would never sting their way through it. But, It is always a good idea to get the Chimney Balloon installed before the wasps start their annual pilgrimage down your chimney. Once wasps start coming in they generally do it en-mass, so it is best to cut them off first.
Plugging the flue will allow you to turn off the gas log fireplace and save some of that gas you are burning up. It also won’t hurt for you to look around for other entry points that the wasps and bees may be coming in through like soffits or window jambs – Jason
by blogediter | Feb 25, 2019 | Chimney Plugs
Q: Jason, See below. There doesn’t seem to be enough room under my damper to use the Chimney Pillow/Balloon. There is plenty of drafts. – SZ
A: SZ, Thank you for the pictures. they are very descriptive. With this application, I would tend to recommend to put the Chimney Balloon above the damper. I see you have what appears to be sufficient room below the damper if you open it up to get the handle out of the way, but I think the best route would be to measure above the damper with a folding carpenters ruler. I have attached a diagram of your chimney if it does have a smoke chamber above the damper in the flue, If you install it high enough you may even be able to close the damper after the Chimney Balloon is installed. I am just taking a guess that this fireplace does have a smoke chamber, but even if it doesn’t I think the best install location is above the damper. See the diagram below. – Jason
by blogediter | Feb 13, 2019 | Fireplaces
Q: Jason – Our house gets smoky when our furnace runs while using the fireplace. The chimney inspector told us we needed to extend the fireplace chimney, so he did. We keep a window cracked by the fireplace as he suggested. that didnt fix it, so it still gets smoky in the house when the furnace runs. – LW
A: I would suggest a couple of things try while you are running your fireplace. these things should help you diagnose where the issue is.
1) Burn a fire in the fireplace with the glass doors closed first…if this eliminates the problem then the smoke is comming straight out of the hearth and getting into your cold air return for circulation around the house. Be sure to compare burnin with the doors closed first and then the doors open.
2) Try running your furnace on fan only and see if the problem is still there. If it is not then your furnace is drawing air from the outside that is smokey. If it is still there than it is certain that your cold air return is getting access to the smoke somehow.
3) If this smoke problem is intermittent then try to note which direction the wind is blowing when this happens. Wind can be a factor in the fireplace smoke wisping past the furnace intake. this is particularly an issue if you have a direct vent furnace.
4) Did your chimney inspector do a complete inspection of the interior of your chimney. Possibly a camera inspection should be done. If you have a crack in your chimney liner the smoke may be getting into the home that way. A damaged liner is a very dangerouse situation that will need immediate repair. – Jason
