by blogediter | Apr 29, 2019 | Gas Logs
Q: Jason, Should I be concerned about using the Chimney Balloon to plug the flue if I have a gas fireplace and the pilot light is continuously on? The fireplace also has glass doors that seal about 90% of the fireplace. – CT
A: CT, A small pilot light will not burst the Chimney Balloon, but do keep in mind that when you seal your flue you are essentially eliminating the outside air source for your pilot light. So if the flame goes out the fuel smell will go into the house, and likewise all gases created by the pilot light burning are going into the home. It is our opinion that the gas source should be turned off along with the gas to the pilot so you have no backup of any kind into the home due to the energy saving tight seal of the Chimney Balloon. We realize this is an overly cautious statement to make, but our customers safety is foremost to us. – Jason
by blogediter | Aug 6, 2018 | Fireplaces, Chimney Problems
Fall and Winter
Q: When I light my wood burning fireplace, my gas furnace pilot light on the other side of the house blows out. How do I stop this? – ST
A: Dear ST, Well without actually seeing this particular situation in action it is hard to tell. Two major questions are: How old is the furnace, is this an open fireplace or enclosed fireplace?
If I had to take an educated guess…I would say that the stack effect in your home is rather strong, and the draft is accelerated through your furnace when you light the fireplace and this is blowing out the furnace pilot light.
When you open your fireplace damper there is heated inside air immediately rising out of the chimney. As you light and stoke a fire the volume of air escaping your house through the chimney is higher and higher. That is why heating with an open fireplace is a losing battle. Since your home has to take in air in other areas to replace the air it is loosing out the flue, your normal drafts in your house (around baseboards, outlets, doors, windows & furnace flues) are under pressure to allow in more and colder outside air. This type of increased draft could be what is blowing out your furnace pilot light.
This has the potential to be a dangerous situation so you will want to have an HVAC tech over to check the furnace draw during the fireplace use. – Jason
