Chimney Balloon fireplace damper

Cheap and Free Tools and Methods for Saving Home Energy

Here is a list of some free and cheap

energy saving ideas that are good

advice for summer or winter:

 

 

 

 

$100 or less ideas

• Roll of Aluminum tape or mastic tape to seal the seams of the heating vents in the attic or basement = $20 for a roll
• Use squares of rigid insulation foam to make a box cover for the attic pull down stairs = $35 worth of foam and glue.
• If you have a drafty window or door pull the molding off to see if there is any insulation around the window jamb gap = $7 for a can of low expansion window foam.
• Use a chimney draft excluder like a Chimney Balloon or Flueblocker to plug the fireplace to prevent drafts through the damper = $45-$55 per fireplace
• Clean your AC coils. If you don’t want to fork out $100 or more for a professional AC tune-up, at least check your outside compressor and make sure it is clear of weeds, grass clippings and dirt free. Even a clean looking compressor can have a thin film of dirt on its fins, and that is limiting the heat transfer. Buy a can of foaming coil cleaner from the home improvement store and use your garden hose on low pressure to clean the fins. = $7 for a can of coil cleaner.
• Chase down drafts with a DIY energy audit. On a particularly windy day close your home up as tightly as you can. Then use a Smoke Pencil ($35) to check all your windows and doors and plumbing penetrations under your sinks to see if you are taking in air through the cracks. Use foam and caulk to seal them up. Then turn on your AC unit and while it is blowing, go to your attic or crawlspace (wherever your ducts are) and check the ducts with the smoke pencil to see if the joints and seams are leaky ad need more mastic applied.
• If your garage or attic tend to get super-heated, radiant barrier panels can help mitigate this. You can install these reflective panels into your ceiling joist bays in the attic or against your garage door sections to reflect out much of the radiant heat gain that is transferring into your home. They generally cost about $100 for 50 panels, which will cover most moderate sized attics.

Free

• Vacuum out HVAC return vent covers.
• Adjust the dampers on the heating vents to heat the rooms evenly.
• Do not use an open wood or gas log fireplace during cold weather. They tend to suck in more heated air from the home than they provide back.
• Clear the outside dryer vent exhaust flapper of any lint. The flapper should close back up completely when the dryer isn’t running.
• Keep long curtains from covering furnace and A/C vents (you would be surprised how often we see this)
• If you find bent/flattened fins on your AC coil, take the time to carefully use a butter knife to bring them back to straight. This also improves air flow and heat transfer.

How to stop warm humid air from coming down the chimney?

Q: Hi Jason,
I am a South Florida resident with a chimney in my home. Does a Chimney Balloon or Flueblocker help at all in reducing warm & humid air from entering the home? And for that matter, do they limit escape of cold air from the home? Thanks in advance for your assistance - MB

A: Hi MB,
Yes, the Chimney Balloon and the Flueblocker both help quite a bit from stopping hot and humid air infiltration. In the summer your AC, clothes dryer, bathroom vent fan, etc...can cause a reverse draft through the chimney. This causes the fireplace to siphon super-hot air from your roof area down the chimney into the house. If you have a wood burning fireplace this reverse draft will often manifest itself by a slightly smoky smell near the fireplace when you start to use your AC, clothes dryer, etc... Installing a Chimney Balloon or Flueblocker seals off the flue, so the chimney cannot snorkel the hot air down into your home.

Cold A/C air on the other hand tends to stay low and doesn't fly up the chimney. So you will find your energy savings comes from keeping the hot air out. - Jason

Help, my Chimney Balloon is deflating!

Q: Jason, Your customer service has been top notch, but I'm still not having good luck with the Chimney Balloon. I purchased one a year or two ago. Over time I noticed it had become deflated. I've not blown it back up a number of times in the past week. It must have a leak somewhere as it will not stay inflated. Do the valves develop leaks?

Anyway, I'm just a bit frustrated and wishing this worked better than it does. I'm not sure there's anything to be done about it, but I needed to vent (no pun intended). - SR

A: Dear SR,
There are some applications that are just not hospitable to the Chimney Balloon. I'm afraid this may be one of those applications.

However, we now have a product that is quite a bit more durable than the Chimney Balloon, because it is a dense-backed wool pad instead of an inflatable bag. It is called the Flueblocker. You can see it at www.flueblocker.com.

Judging by your photos and the Chimney Balloon size you purchased before, my bet would be on the 14x36 Flueblocker. The length will be perfect, but you might have to trim a bit off the depth. I would try fitting it full sized first to see if it is a pressure fit, and then trim down from there if needed. Just like a haircut, you can always take more off, but you can’t glue it back on.

 Here is a link to that size: https://www.flueblocker.com/product/14inch-x-36inch-rectangle/

- Jason

Distributor in the Maryland and DC area.

Here at Chimney Balloon we often get calls about where to find a local location that carries the Chimney Balloon or Smoke Pencil product. For customers in the Maryland, Delaware, and DC we proudly refer them to The Energy Conscious in DC.

The team at Energy Conscious are experts in many popular and unique energy saving products. But they are trusted experts in the Smoke Pencil and Chimney Balloon product line, and the stock the breadth our sizes and options. We are happy to work with the pros at Energy Conscious.

How to plug a round 8" flue pipe with a swivel damper?

Hi Jason, Here are a few pictures of my fireplace damper and round flue pipe. The diameter is 8" in the flue pipe. What size Chimney Balloon do you suggest? - LG

Hi LG, This application is one of the most common styles of damper and flue that we run into. These pre-fabricated fireplaces are very common, but the butterfly damper that you have there is notoriously leaky. The great news is yours looks like it has never been used, so you will have no soot to deal with when you install a 9x9 Chimney Balloon. Take the deflated balloon and slide it in past the open damper. Put a couple of puffs of air into it and make sure it is installing nice and horizontal. Then inflate it the rest of the way until it tightens up, and close the valve. The 9x9 install is very easy to do. - Jason

How do I remove paint and foam from fireplace brick?

Hi Jason, I just bought a house, and I have a fireplace that has been painted on the inside and out. Also it has been permanently sealed with expanding foam and foam board. I would like to open up the fireplace so it can be used again. Im wondering if I just cut the foam out and start a fire will i have a problem with the paint and leftover foam? Will that just burn off? - RM

Hi RM, Well, the previous owners were obviously not interested in using that fireplace, because they took some semi-permanant measures to decommission it. They are typical DIY mistakes really, but they will take some effort to undo. First of all, if you just rip out the foam and fire up some logs you are going to have some toxic off-gassing of the foam and paint. It is not going to be good, so you have to do your best to get that stuff stripped.

1) Cut the foam out. Do your best to cut out as much of the expandable foam. You will have to use a scraper and wire brush to get all of it off. The good thing is it looks like they used it over the area that was painted. If you get that Great Stuff foam into bare brick it soaks in deeply, and it is a nightmare to get off. The paint may have kept it from soaking into the brick pores. DO NOT try to burn the foam it off at all. The smoke from burning expandable foam can straight up kill you. No joke, it is bad news if you burn it.

2) Get that paint off the walls next. There is a gel paint strip called Lightning Strip. You will probably have to buy it online. I don't know of any chain store that sells it, since it is a specialty low vapor paint remover. Do not cut corners on this and get any old paint stripper. You are working in a tight space with this project, so you cant be using any old heavy vapor stripper. I have used Lightening Strip quite a bit to get latex paint off concrete and brick. You spray it on, and it releases the paint so you can scrape or scrub it off. Porous brick takes a few applications to get the paint out of the nooks and cranny's.

3) Now that you have it back to original, size it up for a Chimney Balloon. The reason the previous owner plugged it was because it was drafty. So get that thing plugged right with a Chimney Balloon. If I was to take a guess on size (just by the photo). I bet it takes a 24x12 Chimney Balloon, but go ahead and measure and pick a Chimney Balloon size from your measurements.

4) Before you have your first fire have the chimney inspected by a CSIA chimney sweep. Make sure they do a level 2 inspection that includes fishing a camera down the flue to see how the flue liner or flue tile look. If they say you need a new liner get an inspection report with photos and have it quotes by 3 contractors.

RM, I'm sure you were hoping I would say: "Rip out the foam board and fire up the logs!" but that would be dangerous solution for many reasons. Painting and foaming up a fireplace interior are very common mistakes well meaning homeowners make, and it takes some work to undo. But if you follow these steps you can have a usable fireplace and still have it sealed tightly in the off-season. - Jason

How to fix a damper with two chain pulls coming down under it?

Hi Jason, This is an old fireplace that is brick and masonry. When I look up the chimney I see the long rectangular metal damper door that pivots in the middle, and two pull chains [or linked pull rods] on the left and right that open and close the damper door by flipping it from horizontal to vertical like a big carberator choke. The area below the damper is 52"x17". How can I size a Chimney Balloon for this type of fireplace? - AE

Hi AE, From looking at the photo it looks like the damper is set up about 12 inches vertically above the termination of the lintel. This will give you enough room to put a large chimney balloon under the damper. I see the walls taper some on the sides, but are ressonable straight up and down in the front and back.

I recommend we go with a custom size 52"x17" chimney balloon below the damper. As you inflate the balloon the chains will  be pushed off to the side and the balloon will seal around them.

BTW, you are going to want a pump to inflate this 52x17 Chimney Balloon. It takes a lot of air to fill a balloon of this size. - Jason

***three weeks later***

Hi Jason, I got the 52x17 balloon in the mail a few days ago and Saturday I got it installed. Attached is a photo from the floor looking up at it.

After I inflated it I noticed that about 2 inches of the belly of the balloon is still visable below the lintel, but since the balloon is clear it is not very noticable. Especially since I keep the chain spark screen closed anyway. This isnt going to negatively effect the seal the balloon offers, is it? - AE

Hi AE, This large of a custom balloon will be about 12 inches tall when inflated, so it is not too surprising is portrudes below the lintel a bit. However, the balloon is clear and the firepalce is dark so you wont notice it.

And, no the seal will not be effected by the chimney balloon hanging down below the lintel a few inches. The contact seal will be on the upper side of the balloon anyway. If you use a strong flashlight to look through the balloon, you will see how the balloon sealed to the walls.

Godo Job BTW with the measurements and the install. You handled that application like a pro! - Jason

If it gets really hot outside will my chimney balloon burst?

Q: Jason, Are there any restrictions in using the Chimney Balloon in areas of the country where temps in the summer exceed 120 degrees? We live in Arizona and the outside temperature gets very high. I imagine it is even hotter by the chimney top on the roof. I dont want my Chimney Balloon to burst from the heat. - KL

A: Hi KL, As long as the thermometer outside doesn't go past 180 degrees F your Chimney Balloon will be fine, but if that happens we will have other things to worry about.

All kidding aside... The Chimney Balloon is heat reactive. If someone accidentally lights a fire under it. At about 180 degrees F the balloon material is designed to burst and shrivels like a shrinky-dink, so it can get out of the way fast.

But keep in mind your balloon is installed low in the chimney by the firebox. The balloon will be nice and shaded in there, so even if you roof temps get close to 180, that won't bother the Chimney Balloon. - Jason

How to prepare a Chimney Balloon to install it high into the flue?

Q: Jason, I have two chimneys and I am not using them. I just bought the house so I don't plan on using them this year at least. My heater is always on like every 10-20 minutes and as soon as the heater is off the house gets cold quick. I think that my chimneys are causing the heat loss.

I measured my chimney chute/hole and it looks like 12x6 (LxW). The problem is that it is about 36 inches up to reach this small 12x6 hole. I plan on getting a 36" extender and two 15x9 ballon, is that a good size? Please let me know. - AX

A: HI AX, Yes, you did size this application up well. A 36 HEK and a 9x15 should go into your flue tile nicely. You will want to pre-fluff the chimney balloon when you go to do this higher install though.

Pre-fluffing means to separate the top and bottom membranes of the balloon and crumple in the sides in, so effectively you are crumpling the balloon material up on top of the handle valve. This gets the balloon material to stand proud of the handle, but without adding air volume into the balloon. (See image at left)

Take the balloon with the extender attached and align the crumpled balloon material into the 12x6 spot you want to fill, then put a big puff of air in it. The sides of the balloon will pop out horizontally and fill the cavity. If the balloon starts to tip when you put in this initial puff of air, remove the balloon and squeezee the air out of it and try again.

Once you are sure the balloon is going in horizontally top it off with a little more air and close the valve on the bottom of the HEK extender. Higher installs can be a little tricky, so if you have any questions give us a call right away. - Jason

 

 

I have a problem with flies comming in through the fireplace.

Q: Jason, I have a awful fly problem, and I think they are coming down the chimney looking to get away from the outside heat.  Will the chimney balloon stop flies for sure? - MH

A: Hi MH, From our conversation on the phone,  I was glad to hear you had your fireplace cleaned recently. Sometime fireplace flies have to do with a dead animal in the flue, or pigeons using your chimney top as an outhouse. But since you have a screened chimney top and a clean flue we can rule that out.

Flies and wasps coming down through the fireplace is a very common issue, and the Chimney Balloon does stop them. Especially in spring and fall insects follow food and other smells down into the fireplace chimney and end up inside. We get this questions so frequently there is  a section of our website dedicated to it: http://www.chimneyballoon.us/bat_wasps_in_fireplace.html and some other blog articles regarding wasps as well: http://www.chimneyballoonusa.com/blog/2009/11/help-wasps-are-coming-in-through-my-fireplace-damper.html

The key to stopping flies in particular is to get an accurate measurement. Here is a section of the website that outlines how to do that measurement: http://www.chimneyballoon.us/Chimneyballoonsizing.html also you can give me a call or email pictures if you want advice on the measuring.

Once you have the measurements we need to get a Chimney Balloon for you that is as close to your measurements as possible (even if we have to go with a custom size), so you get a perfectly tight seal. Flies and maggots can be persistent in their entry techniques so you dont want wrinkles in the balloon from too much extra material. - Jason