by blogediter | Aug 24, 2018 | Gas Logs
Bath Yellow Fireplace
Q: Jason, My wife and I recently bought a fixer-upper and are almost ready to move in. We knew that we had to do some work to our brick wood burning fireplace, and have been really swaying toward putting in a gas direct vent insert. When I looked up into the flu I was surprised to see that we don’t have a damper AT ALL. The previous owners had removed it leaving us with a 1′ x 2′ opening going up into our flu. My question is, will the Chimney Balloon work for me if I want to convert my existing fireplace into a directly vented gas log? -JD
A: Dear JD, Considering the outside temperature isn’t getting any warmer at this time of year, I would suggest you get a Chimney Balloon in this fireplace very soon so you won’t be loosing your interior heat up the flue.
It could be that the previous owner had a vented gas log in this fireplace when he lived there (he must have taken it with him) and that is why the damper was removed. Building code states that a vented gas log fireplace must have the metal damper removed or clipped open regardless if the fireplace is in use or not.
The reason for this code is to keep people with vented gas logs from accidentally asphyxiating the occupants of the home by burning the gas log with the damper closed. The side effect of this building code is wholesale heat and A/C loss 24/7 through the flue.
Many vented gas log owners opt to use a Chimney Balloon in the flue to stop the heat and A/C loss. If they accidentally light the gas log before manually removing the Chimney Balloon it is designed to shrink and burst and still allow the fireplace gasses to escape. This saves the occupants of the home but sacrifices the Chimney Balloon.
When you install a direct vent fireplace insert I suggest you have it vented through the wall and have the flue plugged with a Chimney Balloon. Even if you decide to wait on upgrading the fireplace get that balloon in right away. If you decide to vent the new direct vent gas fireplace up the chimney, you will still have to work out some way to plug the rest of the flue around the vent pipes. – Jason
by blogediter | Jul 30, 2018 | Gas Logs
Q: Jason, I am looking to dress up my fireplace with a hearth fender, and maybe some decorative iron hardware. – RC
A: Dear RC, There is a new company on the online scene that sells gas log and fireplace adornments. They are called Gas Log Station and they offer fireplace screens, andirons, grates, accessories and hearth fenders for gas log set ups.
I would encourage you to get some images from a magazine of the look you are going for. I am a fan of the British Traditional look with the fireplace bumpers and andirons. – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 25, 2018 | Gas Logs
Log wall
Q: Jason, I live in Tennessee, in a restored log home from the very early 1800s. I have a number of ventless logs inside of chimneys (which were originally wood burning.) We use our ventless logs during the winter to heat the rooms we’re in. (The house is 6000 square feet, and keeping the whole thing climate controlled seems wasteful, considering how poor logs are as insulators…) I want to figure out some way to keep more of the heat from the ventless logs in. Is the right thing to get one of your Chimney Balloons, some sort of heat reflector, a blower fan, or to stop being a cheapskate and spend the 700 a month it takes to heat the whole house if we simply do things “the normal way” with the central H/AC. – ER
A: Dear ER, Thank you for your interest in the Chimney Balloon. In order to answer your question well I think i need to clarify with you that you do in fact have vent free gas logs. If you have vent-free gas logs you would have no chimney at all in the fireplace. The vent free variety of fireplace is usually just a firebox in the wall with a heat disapator on the top of the fire box. If this is in fact what you have, then you have no need for a Chimney Balloon because you have no chimney. If you have a vented gas log then you do have a chimney in your fireplace and it is likely that the damper has been clipped open or is otherwise disabled due to current code regarding gas logs. In this case a Chimney Balloon will help you quite a bit. When a vented gas fireplace is not in use, its open damper will suck the heat right out of the room due to the air stack effect in your home, especially in historacle log construction like your home. As far as heating your home goes. Right now it sounds like you are practicing zone heating. This can be very effective way of cost savings in a home your size (6000 square feet). I hate to say this…but $700 per month is actually a resonable amount to pay in the winter months to heat this size of area with a traditional HVAC system. If there are not many of you living in your home you may find zone heating is the way to go. I am for it as long as it is done safely and makes your home as usable as it can be for your needs. I would encourage you to have an energy audit of your home (if you havent already) as a trained professional in insulation would be able to direct you to even greater savings, Jason
Q: Thanks for the reply. Here is where it gets weird. In the 6 fireplaces in my home, there *used* to be standard issue wood fires. Then they were replaced by vented gas logs in the 70s. In the very late 90s early 2ks, they replaced all of the vented logs with *ventless* logs. So I have 6 fireplaces with ventless logs in my house 🙂 Actual fireplaces, with chimneys. So, given *that*, what do you think is the right “plan A”? 🙂 Thanks! – ER
A: OK, well that clears things up a bit. Since you do have chimneys over these “ventless” gas logs then you can use a Chimney Balloon to plug these fireplace chimneys. The key is that you have to remove the Chimney Balloon from the chimney before you light that particular fireplace. This is particularly important to note if you are used to just firing up your gas logs without opening a damper. A Chimney Balloon is deigned to burst if you light a fire under it, and it doesnt matter if it is a vented or vent free fire. You have a unique situation here, but with a home that is 200 years old I bet you have a lot of unique situations with your home. Im sure it has a lot of character and has had many owners over it life and each owner has made interesting changes im sure. If I can be of further assistance please let me know – Jason
by blogediter | Jun 8, 2018 | Chimney Plugs
Fireplace damper swivel
Q: Jason, My fireplace has a small flue that is 7.5 inches in diameter. The type of fireplace damper I have is a small swivel type of damper. The damper is a round plate with a metal rod handle that goes through the middle of the round plate. See photo taken from inside the fireplace firebox looking up at the damper. Can I use a 9×9 Chimney Balloon on this chimney flue? – DC
A: Dear DC, Thank you for sending the photo of the swivel fireplace damper in your fireplace. A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to describing fireplace dampers.
I would guess you have a gas log fireplace considering I think I see a clip on your damper holding it open. Often these clips are put on dampers according to building codes that dictate that a fireplace with a gas log fireplace unit must have the damper disabled or clipped open if they have a vented gas log. This code was written so that a family will not be asphyxiated with Carbon Monoxide if someone turns on the gas log without opening the damper first. The unfortunate thing is having your damper open all the time lets in a lot of cold air and lets out a lot of expensive home heat.
A Chimney Balloon can be used in this flue and I would recommend a 9×9 Chimney Balloon with an HEK handle extender. When you insert the 9×9 make sure you DO NOT pre-inflate it at all. Simply attach the handle extender to the handle before installation, so that you will have plenty of reach to get the Chimney Balloon past the swivel damper and into a clear spot in the flue. Then slide the Chimney Balloon past the open damper and inflate it in place once you have it in the flue.
Since the 9×9 is slightly over-sized for this 7.5″ flue. If you start overinflating the Chimney Balloon you will notice that it will tend to want to tilt or tip sideways in the flue. If this starts to happen, simply remove a little air from the Chimney Balloon and coax it back down into horizontal position by pulling lightly on the handle valve. Let me know if you have any other questions. – Jason
by blogediter | Feb 7, 2018 | Gas Logs
Fresh Air Vent
Q: I have a fairly new home built in 2004. I’ve noticed that my living room area is colder than the rest of the house. I always thought it was because of the patio door or maybe the vaulted ceilings and it’s a large room. There is a fireplace I never use. I just noticed today there is a draft coming through the bottom where the controls are and the tile around the bottom is ice cold. This explains why my toes are so cold when I sit on the couch and watch tv. Is there anything I can do about this? I might just put some kind of insulation sheet in front of the whole thing. thanks for your help – JP
A: JP, There is a couple of different sources that could be letting in cold air. If this is a direct vent fireplace that is mostly sealed off from access and “breaths” through tubes or pipes that go through your outside wall, then it is likely bad or no insulation around the gas lines or venting pipes. This can be remedied easily once you find the pipes. If this fireplace has a regular stack chimney and the hearth is accessible to you, it could be that the fireplace damper is clipped open or disabled in some way. Gas log fireplaces in most states have to have disabled or clipped open dampers due to fire code. The reason for this is the county doesn’t want you lighting a gas fireplace without opening the damper since this can start a fire or asphyxiate you and everyone in the home. Another possibility, in this case, could just be a worn out damper. There is a blog entry about this: http://www.chimneyballoonusa.com/blog/2007/01/welcome_to_the_.html If you find that the cold air source is coming from a disabled, or old and crusty damper and inexpensive insulation option is a Chimney Balloon. They can be bought through the manufacturer at http://www.chimneyballoon.us. They are an inflatable plug that stops air passage. Good luck finding the cold air entry point, I know from experience that cold drafts like that can be uncomfortable. – Jason
