Lock top dampers and other chimney top dampers

svheat 1 post Dec 15, 2005 3:25 PM	how good does it work? How much air can I really expect to stop? Last Edited svheat on 15-Dec-2005 3:26 PM
jasonr 9 posts Dec 17, 2005 9:54 PM	Svheat, The amount of money you save with a Chimney Balloon is directly proportionate to how bad your damper leaks. If you have no damper or keep it open the Department of Energy says you will consume 30% more fuel (conservative estimate). If you do have a damper and it is in good shape you are better off, but a metal damper is still not a good way to hold back the cold and keep in the heat. Imagine you install a metal flap damper on your front door as a mail slot. Aesthetically that wouldn’t be pretty, but it is certain you would feel the cold convecting through the metal, and if you have the slightest warp-age to the metal you are going to feel a full on draft. The reason we don’t think about our damper and the cold air it lets in is because it is out of sight up our chimney not on your front door. One good way to tell if you need a chimney balloon is if you stick your hand in the hearth of your fireplace and you notice a temperature change. If it is colder in there, a chimney balloon will without a doubt save you money. If you notice no change a chimney balloon will help, but it wont help as drastically because your damper is in better shape than most. Probably the testimony I can give is my own. I have a chimney balloon for my own fireplace. Before I installed it my livingroom floor was ALWAYS cold and so were my feet. I had a damper and I had glass doors on my fireplace, but that was not doing the trick. After I installed a Chimney Balloon I no longer had the cold floor problem and the brick hearth was room temperature. ---------- Jasonr Moderator Last Edited jasonr on 25-Jul-2006 7:57 PM
grybrd Guest Dec 18, 2005 3:10 PM	I have an 113 year old house with 6 fireplaces ... they were originally coal burning units .. they all have the damper on the top of the chimney ... will the ballon work with that configuration
jasonr 10 posts Dec 20, 2005 10:48 AM	WOW 6 fireplaces! that has to be some kind of record! It is very wise that you have a chimney top damper on these chimneys, however the chimney top damper still allows the warm air of your home to rise up into the chimney and cool in the chimney and sink back down. You may notice a slow cool release of air from your fireplaces. That cool air is likely not outside air, but just cooled inside air sinking back down again. I have had customers with chimney top dampers that have used the chimney balloon on the bottom of their chimney in addition to their top damper and it has made a difference. With 6 chimneys the difference would be significant. ---------- Jasonr Moderator Last Edited jasonr on 25-Jul-2006 7:59 PM
grybrd Guest Dec 25, 2005 12:24 PM	thanks for the response ... one of my concerns is if the damper cable will interfer with the ballon sealinf proberly
jasonr 11 posts Dec 27, 2005 9:59 PM	Recently a home owner in Detroit asked me the same question you are asking when he ordered 3 Chimney Balloons for his home. He had Lock-top dampers just like you, on all three chimneys as well. After he installed the chimney balloon he reported that it sealed just fine despite the chain. The balloon simply presses the chain against the flue wall and expands around it causing no noticable leak or draft. ---------- Jasonr Moderator

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