# DIY chimney baloon using two heavy-duty plastic bags filled with attic insulation?



## ajapale (3 Dec 2011)

horusd said:


> I bought one of these from a Scottish company for  around €30.00 odd , and it broke within a few weeks. I made my own  "ballon "using two heavy-duty plastic bags filled with attic insulation.  It works a treat.



Thanks horusd for this suggestion. But is it effective and safe and how does it work out in the long term?

aj


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## pudds (3 Dec 2011)

In our small end tce house there is two fireplaces, one in Kitchen and one in Sitting room, there is a strong upward draft from these.

I got two of those chimney balloons recently and they were quite effective but on calm or warm days I wished the chimneys were open so as to get a bit of air change through the house as opening windows is not always suitable.

Anyway I've dumped the balloons and got a mdf board about 1/2" thick to give it some weight so it will stay in place and on the back I have glued 1" Polystyrene board.  Its great and on days I want a bit of air I can just pull back the board a bit or remove it completely.

Must get a tin of paint now to spray it.


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## horusd (3 Dec 2011)

Hi aj, I've had mine in for nearly two yrs and never a draft problem since. You can easily fiddle them to fit into awkward corners etc, so I think they are much more effective than the balloon.


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## DGOBS (4 Dec 2011)

I was on a service visit to a house where something similar was used to block the chimney, it had been fitted by the previous owners, the new ones were there 3 weeks
and all were suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from using the gas fire! 

They were very very very lucky that their boiler broke down and I checked the chimney as part of a routine visit.

Blocking a chimney is a very dangerous practice, I understand the heat loss implications


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## esperanza2 (7 Dec 2011)

DGOBS said:


> I was on a service visit to a house where something similar was used to block the chimney, it had been fitted by the previous owners, the new ones were there 3 weeks
> and all were suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from using the gas fire!
> 
> They were very very very lucky that their boiler broke down and I checked the chimney as part of a routine visit.
> ...



That's quite frightening for anyone who uses gas. We have two unused chimneys and I was considering getting chimney balloons to block them. Now, I'm having second thoughts. How much heat can be lost through the chimney anyway?


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## Eithneangela (8 Dec 2011)

Our solution is in place for 6 years now - stuff a pillow up the chimney - great! Mind you, don't expect to use the pillow again


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## esperanza2 (8 Dec 2011)

Eithneangela said:


> Our solution is in place for 6 years now - stuff a pillow up the chimney - great! Mind you, don't expect to use the pillow again



A pillow? What if birds use it as a nest???


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## Leo (8 Dec 2011)

esperanza2 said:


> How much heat can be lost through the chimney anyway?


 
It will vary from house to house, but in all cases, it's quite significant.


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## Stephanno (8 Dec 2011)

I've always thought you needed to allow a bit of ventilation into the chimney.


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## Leo (8 Dec 2011)

Stephanno said:


> I've always thought you needed to allow a bit of ventilation into the chimney.


 
That's correct. Blocking it completely will result in condensation issues within the chimney that left untreated will result in structural issues over time.


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## Superman (8 Dec 2011)

For ventilation, it is best to have a 2" plastic pipe inserted with the plastic stuffed bag.
Tip to avoid DGOBS's problem - make sure the pipe sticks down a good way into the fireplace - so it is obvious if anyone goes to make a fire.


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## Eithneangela (8 Dec 2011)

I've got a mesh cover on the chimney to stop birds from coming down. Also, it's a feather pillow which I think is probably porous to a certain degree, allowing some air to flow - it just keeps out those awful Irish wet draughts!


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