My HVAC obssesion continues

big2bird

big2bird

Charter Member, Founder Bird-Run, Cruise-In Bird-R
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
5,711
Location
Anaheim, Ca.
All this sealing up the house and all, I start working on a few chimney repairs and it hits me, like stupid. What do I do here? I've searched and found chimney ballons. Anybody recommend a particular unit? I havn't used the thing in years. I almost feel like putting a metal cap on the top, but a ballon might be the inherently safer way to go. Thoughts/advice?
 
The house I rented here in FL (that's Florida) had a chimney/fireplace ..... at the time I thought that that's a great place to put a widescreen TV.....:bounce::bounce:
 
Only fireplace I ever owned is in the ex's house, and in the basement, it's a split foyer, used to heat the whole house with a fire in there....one of them heatilator things, fan driven heat exchanger fire box with vents through the top brick.....

but I did notice there was a huge amount of incursion from cold air, dampers and caps and even glass doors....when unused....

I would imagine a tight top cap would be better, ours was more for bugs and birds with side screens....and a rain hat on it....putting a balloon in the thing is a cute idea, never thought/heard of it....
 
That made me laugh.

When I was a kid, my parents built a new house and the thing to do then was to have a fireplace. The first Xmas we were there, we fired it up, with the xmas tree in the same room etc. Picture perfect Xmas.
My dad decided that it was a real PITA and it was never used again.
Thinking that the flue dampener in the hearth wasn't enough to close air off, he made a nice aluminum plate, milled with a stepped recess and weatherstrip (he was a tool and dye maker and perfectionist) that fit tight onto the flue at the top of the chimney invisible from the ground and just forgot about it.
Well years later, the lightning rod got hit and blew the brick chimney off down to the roof line along with some other damage.
All was rebuilt and this time he made the cap out of plastic.
My mother sold the house a few years ago.

I haven't thought of this chimney in over 40 years and now I'm wondering how long it took the new owners to figure out how to get the smoke out of a 2 story house in the cold snowy winter. :lol:
 
:gurney::rofl: Yup that smoke in the house reminds me that especially being a basement fireplace, we had to light off some newspaper to get a good updraft going, as that cold column of air was much heavier than the typical startup wood fire could overcome....:confused::drink:
 
What's a "chimney balloon"?

But yeah if you have a fireplace, seal it up. Just remember though, if you ever do want to use for that picture perfect Christmas with the grandkids & all, with your house sealed up so tight the fireplace will backdraft, fill the house with smoke and possibly flare out and set the mantle on fire (that very thing happened here in Greeley just this last winter), so you'll have to open windows to provide combustion air.....(Of course, you probably won't be having 10*F with a 30 MPH wind outside, so opening the windows wouldn't be so bad....)

(AND NO DRAFT DAMPERS (of any kind--bi-metallic thermostat, draft wieghted, whatever) on any gravity vented fuel burning appliance! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! That's one hole you need---The only way around that is to seal up & isolate the room the equipment is in, and then you need to introduce combustion air from another (typically exterior) source.

Bird, I know you're smart enough to know this stuff--but, having dealt with citizens and understanding how some people think, or don't, I'm saying a lot of this stuff for others reading this.....(especially the likes of all you 'guests' from CF! ;):bump: )


Edit: OK i just looked up "chimney balloons". Why don't you just make a cap to fit in the top of the firebox from a piece of 3/4" OSB or some tin from the HVAC guys dumpster with some insulation on top? Caulk it in---you can remove it later. (If you cap the top on the roof, you'll be much more likely to forget that if you ever do want to fire it up) That chimney balloon looks like trouble to me--putting a blow-up plug in your chimney? I don't like the idea--plus there will still be gaps around which air will leak. Sounds like a midnite shopping channel product to me....

(Jeez, aren't I a dick? I guess someone has to fill Turtle's shoes since he's not coming around lately......)
 
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I could care less about being a dick, all I want is good information....:twitch::thumbs:
 
big2bird said:
All this sealing up the house and all, I start working on a few chimney repairs and it hits me, like stupid. What do I do here? I've searched and found chimney ballons. Anybody recommend a particular unit? I havn't used the thing in years. I almost feel like putting a metal cap on the top, but a ballon might be the inherently safer way to go. Thoughts/advice?
Click to expand...

hoppityhopsmall2.JPG
 
DeeVeeEight said:
big2bird said:
All this sealing up the house and all, I start working on a few chimney repairs and it hits me, like stupid. What do I do here? I've searched and found chimney ballons. Anybody recommend a particular unit? I havn't used the thing in years. I almost feel like putting a metal cap on the top, but a ballon might be the inherently safer way to go. Thoughts/advice?
Click to expand...

hoppityhopsmall2.JPG
Click to expand...

Major balls, right there.....:nuts:
 
010752 said:
That made me laugh.

When I was a kid, my parents built a new house and the thing to do then was to have a fireplace. The first Xmas we were there, we fired it up, with the xmas tree in the same room etc. Picture perfect Xmas.
My dad decided that it was a real PITA and it was never used again.
Thinking that the flue dampener in the hearth wasn't enough to close air off, he made a nice aluminum plate, milled with a stepped recess and weatherstrip (he was a tool and dye maker and perfectionist) that fit tight onto the flue at the top of the chimney invisible from the ground and just forgot about it.
Well years later, the lightning rod got hit and blew the brick chimney off down to the roof line along with some other damage.
All was rebuilt and this time he made the cap out of plastic.
My mother sold the house a few years ago.

I haven't thought of this chimney in over 40 years and now I'm wondering how long it took the new owners to figure out how to get the smoke out of a 2 story house in the cold snowy winter. :lol:
Click to expand...

Thanks Noonie, this was the hit story at work today.
 
John,
The water heater and furnace are outside. The range is gas, and the range hood has a damper. The dryer is inside, and has the little flapper. Make up air is supplied by the adjacent doggie door.:tomato:
 
Shitcan the electric clothesdryer and use a clothesline in the yard!!!! (& remember, all that air the dryer is exhausting (range hood too) has to be replaced by air sucked in from outside.) Biggest drop in the electric bill you'll make short of the fridge! (well OK, the A/C I guess but I have never had that anywhere either, be it in south Texas or SoCal or here in Colorado). I have never owned a clothesdryer in my life. So what, it takes a day or two maybe to dry the clothes--"plan ahead"-- christ all you ever wear is t-shirts, shorts & flipflops anyway! (but please, if you're built like me, don't start going without t-shirts!:D)
Doggie doors are good for passive ventilation (get it huh get it, "passive" ventilation---sometimes I just kill myself) (& sometimes others wish I would....)


Sheeit... how much would it cost to hire some cute little Vietnamese or Cambodian girls to come wave fans over you so you can shitcan the A/C too? :nuts: Oh that's probably a racist remark :footmouth: and besides they are 2nd generation by now from when I was there and won't work so cheap anymore....and then of course there's the "wife" factor...nevermind....pay the bill....:bump:)
 
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JPhil said:
Shitcan the electric clothesdryer and use a clothesline in the yard!!!! (& remember, all that air the dryer is exhausting (range hood too) has to be replaced by air sucked in from outside.) Biggest drop in the electric bill you'll make short of the fridge! (well OK, the A/C I guess but I have never had that anywhere either, be it in south Texas or SoCal or here in Colorado). I have never owned a clothesdryer in my life. So what, it takes a day or two maybe to dry the clothes--"plan ahead"-- christ all you ever wear is t-shirts, shorts & flipflops anyway! (but please, if you're built like me, don't start going without t-shirts!:D)
Doggie doors are good for passive ventilation (get it huh get it, "passive" ventilation---sometimes I just kill myself) (& sometimes others wish I would....)


Sheeit... how much would it cost to hire some cute little Vietnamese or Cambodian girls to come wave fans over you so you can shitcan the A/C too? :nuts: Oh that's probably a racist remark :footmouth: and besides they are 2nd generation by now from when I was there and won't work so cheap anymore....and then of course there's the "wife" factor...nevermind....pay the bill....:bump:)
Click to expand...

That sounds like something I would write, you sober then??

:drink::drink::gurney:
 
JPhil said:
Shitcan the electric clothesdryer and use a clothesline in the yard!!!! (& remember, all that air the dryer is exhausting (range hood too) has to be replaced by air sucked in from outside.) Biggest drop in the electric bill you'll make short of the fridge! (well OK, the A/C I guess but I have never had that anywhere either, be it in south Texas or SoCal or here in Colorado). I have never owned a clothesdryer in my life. So what, it takes a day or two maybe to dry the clothes--"plan ahead"-- christ all you ever wear is t-shirts, shorts & flipflops anyway! (but please, if you're built like me, don't start going without t-shirts!:D)
Doggie doors are good for passive ventilation (get it huh get it, "passive" ventilation---sometimes I just kill myself) (& sometimes others wish I would....)


Sheeit... how much would it cost to hire some cute little Vietnamese or Cambodian girls to come wave fans over you so you can shitcan the A/C too? :nuts: Oh that's probably a racist remark :footmouth: and besides they are 2nd generation by now from when I was there and won't work so cheap anymore....and then of course there's the "wife" factor...nevermind....pay the bill....:bump:)
Click to expand...

The dryer is gas. I could remove/pry it from Teri's dead body, but that would hurt too much. I'm sure it's boobie trapped.
I suggested a clothsline once. Do you remember "the look" I try to avoid "the look" whenever possible.
The gas bill is $25 a month. Not really too bad for hot water, heating, cooking, and drying for 3. Using the hot tub maybe adds $15 a month in summer. It has a full size pool heater for 700 gallons, and heats up in 30 minutes flat.:nuts:
 
All you folks and your fireplaces! It's still going to be 100* here this weekend. Even on it's coldest day in Vegas, the only real reason to have a fire (and a fireplace) is for the looks of it. I still have to convince Mrs 'Dust that the gas fireplace in our house is not built to the specs to actually burn wood. I keep telling her and it just doesn't register (wimenz!). One of these days, I'll be posting that our house burned down....
 
I just got my first electric bill since my "renovations" began. 20% drop in power usage since last year and dropping.:thumbs::thumbs:
 
I need to get up on the roof and spray Chlorox over the entire thing, and then next Feb...paint it Cool White roof paint/coating....

convinced the only color for a roof in FLORIDA is white....

need blown in insulation too...

seriously thinking of abandoning the HVAC next summer for just room a/c units....

:clobbered:
 
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