Chimney balloon has been sucked up the chimney... how to get down?

thekooman

Hi all,
bought a chimney balloon awhile back and put it into our open fire chimney. with the storm a few weeks back it must have been sucked up the chimney... there is no sign of it at the bottom!! :rolleyes:

anyone have an idea of how to get it down without going up on the roof? there is a bird thing on the top of the chimney pot so that could be stopping it but i can't see from the ground. im afraid that if i put on a fire that it'll smoke us out of it!

Prenderb

YEah, unfortunately lighting a fire is a bad idea. What's the balloon made of, anyway?

First suggestion, use a mirror and torch to have a looksee - it might be easy to see if it's near to the fireplace or further up.

Other than that it might be a job for a chimney sweep? Or depending on what the balloon's made of, a long pointy stick. But you want to be very very very sure that all the material's back down in the fireplace and you've not left any up there.

Disclaimer: I probably shouldn't have answered this, but I'm only trying to be helpful, and all actions are undertaken by thekooman on his own liability :P on the basis that I've never done this before and I'm not an expert.

paddy147

Ah poor Santa has no way of geting down the chimney now.:eek::D

All joking aside,mirror and torch is a good start and also try sending up a chimney sweep rod or plumbers drain rod set and see where its lodged.Try poking it and might unlodge itself and send it back down the chimney to you.

meercat

if you see it and its not too far up,a hot poker might do the trick

"Yes. If you forget, it will shrink in about 40 seconds and let the smoke and fumes go up the chimney, and save your life. You'll then need a new one."

http://www.chimneyballoonsdirect.ie/Chimney%20Balloons%20FAQ.aspx

it says in the link,if you light fire accidently ,the balloon will pop and fall out

MicktheMan

meercat wrote: »

if you see it and its not too far up,a hot poker might do the trick;)

how do you heat the poker?:D

meercat

with a lot of hot air;)

thekooman

cheers all for the ideas... got me laughin anyways! put 7 chimney rods up from the bottom and i didn't hit it. house is about 7.5 metres high to the ridge so ill need another 2 or 3 rods.i think it'll be a job for Saturday morning; have a roofing ladder so should only take a few minutes.
all im gone hear from the wife now is.... i told you not to buy that thing!
we have a stove so i could heat a poker but when i have the ladders its as well push it down if its not already at the top.
got it from the esb.

meercat

meercat wrote: »

if you see it and its not too far up,a hot poker might do the trick

"Yes. If you forget, it will shrink in about 40 seconds and let the smoke and fumes go up the chimney, and save your life. You'll then need a new one."

http://www.chimneyballoonsdirect.ie/Chimney%20Balloons%20FAQ.aspx

it says in the link,if you light fire accidently ,the balloon will pop and fall out

cnocbui

Do you have any small children?

dnme

meercat wrote: »

if you see it and its not too far up,a hot poker might do the trick

"Yes. If you forget, it will shrink in about 40 seconds and let the smoke and fumes go up the chimney, and save your life. You'll then need a new one."

http://www.chimneyballoonsdirect.ie/Chimney%20Balloons%20FAQ.aspx

it says in the link,if you light fire accidently ,the balloon will pop and fall out

But this is based on the balloon being in its normal position at the base of the chimney, i.e. near the fire where it will melt.

If the balloon has gone up the chimney, then it may not melt or it will take much longer to melt and the OP will have a house full of smoke.

Joey the lips

why cant you light a fire folks... My understanding is that you can... Its the reason you use them...In case you accidently forget and light a fire...

It will only pop

dnme

Joey the lips wrote: »

why cant you light a fire folks... My understanding is that you can... Its the reason you use them...In case you accidently forget and light a fire...

It will only pop

Joey, see #10

Joey the lips

dnme wrote: »

Joey, see #10

Gas flame so or heat gun... No fire so no smoke...

Buford T Justice

Can you not just hire a set of sewer rods and give the chimney a clean while you're at it?

Worst case, hire a roof ladder to go from the top down and get it out.

maddragon

Fire a few rounds of 5.56mm up the chimney.

dnme

maddragon wrote: »

Fire a few rounds of 5.56mm up the chimney.

:D:D:D:D:D

wowy

Hate to create a zombie thread, but this is after happening to me last night.

I even had it tied to the grate to stop it happening, but (typical Murphy's law) it untied and is now about 6-7m up the chimney now. I have no way to get to the roof (ground floor apartment with duplex above me) - is the only way to get a sweep in to get it down?

thekooman

wowy wrote: »

Hate to create a zombie thread, but this is after happening to me last night.

I even had it tied to the grate to stop it happening, but (typical Murphy's law) it untied and is now about 6-7m up the chimney now. I have no way to get to the roof (ground floor apartment with duplex above me) - is the only way to get a sweep in to get it down?

Hi wowy,
Typical, isn't it! Breezy weather for it to happen as well.
Is there a cowel or bird cage on top of the chimney? If there is nothing to stop you pushing it out the top then get a few chimney rods in a local coop (we have NCF coop near us) and push it out with a cork screw on the end of it or even one of the those black 6inch cleaners.
If you want to pull it down then heat up d cork screw on the end of the chimney rods, pushing and turning up at the same time.

I got it down by using the ladders as it was stuck under the bird stopper thing I have on the chimneys.
The balloons are a waste of time as far as I can see.

wowy

thekooman wrote: »

Hi wowy,
Typical, isn't it! Breezy weather for it to happen as well.
Is there a cowel or bird cage on top of the chimney? If there is nothing to stop you pushing it out the top then get a few chimney rods in a local coop (we have NCF coop near us) and push it out with a cork screw on the end of it or even one of the those black 6inch cleaners.
If you want to pull it down then heat up d cork screw on the end of the chimney rods, pushing and turning up at the same time.

I got it down by using the ladders as it was stuck under the bird stopper thing I have on the chimneys.
The balloons are a waste of time as far as I can see.

Thanks thekooman. I haven't checked, but I presume that there is something at the top of the chimney. It seems to be a bit lower now (about 3-4m), but still well out of reach. The bloody wind is still sucking it, and it's rubbing against the flue, driving me demented! The people above me are probably wondering what's going on.

My dad has chimney rods, that's a good idea on heating the end and making the balloon deflate. I'll do that over the weekend, thanks.

ART6

If these balloon things can get sucked right up the chimney, I might get one. Sounds to me like a very effective way of sweeping the chimney with minimal effort:D

PaulTheMajor

I got a chimney balloon in December, and it took an hour to get it to stay in place, so my main concern was that it would fall down. However, it appears to have been sucked up into the chimney well beyond reach, so when I needed to light a fire I followed the instructions which say that lighting a fire will cause the balloon to safely disintegrate (within seconds).
NOT TRUE!!!! Smoke poured into the room and has caused serious smoke damage. I almost called the fire brigade. After about 15 minutes, with smoke still filling the room, I managed to put the fire out. I have no idea if the balloon is gone, however, we will have to get a chimney sweep to be certain, and then clean and redecorate the room.
An expensive experiment, so, BE WARNED!!!!