TIL a chimney balloon can pop your liner if you run the furnace

I shoved one of those inflatable chimney balloons up the flue in my own house last fall after a bird got in. Two days later I fired up the gas furnace and heard a bang so loud I thought the water heater blew. The balloon held the damper shut enough that the exhaust had nowhere to go, and it cracked the terra cotta liner right near the crown. Cost me $1,400 to have a stainless liner dropped in, but now I only use them in the summer and never with fuel burning appliances running. Has anyone else had a balloon fail like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa39427d agoMost Upvoted

That $1,400 hit is why I only use mine when nothing's burning too.

gavincampbell26d ago

Ha, I get where you're coming from, but I'm the opposite. That big hit is exactly why I use mine for everything, even the small stuff. It forces me to stay on top of it instead of letting things pile up until it's a crisis.