How to measure and fit your Chimney Balloon

Step 1

Gather some simple bits of equipment

Grab a tape measure. If you’ve got a headtorch, it’s useful for keeping your hands free to measure. Otherwise, any other torch will do. A pair of googles are also good to have to hand as this will stop soot falling in your face. Just remember your balloon will soon be keeping you nice and warm and it will last for years so it’s worth taking a bit of trouble at this stage to make sure you get the right size.

A prepared-casual scene with the words 'Be Prepared!' in large red text above three safety/camping-style items arranged on a wood floor: clear protective goggles with red straps, a red-and-black tape measure, and a red-and-black headlamp with a black strap.

Step 2

Choose where you want your Chimney Balloon® to sit

Look up your chimney and locate the height at which you want your Chimney Balloon® to sit. It doesn’t really matter where it sits. This is where you’ll measure. If you have a fire surround, you’ll need to measure the chimney beyond this.

Multistage diagram showing how to position chimney balloon in chimney

Step 3

Measure your chimney flue

If you have a round chimney, just measure the diameter (the distance straight across). For oblong and square chimneys, measure side to side and front to back.

A dimension diagram showing a square or oblong brick chimney opening with red and blue measurement lines labeled width, diameter, and depth, plus text notes for round and oblong chimneys.

Step

There are 4 sizes of Chimney Balloon® so all you need to do is choose the one that is the nearest in size to your chimney flue. Each one comes with a mouth inflation tube as standard. All of the Chimney Balloons are square or oblong but they will fit round chimneys as well.

A person's hands typing on a silver laptop computer on a wooden desk, with the laptop screen displaying a website for Chimney Draft Excluders.

Step 5

Measure the height

Finally you’ll need to measure the height from the opening of the chimney to where the Chimney Balloon® will sit. If it is more than 19cm, you’ll need to add one of our hand grip extension kits to ensure the safety tag shows once you’ve fitted it.