Picking a Puffer to Smoke Out Your Air Leaks

After the blower door is set up and running, look for the leaks. You can use your hand to detect some leaks, but smoke puffers make other leaks easier to "see"

This episode of WxTV (also part of our Blower Door Basics collection) covers a few topics, but today, Ben peeks inside his toolbox at the 5:30 mark to talk about some of the tools of the weatherization trade:

1. Measuring devices: standard tape measure and a laser tape measure (you've seen these before).
2. Smoke puffers: Ben demonstrates an acid-based puffer, a silica-based puffer, a lightable puffer, and a liquid-based puffer. Prices range between $35 and $100 for these items on The Google (including the Ladies 'Puffer' coat which is smoke gray colored at $65!)

In the final part of this series, Ben will break down the results of our blower door test and sum up the major findings. But first WxTV will take an animated look at the physics happening when we run a blower door.
Ben's Toolbox Feature - tools used during the blower door process

released: 10/29/10

Director/Editor: Vince Cusomato
Host/Writer: Ben Cichowski
Production Coordinator: Brad Eberspecher
Executive Producer: Mike Vogel

Produced at the Montana Weatherization Training Center
copyright 2011. Montana State University