Best way to clean flue

[Ironworker]

Well I pulled the trigger and got the sooteater flue cleaner and was wondering what the best way was, I was thinking to burn a hot fire before shutting down, then after it cools down go in there, start at the bottom and work my way up with the drill on forward then work my way down with my drill on reverse and a vacuum on the whole time. I was hoping some of youse can post your method or what works best.

 

[ss~zoso~ss]

we got that product and use it on our insert, works great, just go slow because if that head gets caught you could break a rod and potentially have it stuck up in the liner somewhere

 

[philoshop]

I work from the top down with a basic brush and rods. Keep the stove door closed while brushing to keep the soot contained.
It's 15' of straight chimney though, so your situation may be different.

 

[stihly dan]

Top down here with a manual brush, keep the clean out open and let the soot fall on the ground. Although I don't clean the chimney anymore as there is no need to.

 

[Marshy]

Im old fashioned and use a regular steel brush, 9x9 square (clay lined chimney). I have 30' of nylon rope tied to the top of the brush and about 30 lbs of log chain cable tied to the other end. Just drop that baby down and pull it back to the top. The weight does all the work on the way down and I do all the work on the way up. I use a small 1.5" round to wrap the rope around (1 full wrap) so I dont hurt my hands pulling rope. Rinse and repeat untill it makes a nice easy clean pass all the way to the bottom. One or two more passes for good measure and Im done. It actually makes quick work of it.

 

[firebrick43]

creosote/ash from fire burning equipment is a sure fire wire of purchasing a new vacuum when using it to clean with your old one.

Just put a small lined cardboard box at the bottom and use a manual brush from the top/roof. Is your flue square or round? A powered brush in a square hole is useless and also never run your drill in reverse. But seriously, up and down by hand is just fine. use a small dust pan/shovel to pickup any soot that missed the box setting in the bottom of the flue/stove.

 

[Ironworker]

creosote/ash from fire burning equipment is a sure fire wire of purchasing a new vacuum when using it to clean with your old one.

Just put a small lined cardboard box at the bottom and use a manual brush from the top/roof. Is your flue square or round? A powered brush in a square hole is useless and also never run your drill in reverse. But seriously, up and down by hand is just fine. use a small dust pan/shovel to pickup any soot that missed the box setting in the bottom of the flue/stove.

Why can't I run a drill in reverse?

 

[7hpjim]

This is the way I do it, The head is trimmed to 7" so the strings don't get wrapped up, and seem to flail the inside of the flue better,.
1- Attach heavy plastic sheet to end of flue tee with duct tape( I use old softener salt bags that I cut so I get a double layer) and cut a cross in it for sending the head and rods in to the flue.
2- Attach head and subsequent rods 1 section @ a time until all rods are attached stuffing them up the flue 1 section @ a time (take care to make sure they lock before attaching the next rod)
3-Attach rod adapter to drill (I use a 1/2" drive)
4-Start drill slowly and once the the head is rotating freely I go full speed and pull the away form the flue until I get to the section connection and then push back in then stop and reverse drill and do the same thing.( up down couple of times per rod section).
5- Repeat procedure for each rod section,removing sections as you finish each section of flue.
viola- chimney cleaned from the basement and dont have to climb a ladder until spring, hope this helps

 

[Dirtboy]

Top down here with a manual brush, keep the clean out open and let the soot fall on the ground. Although I don't clean the chimney anymore as there is no need to.

Top down also, pull the brick out of the top, put tin foil down and shut the stove door. When the dust settles just scoop it out.

 

[dave_376]

Grey Fox,
7hpjim is the only person who attempted to answer your question and he gave you sound advice. Everyone else is old school with a brush and rod. I also have a soot eater and it works great on my 6"ss lined chimney!!!! If I was burning in a clay flue I would use steel brushes ect to clean all the crud but in a flex liner the soot eater is the bees knees.

I have used a 1/2 in corded drill and my 18 v cordless and couldn't tell a difference, the 18v is always handy so I use that more often. I run it full speed on the low gear setting (forward) up to the top and then down to the bottom taking the extra rods off on the way down(adding more on the way up). never thought of reverse and it shouldn't be necessary unless you have creasote.

step 1 loosen the lines up and pull them until you have 4" on one side of the head and a long piece on the other side. Tighten the head up and trim the long side to match the short side and keep the excess for a replacement.

Watch out with sharp bends 90 degrees or more because you may break a rod.

 

[philoshop]

The OP asked how we did the deed.
Most of the snow was off the roof yesterday so I climbed up and went from the top down. 20 minutes including ladder handling , shoveling out the firebox, and carrying out the ash pan with a handful of soot in it. I could probably get away without cleaning all winter, but when I get the opportunity I just do it... because. Well, it's snowing now.
If I ever have to clean from the inside, I'll be back to check this thread.

 

[firebrick43]

Why can't I run a drill in reverse?

Because the sections will come undone and you will loose them in the flue!

 

[Ironworker]

Because the sections will come undone and you will loose them in the flue!

Why would the sections become undone, what's the difference between forward and reverse.

 

[flotek]

The product I use I s called a soot eater chimney whip and attaches to a cordless drill . Works amazing fast and very effective . Around 65$ at ace last I checked
Bottom up to the top no climbing up on a roof for me

 

[1ruralmailman]

Why would the sections become undone, what's the difference between forward and reverse.

i beleive what the are saying is with a drill in reverse you run the risk of a section unthreading itself and thus being separated in the flu.

 

[ETpilot]

I' cannot find a sooteater locally. I am interested in knowing how flexible the rods are. My chimney is brick and has a non-removable cap. So I have to work thru a small opening. Presently I use a weight, brush and rope on pulley to clean from top down. Not doable from bottom up as stove pipe goes into wall then air box then turns 90* up. Most rods I see in stores are too stiff to use from top down. Can these rods make a 90* bend and about at what radius. Trying to see if this would work for me. Thanks.

 

[Ironworker]

i beleive what the are saying is with a drill in reverse you run the risk of a section unthreading itself and thus being separated in the flu.

The sooteater rods are not threaded.

 

[cnice_37]

The sooteater rods are not threaded.

The extension rods, not the little bristle things coming out of the sooteater. If the extension rods thread into each other like mine do, then you turn them to the right to connect the sections. Running the drill in reverse will more than likely separate sections of the connected rods. I am a manual brush guy too, but that's due to my limited options for sweeping, but I always give it a gentle twist clockwise to make sure I don't disconnect anything in the flue.

 

[firebrick43]

Sorry. I was thinking that it was the same company/product as the lint eater with a different head. It's not and has a unique locking system that is not threaded. My bad, I was wrong. Reverse all you want

 

[7hpjim]

The rods on the sooteater

The extension rods, not the little bristle things coming out of the sooteater. If the extension rods thread into each other like mine do, then you turn them to the right to connect the sections. Running the drill in reverse will more than likely separate sections of the connected rods. I am a manual brush guy too, but that's due to my limited options for sweeping, but I always give it a gentle twist clockwise to make sure I don't disconnect anything in the flue.

have a detent not threads,