I HATE cleaning the stove pipe...

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I HATE cleaning the stove pipe... especially in the winter. I have a steep pitched roof and the ladder only goes up 1/2 way. Seems dangerous? Hell Yeah!!!

For the last week smoke was coming from the stove every time I opened it, and it was only getter worse. I don't get creosote, but I do get this slow accumulation of soot. It only takes a minute to knock the soot off, and then the stove runs like new, lots heat, easy to start, big flames, makes a roar as air enters the stove, etc.

Yesterday I had to get out the propane weed burner and melt the snow so the ladder would butt up against the large 1/4 log I use to brace the ladder, and today the roof was clear and dry. 20 degrees out, I did this with inside clothing, nothing to bulky that would make the job cumbersome.

Stove is now running perfectly. Life is good again, until I have to do this again. Probably just before next winter when I do it as a preventative measure, so I won't have to do this in March, again.
 
Could you clean it from the inside? They do make flexible brushes.

Or are you talking a buildup on the chimney cap? I cut out the mesh on my cap to avoid it getting iced up in an ice storm. Works fine for that, and if needed, just cover it in the summer to keep the birds out.
 
Yeah, the chimney cap. No mesh, but there is some bands that circle the opening, suppose to keep birds out. I'll be cutting those out next time I go up, and the weather is good.

Looks similar to this one.

Rain-Cap-Model1.jpg
 
I'm a bit of neatness freak. No way I would attempt such a cleaning. :)

The way I do it doesn't make much mess. I slide the pipe up and tape a trash bag to the bottom. Little bit of black junk falls down when sliding the pipe up, that's about it. Nothing worse than the bit of wood junk that falls on the floor from handling it when loading the stove. Easily swept up.

I have a 6/12 roof which is borderline iffy to walk on, but the metal chimney pipe is about 8ft tall, so would need to rig up some sort of ladder and then risk pushing the pipe over.

I use the Sooteater which works well. It cleans the cap pretty well. Probably not 100%, but close enough. The cap is where most of the creosote forms.
Had it bad enough this fall that when it was windy it was backdrafting in my house. I cleaned the chimeny, had maybe 1/2 a coffee can of cresote come out of the cap.
Just the design I guess. Cap is cold. Not because of bad wood, it's stuff I cut and split 2+ years ago.
 
Do mine from the inside also. Unfinished basement so mess is easily cleaned up but it is a lot easier when I put brush in flue about a foot with one rod on then I cut a small slit in trash bag and tape it around flue. Catches 90% of mess.
 
I do the same as ValleyFirewood except I use 5’ fiberglass rods and a brush. Very little mess. I don’t worry about the cap. The rain seems to keep it clean.
 
I brush my furnace flue ever other year whether it needs it or not! Two years of burning equates to 10-12 cord of wood and I bet I don't get a pie pan full of creosote and my appliance isn't what I'd call efficient.

Seriously , your burner needs cleaned mid-season ?
 
here's how I do it.
First off out came the stoves baffle, the rotary brush set and cordless drill and dust sheets. I was sweeping through the hatch in the stove pipe, feeding the rods in through a piece of plastic waste pipe taped in the hatch and with the shop vac on the other end to catch dust, although most would fall into the stove.

View attachment 616984

8 rods in, and out and I got about an ash pan full of nice dry soft powdery type 1 creosote.

Took a couple of hours including setting up and cleaning away, although the actual sweep was done in 15 minutes.
 
All good ideas especially using the electric drill. I use the fiberglass rods and from the roof plunge down once then back up once a month. The cap needs cleaning always. I do a slow burn so more buildup of creosote. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
55D6752E-CF06-4AD6-ADC5-36DF3D8EBDB0.jpeg I do mine from the inside, the way I keep it clean is by having a piece of plywood with a 1” hole that I send the rods through and I use my kids, one holds the plywood nice and tight to the stove opening and the other holds a vacuum and catches what ever little soot comes out of the hole, works great. The fingerprints are from when I take the rods apart and everything goes into a plastic bag, no mess.
 
View attachment 638775 I do mine from the inside, the way I keep it clean is by having a piece of plywood with a 1” hole that I send the rods through and I use my kids, one holds the plywood nice and tight to the stove opening and the other holds a vacuum and catches what ever little soot comes out of the hole, works great. The fingerprints are from when I take the rods apart and everything goes into a plastic bag, no mess.
That is essentially what I do. I should note that there is only a slight bend between the firebox and the flue so nothing to disassemble during cleaning.

Also, the design of the SootEater allows it to pass alongside the flue damper with it in the open position.
 
Yeah, the chimney cap. No mesh, but there is some bands that circle the opening, suppose to keep birds out. I'll be cutting those out next time I go up, and the weather is good.

Looks similar to this one.A real creosote trap.Cut the bands out and raise the cap 2 or 3 inches.
Rain-Cap-Model1.jpg
Yeah, the chimney cap. No mesh, but there is some bands that circle the opening, suppose to keep birds out. I'll be cutting those out next time I go up, and the weather is good.

Looks similar to this one.

Rain-Cap-Model1.jpg
 
How flexible are the sooteater rods? They look kinda thick. Must flex better then they appear?

I have several sections of the old twisted wire cable type. But my brush doesn't work well in the liner because of the 3 screws in each a section. So I just run a chain up and down.. Works but the pita factor is high.
 
How flexible are the sooteater rods? They look kinda thick. Must flex better then they appear?

I have several sections of the old twisted wire cable type. But my brush doesn't work well in the liner because of the 3 screws in each a section. So I just run a chain up and down.. Works but the pita factor is high.

They can flex but still pretty stiff. They were designed so it works well
 
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