Cleaning vent pipe (leaf blower not feasible)

Elkon said:

So I have heard the accolades of the leaf blower trick but i am not able to just vent the ash out due to neighbors being very close (like 10 ft close). Anyone have suggestions for cleaning the vent out in a space critical area?

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Vent brush.

Wait until your neighbor is at work and they have their whites hanging on the cloths line. :cheese:

Check link

http://www.sooteater.com/

It has a vacuum attachment included that you can hook a shop vac to while cleaning. You can also make an adapter for any vac and use it to pull the soot out of the stove. I have also see some people use the bag on the leaf blower to reduce the cloud.

I use a vent brush for my situation .

My stove vent is straight up (vertical) Duravent PelletVent Pro 4"

I pull the clean out T off the stove and separate the joints up to the ceiling (in my case T-36"-60" sections)
I take the sections out side and run the 4" vent brush through them until shiny clean inside.
I vac out the cleanout cup and scrub the inside as much as possible.

Then back inside while I hold the ash vacuum at the open vent going up through the ceiling. I run the brush up and down a few times all the way to the rain cap.
I run the brush up into the rain cap and go outside and verify the brush is visible at the side slits on the rain cap.
This confirms the brush has made it all the way up.

The vacuum catches 90% of the debris that falls down. It does miss some so plan your living room accordingly.

I replace it all and re-attach to a (completely) cleaned out stove.

I clean the vent after every ton. When I do a full stove cleanout. It takes about 1 hour.

The brush I use is sold at Hardware stores in my area for under $25
http://plumbing.hardwarestore.com/5...dryer-vent-and-pellet-stove-brush-645207.aspx

It works for me,
Good Luck,
---Nailer---

I also am unable to employ the leafblower method due to the close proximity of my neighbor (who is already a problem). I am going to just run a vent brush up and use a vac to catch everything.

John97 said:

I also am unable to employ the leafblower method due to the close proximity of my neighbor (who is already a problem). I am going to just run a vent brush up and use a vac to catch everything.

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Ah, a problem neighbor, I've had a couple over the years. Funny, but they changed their ways for some reason.

vent brush and vaccuum. i had to move my stove from one side of my house to the other due to a problem neighbor. he stated my vent was to close to his house and if i didnt move it he would call the township. i reminded him of his shed and fence installs that he had no permits for. he didnt call and i was planning on moving the stove anyway. funny how its always ok for them but not you.

dafollweiler said:

.....he stated my vent was to close to his house and if i didnt move it he would call the township......

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If your stove was OK'd by the local fire or town inspector, there would have been nothing he could do anyway.

dafollweiler said:

funny how its always ok for them but not you.

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That's exactly the deal with the guy next door. He does all kinds of illegal stuff (open burning, illegal fireworks, etc). But he seems to have a problem with every little thing I do that realistically is not any of his business. He called the township on me 2x, for things that ended up being baseless. Nothing came of anything. He just did it to be a jerk.

Pretty soon, I will be making some calls myself. I just haven't had the time to call the township. He will be dealt with this year. It's one of my New Year's resolutions.

Well one of our neighbors thought he could have is dog house over his line and up against our garage. Well I just took down part of our fence which allowed his dogies to get out, and another neighbor called animal control. Oops, a few hundred dollars later the dog house was relocated and a new bit of fencing added. End of that round neighbor out a few hundred. Round two was even better as they operate a business and weren't keeping things cleaned up as they should have been. I had a little chat with a health inspector, several hundred more dollars, and that problem stopped.

Funny how things get taken care of when money is involved.

His wife also developed a clue and bailed.

Hit the sob where his wallet is.

SmokeyTheBear said:

Well one of our neighbors thought he could have is dog house over his line and up against our garage. Well I just took down part of our fence which allowed his dogies to get out, and another neighbor called animal control. Oops, a few hundred dollars later the dog house was relocated and a new bit of fencing added. End of that round neighbor out a few hundred. Round two was even better as they operate a business and weren't keeping things cleaned up as they should have been. I had a little chat with a health inspector, several hundred more dollars, and that problem stopped.

Funny how things get taken care of when money is involved.

His wife also developed a clue and bailed.

Hit the sob where his wallet is.

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I bet she did too when she bailed! :cheese:

j-takeman said:

SmokeyTheBear said:

Well one of our neighbors thought he could have is dog house over his line and up against our garage. Well I just took down part of our fence which allowed his dogies to get out, and another neighbor called animal control. Oops, a few hundred dollars later the dog house was relocated and a new bit of fencing added. End of that round neighbor out a few hundred. Round two was even better as they operate a business and weren't keeping things cleaned up as they should have been. I had a little chat with a health inspector, several hundred more dollars, and that problem stopped.

Funny how things get taken care of when money is involved.

His wife also developed a clue and bailed.

Hit the sob where his wallet is.

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I bet she did too when she bailed! :cheese:

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You betcha.

I, too, have learned the lesson about hitting the SOBs in the wallet. That's all some people can understand. Fortunately I have, if not great, pretty decent neighbors now, but have had some real winners in the past.

I have used the vent brush and ash vac all from the inside at the bottom for my insert. Should I go from the top and remove the cap? or is it ok to just go from the bottom?

forya said:

I have used the vent brush and ash vac all from the inside at the bottom for my insert. Should I go from the top and remove the cap? or is it ok to just go from the bottom?

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Going up is fine just make certain that the cap gets cleaned.

Hey Ice i never got a permit no one in my neighbor hood does. i have a code book and follow it and also followed the manual specks when installing it. Just incase i do get reported by my neighbor. This neighbor just thinks he knows everything and everything is his. He even mows part of my yard claiming its his even after i had the property lines survayed. he wanted to report me for installing pavers saying they were on his property. at that point i told him then in winter i would app. if you would shovel the snow here so no one slips and falls and if not make sure his home owner policy is paid up to date incase i fall. this is the only way from my back yard and parking spots to my house between the garages. He never reported me and then told me how nice it looked. He installed a shed on the property line, his fence is on the property line, he built a rock wall on the property line and cemented it solid.none of wich is up to code according to my township code book and i never reported him. Just saying if its not affecting them then they should keep there nose out of it.