Chimney Cleaning?

A couple of passes with a brush to get out any loose ash and you should be fine.

GenghisJon said:

Hi, I have a pellet stove insert and I was wondering what the rules are for cleaning the chimney.

I asked the guy cleaning my stove and he said there's no need to clean the chimney with a pellet stove which seemed a little suspicious.

Any info would be appreciated.

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Well, you need to clean the chimney ( and yes as Harvey pointed out actually the liner gets cleaned). Most of us do that once mid season and again either on shutdown for the year or on startup. That's basically a minimum. Some do it after each ton burned. And stretching things out some only annually. The goal is a routine, it WILL plug up if never done.

GenghisJon said:

I asked the guy cleaning my stove and he said there's no need to clean the chimney with a pellet stove which seemed a little suspicious.

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Well you don't clean the chimney, you clean the 4" stainless liner that goes up through it.
I have been lazy and have only done it once a season. It gets pretty crusty after 4 1/2 tons of pellets. On a 23 foot vent I removed about a cup and a half of soot and fly ash.
A chimney sweep here charges $100 for the job. Considering that includes his travel time, it's a bargain. Also considering that it is a messy job, well worth the $100.

Harvey Schneider said:

Well you don't clean the chimney, you clean the 4" stainless liner that goes up through it.
I have been lazy and have only done it once a season. It gets pretty crusty after 4 1/2 tons of pellets. On a 23 foot vent I removed about a cup and a half of soot and fly ash.
A chimney sweep here charges $100 for the job. Considering that includes his travel time, it's a bargain. Also considering that it is a messy job, well worth the $100.

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Hmm, I have 26' of 4" liner with the topper pipe and I get probably double the ash you mention but twice per year. Your stove must contain the soot/ash better I guess. But I hardly get anything in the horizontal pipe at all, a little tan film is about it ( straight shot to the T )..

alternativeheat said:

Hmm, I have 26' of 4" liner with the topper pipe and I get probably double the ash you mention but twice per year. Your stove must contain the soot/ash better I guess. But I hardly get anything in the horizontal pipe at all, a little tan film is about it ( straight shot to the T )..

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The MVAE contains a lot of the fly ash. It builds up on the shelf that surrounds the fire pot. The ash needs to be vacuumed out at least weekly, probably in the range of every 10 to 15 bags.
It could also be the specific pellets that we are burning. I don't have enough experience to say. It could also be that I burn in manual (fixed flame size) most of the time. I find that letting the stove burn in automatic (it adjusts the flame size) produces more soot.

Edit
I like big flames so that in manual it is at a setting of 4 out of 5. Quad calls that medium high.

Harvey Schneider said:

The MVAE contains a lot of the fly ash. It builds up on the shelf that surrounds the fire pot. The ash needs to be vacuumed out at least weekly, probably in the range of every 10 to 15 bags.
It could also be the specific pellets that we are burning. I don't have enough experience to say. It could also be that I burn in manual (fixed flame size) most of the time. I find that letting the stove burn in automatic (it adjusts the flame size) produces more soot.

Edit
I like big flames so that in manual it is at a setting of 4 out of 5. Quad calls that medium high.

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I burned in both manual and auto, Room Temp as well as Stove Temp modes last year with a mix of pellets and some were very clean (DF) others filthy ( Natures Own). I ran it around Stove Temp 5 a lot or in Room temp up around 75 deg ( the dial goes to 7 in Stove Temp and 90 deg in Room temp). In room temp the flame does huge ramp ups to catch the room up, in Stove Temp it's a more controlled burn at a given rate. With Harman it's a matter of the ESP and board satisfying exhaust temp at a given setting. But then in the shoulder season the stove was on off on off.

I try and run a brush through mine a few times a season just to be safe, when we get a break in the weather after a cold spell where we burn a lot is the norm. One year I was slack and had my first chimney fire, now that was an experience!! Could not wait for a break in the weather, had to go on the roof in high wind and snow but got it put out and clean, now do it when I get a chance. My installer gave me a rod set, his assistant let them in the sun and they warped, and I bought a 4" brush so it is an easy process. I have never heard anyone say they don't need cleaned!!

I cleaned mine yesterday after a full season of burning pellets last year. About 4.5 Ton, plus or minus. I have a rod set and a metal brush that I got stuck in the 4" pipe last year so I bought a soft bristle brush for pellet users. The problem is my rod set is 1/4" NPT pipe thread and my soft brush is 1/4-20 NC thread, not even close and I haven't made an adapter yet. That left me with a Lint-Eater brush and about 12 Feet of floppy plastic rod. You know, it worked fine. I went up on the roof, pulled the wind cap and ran it down from the top while my son ran the shop vac with HEPA filter at the cleanout tee at the stove. Then I fed the lint eater up from the bottom with the shop vac nozzle at the tee and it was no problem. My liner is about 20-22 feet so I still had overlap. The flyash is really easy to clean and it was pretty soft. I would estimate the layer to be about 1/8"-3/16" thick inside the liner. It took longer to get the extension ladder, the step ladder, the rope and fall protection on than it did to actually do the cleaning. I will probably stick to once a year for now, as long as I burn decent pellets.

skibumm100 said:

The problem is my rod set is 1/4" NPT pipe thread and my soft brush is 1/4-20 NC thread, not even close and I haven't made an adapter yet

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My rods are 5/16-18 and my brush is 1/4-20. I bought a turn buckle, and cut off the left handed thread end. The barrel is the right diameter for a 5/16-18 tap. Easiest adapter I ever made.
I expect that the turnbuckle would work for you as well.

I think my bigger rod is 1/4" NPT so I may use a pipe coupling and weld a coupling nut to it to convert to 1/4-20. Turnbuckle would most likely no fit pipe thread unless it's a big turnbuckle.