Sooteater -- is it for me?

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j7art2

j7art2

Minister of Fire
Oct 9, 2014
545
Northern, MI
I've got a 30 foot external brick chimney. 12x12 steep pitch roof.

My cleanout is in my basement. It's a little 6x6 door. I can probably get in there with a sooteater, but I'd have go diagonally through straight through 2 feet of wall (I can't hit it straight on because my furnace is in the way), then straight up 30 feet at a 90 degree angle.

I'm terrified of heights, and I'm on a fairly tight budget. First kiddo on the way. What other options are there if sooteater can't do what I need it to?

ETA:


Read some of the reviews on here, and I don't think this is the product for me, unless they have made them more durable to prevent breaking. Are there other more flexible alternatives out there?
 
Last edited:
A 90 degree turn off of a 2 foot long narrow shaft might be tough. If the shaft to the 90 isn't narrow you could probably do it. I have about 18" of 8+"thimble before I 90 to a 5.5" liner.

Maybe a lift would get you up to the top of the chimney in a way you felt was safe enough.

Maybe you can do this from the bottom...

 
LOL ^^^^^^ I bet the neighbors just love that! ^^^^^:eek:
 
lol what the hell is that thing? Looks like a chainsaw without a bar.
 
HAHAHA

That's ridiculous. If I thought that would actually clean creosote, I would legitimately do this.
 
j7art2 said:
HAHAHA

That's ridiculous. If I thought that would actually clean creosote, I would legitimately do this.
Click to expand...

Go over to the pellet room. Lots of pellet stove users use "the leaf blower trick". It won't scrub the pipe but sure will get the soot and ash out of there. Their main issue.
 
I'm concerned about chimney fires. Soot and ash is pretty common, but I don't think soot or ash can actually catch fire?
 
Soot has a name. Stage 1 creosote. What I brush out of the pipe every year. No, it isn't an effective way to clean a wood stove pipe. Great for pellet stoves though because it pulls the crap out of the stove nooks and crannies as well as the pipe.
 
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If I did that from the bottom up. I'd either get it all over my basement or all over my roof I think. :)

It's halfway tempting though. My shop vac has a blower... I burn nice and hot once a day if possible to try and take out what may be in there right now, but that's not foolproof. My flue is good size diameter; not sure if that would lessen the chance of a chimney fire or not.
 
j7art2 said:
I've got a 30 foot external brick chimney. 12x12 steep pitch roof.

My cleanout is in my basement. It's a little 6x6 door. I can probably get in there with a sooteater, but I'd have go diagonally through straight through 2 feet of wall (I can't hit it straight on because my furnace is in the way), then straight up 30 feet at a 90 degree angle.

I'm terrified of heights, and I'm on a fairly tight budget. First kiddo on the way. What other options are there if sooteater can't do what I need it to?

ETA:


Read some of the reviews on here, and I don't think this is the product for me, unless they have made them more durable to prevent breaking. Are there other more flexible alternatives out there?
Click to expand...

I have to go thru about 2' of wall and then a 90 up the chimney with my sooteater. I did break a rod running my drill on high speed right at the 90, but I find on lower speed it still cleans well and have not broken anything else in 3+ years. If you decide to give it a try I would suggest buying 2 kits and not a kit & extensions.
 
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If I block off the area around the clean out, it'd force all the soot up and not into the basement. I don't know if my shop vac has enough blast to clean a 30' chimney though. Advertised 170mph. I don't have a gas one.

Too bad my drills don't have multiple speeds.

At least my electric one doesn't. Never used the corded one; $5 garage sale find. Lol

If I get the sooteater, I'd get two. I noticed the professional systems that are coiled are like $400-900. Isn't that essentially the same thing but just one piece?
 
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