First cleaning of SS chimney

Jerry_NJ · Sep 24, 2009

I have a new, one season's use, Quadrafire Insert with 6" Duraflex SS chimney, about 30' high.

I purchased a Rutland (Think that's the brand) poly brush, real heavy stiff bristles, and a set of 4' rods so I can clean from the Insert-up.

Is the a gradient pattern of soot/creosote going up the chimney, i.e., more at the upper end because it is cooler there, or more at the Insert end because that's the first area for deposits to form?

I assume one turns the brush and pushes back-and-forth while working up the chimney. As already noted, the bristles are stiff and heavy not tightly packed and fine.

Should I expect a lot of soot coming down, i.e., a problem with soot in the air....or can I work slowly and expect the soot to fall down into the firebox (obviously the door will be open.

BrotherBart · Sep 24, 2009

Wear a mask. The will be a lot of fine powder produced. Accumulations should be toward the top end since the gases are hot coming out of the flue collar and will keep the liner hotter closer to the stove.

Backwoods Savage · Sep 24, 2009

And there is no need to turn the brush. I usually go all the way up, then down. Then I'll run the brush up again with a sort of scrubbing motion.

Bubbavh · Sep 24, 2009

Jerry_NJ said:
I have a new, one season's use, Quadrafire Insert with 6" Duraflex SS chimney, about 30' high.

I purchased a Rutland (Think that's the brand) poly brush, real heavy stiff bristles, and a set of 4' rods so I can clean from the Insert-up.

Is the a gradient pattern of soot/creosote going up the chimney, i.e., more at the upper end because it is cooler there, or more at the Insert end because that's the first area for deposits to form?

I assume one turns the brush and pushes back-and-forth while working up the chimney. As already noted, the bristles are stiff and heavy not tightly packed and fine.

Should I expect a lot of soot coming down, i.e., a problem with soot in the air....or can I work slowly and expect the soot to fall down into the firebox (obviously the door will be open.

If your poles screw together you DO NOT want to turn it back and forth !!!

If you unscrew your brush from it's rods while it is still in the chimney that would be bad! Spin clockwise as you brush! Righty-tighty... lefty - oh Shlt my brush is stuck in my chimney

Tendencies · Sep 24, 2009

You don't want the door open unless you want a mess!! I close my air inlet as well!!

Jerry_NJ · Sep 25, 2009

Yes, if I was cleaning from the top, I'd still remove the overhead air handler in the insert and close everything, letting the soot fall into the floor of the firebox. But, I'm not getting on my roof, so I'll be pushing the brush up from the insert, making it impossible to have the door closed, in fact I plan to remove the door.

I recall the professional cleaning my masonry chimney from below with the fireplace wide open, and a shop vacuum running to gather the falling mess. Seemed to work fine, I assume a SS liner would be less messy.

Backwoods Savage · Sep 25, 2009

Jerry, just remember that that shop vacuum the sweep used is probably a much stronger unit. Most use a vac that really sucks much stronger.

Jerry_NJ · Nov 30, 2009

I opened the Quadrafire 4100I Insert for its first cleaning and found some easy, some not so easy.

The removal of the air/manifold tubes and the ceramic blanket and baffle was very easy, the insert had seen only 2 cords of well seasoned, mostly hardwood, burning last (its first) year. I also note there was nothing but black powdery ash and some easy to remove, soft brush, caked on brownish/gray ash.

That's where the easy ended. When I tried to insert my new Rutland Inc. 6" Poly Brush, attached to the first 4' length of Imperial Mfg Fiberglass Brush rod (1/4"). I note first the poly brush had extremely stiff poly fibers, about the same diameter as a 14 ga electrical wire, and very stiff. I could not force the brush into the first slight backwards bend coming out the top of the insert. I pulled the insert out a few inches to see if that would help. It didn't - so I took out my side cutters (dikes) and cut the brush back to a 5"+ bursh, some areas still 6" in diameter. I was able to force this up, but at about the 4' point up the liner it seemed to hang again. At this point I decided to back out and discuss my experience here before exerting myself on a bad investment. I not that all that came down in the first 4' was a back powder, and looking up the liner as far as I could see with my hand light the liner looked shiny clean. I see from BrotherBart's help I should expect the bulk of the accumulation to be near the top - my liner is insulated. Still, given how clean the lower section looks, is it reasonable to assume the insert has seen a clean burning environment?

Is there a technique, or is there a softer 6" brush I might find easier to get up the chimney without losing the cleaning ability? Again, I was successful in burning seasoned hardwood hot enough to minimize creosote buildup?

Wet1 · Nov 30, 2009

Jerry,

It's hard to tell much from looking at that end of the flue. The bottom is typically fairly clean, so I wouldn't make any decisions based on the first 4'. If you've been burning dry wood, chances are the rest of the flue is reasonably clean... but if it's dirty, it will be dirty at the top. I'd suggest getting up on the top and inspecting/cleaning it from there. Based on your comments, it doesn't sound like you're going to have much luck with bottom-up cleaning. This way you can go up there and see first hand what it looks like before hitting it with the brush. Also make sure you clean the screen on your cap (if you have one) while you're up there. If there's creosote on the top, you'll see it on the screen.

DiscoInferno · Nov 30, 2009

There is a softer poly chimney brush out there, but I've lost track of who sells it. This seems to be the closest to what I remember: http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5SB-34606

I need to get one also, because on my Ultima (which I sweep from below) I have to push up so hard on my stiff poly brush to get past each joint that I'm afraid of separating the sections. (I didn't see the chimney install but I think the sections are just snapped together.)

BrotherBart · Nov 30, 2009

Yeah I use one like that one from Northline. They are made for pre-fab fireplace chimneys and have more and softer bristles. I use a six inch one in my 5.5 liner and it works great.

Jerry_NJ · Nov 30, 2009

Thanks guys, that's what I was hoping for. My brush, and only after cutting its diameter back, went through the first bend and then started to slide up smoothly (albeit not cleaning too well I suspect because of its reduced size) then it stopped. My liner is one continuous piece, so no splices up there. As I recall there is another bend up from the smoke shelf, it bends back a few inches. I recall the installer had trouble getting the liner go come around that bend and he had a guy pushing from above and he was pulling from below. The masonry chimney is modern, I think, the house is about 25 years old and the chimney is exterior and a good bit larger than the 6" liner, and rectangular, must be at least 12" by 8" maybe bigger, so there's no kinks in the liner, a straight shot once past the bends at the Insert and a few feet above that.

I think part of the problem with my Rutland brush besides having very stiff bristles, it has a long length with a stiff metal center. I'd guess (could measure) the brush is at least 8" long and that part does not bend, well is not flexible.

PS - edit added

I see the wire size is 5/100th inch. That isn't real small, but the site says in part: Prostran bristles which are more flexible than our heavier Poly Pro brushes.
I'd estimate my heavy duty bush isn't much heavier than 1/16 inch (I'll go measure)... but it is stiff as metal rods... well almost.

cmonSTART · Nov 30, 2009

Is the brush hanging up or the rods just not flexing like they need to? I never use fiberglass rods for cleaning bottom up, especially if there are bends in the flue. It can be very very difficult. You need some really flexible rods. How stiff are yours?

A good strong shop vac will help keep things clean, the strongest possible.

Also, always keep some turning pressure on the rods in the righty-tighty direction. This will keep them from being separated accidentally.

Jerry_NJ · Nov 30, 2009

The rods are 1/4" Fiberglass, advertised to be able to turn 90 degrees (as I recall, I can look again). Bends is a good description of what the brush has to negotiate. The Quadrafire requires a slight turn backwards and was a complete road-block until I trimmed the brush diameter back. This tight fit was in part because I had to bend the first 4' rod sharply to turn from sticking out the insert's door to going nearly vertical. I'd guess the pipe leading out of the top of the insert is no more than 30 degrees off the vertical, leaning back toward the masonry vertical. This then has to turn back to the vertical, meaning another 30 degrees in the opposite direction. I think the brush is hanging up, and suppose it is at the second bend to the vertical. So, once around that bend it should be a straight shot all the way to the top, up about another 25'.

Yes, I was running my Home Depot 12 gallon shop vacuum, it seemed to pick up a lot of airborne visible stuff in, and it appeared to be doing a good job of filtering it out, that is its exhaust looked clean.

regency · Nov 30, 2009

Man I would do everything in my power to clean from the top down. I wouldn't want the dust all over the house. This roof must be a dandy! :red:

Jerry_NJ · Dec 5, 2009

Back again with a tidbit of inconclusive information. I still have not had my first fire of the season have not made any additional progress cleaning high up the pipe. I need to order one of the softer brushes noted in this thread.

But, this afternoon I noticed a good angle/lighting condition to inspect the chimney cap from the ground. The cap is about 32' high, so standing on the ground and back far enough to look at the side of the cap means the viewing distance must be about 100 feet. Still, I just glanced up there while walking in my back property and I noticed for the first time that the lighting was perfect, a bright cloudy sky (no sun glare, but lots of soft light) and I could see through the cap, that is in one side and out the other. I went in and got my 10 power binoculars and with them I could clearly see the circular metal (SS) bands and the hardware-like screen. The great back-light the sky provided made it easy to see the cross-hatch screen wire, and it all looked to be clear of any buildup that was sufficient to block any "square" of open space. I'm sure the wires were black with soot.

My conclusion, my first two cords burned quite cleanly and the cap will not be a problem if I run a similar two cords though again this year. I have another two cords of well seasoned hardwood all ready to go. Still, I will on a "non-emergency" basis get a softer brush and clean the chimney all the way to the top on a nice day in January, or February.

Backwoods Savage · Dec 5, 2009

Hey Jerry, you learned that those binoculars are handy for many things. Glad it has worked out well for you. If the cap is clean, there is a pretty good chance the chimney is the same.

danking49 · Dec 5, 2009

regency said:
Man I would do everything in my power to clean from the top down. I wouldn't want the dust all over the house. This roof must be a dandy! :red:

+1 on that. At some point you'll have to get up there to clean the cap as well.

firefighterjake · Dec 7, 2009

Backwoods Savage said:
Hey Jerry, you learned that those binoculars are handy for many things. Glad it has worked out well for you. If the cap is clean, there is a pretty good chance the chimney is the same.

Yup . . . apparently binoculars can be used for more than just watching your neighbor.

And yes . . . I am kidding. My neighbor to one side is a retired gentleman and the neighbor across the road is a retired lady.

Pagey · Dec 7, 2009

firefighterjake said:
Backwoods Savage said:

Hey Jerry, you learned that those binoculars are handy for many things. Glad it has worked out well for you. If the cap is clean, there is a pretty good chance the chimney is the same.

Click to expand...

Yup . . . apparently binoculars can be used for more than just watching your neighbor.

And yes . . . I am kidding. My neighbor to one side is a retired gentleman and the neighbor across the road is a retired lady.

A retired stripper, right? :lol:

Jerry_NJ · Dec 7, 2009

If they haven't met, maybe you should introduce them.

Yes, I have a telescope too... for looking at stars.

firefighterjake · Dec 8, 2009

Pagey said:
firefighterjake said:

Backwoods Savage said:

Hey Jerry, you learned that those binoculars are handy for many things. Glad it has worked out well for you. If the cap is clean, there is a pretty good chance the chimney is the same.

Click to expand...

Yup . . . apparently binoculars can be used for more than just watching your neighbor.

And yes . . . I am kidding. My neighbor to one side is a retired gentleman and the neighbor across the road is a retired lady.

Click to expand...

A retired stripper, right? :lol:

Actually a retired school teacher with a Dutchboy hair cut . . . but thanks for the laugh.

First cleaning of SS chimney

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