Well I went ahead and purchased a Sooteater system to clean my chimney and today I decided to use it to clean the chimney. I have to clean from the bottom up as my chimney requires a 40 ft. ladder to reach (which I don't have) and you can't stand on the roof. The beginning went fine and I think I cleaned the entire chimney (about 25 ft). I got about 2 gallons of fine brown powder. I went slow when I thought I was near the top - but I think I knocked the cap loose (It is a large cap - not connected to the liner - covers both flues I have). I went outside with my binoculars and looked up at the cap and it appears that it is slightly ajar from how it normally sat on the top of the chimney bricks. My bigger concern is the liner and the block-off plate at the top of the flue that holds it in place. I can't get a good look at it and I think it may not be sitting properly on the flue. The Sooteater seemed to whip the liner a little bit inside the flue and I am nervous that at the top it whipped it a little to much and loosened the top block-off plate that holds the liner. That may have hit the cap on the side of the screen and knock it loose. I don't think I pushed up to hard and knocked it loose that way. So - I called the Sweep who installed the stove and he is coming tomorrow to check it out. Makes my a little mad because I tried to get him to come clean last fall and he blew my off. I then hired another sweep who cleaned with the Viper system - but didn't check the top as I and requested. (long story) He didn't do the job we had agreed to and I didn't end of having to pay him - so I thought since I saved that money I would buy the Sooteater and do it myself. Hopefully I didn't really screw something up. So - The oil is flowing tonight and I hope the Sweep doesn't blow me off again as I'm not going to burn until I get it checked out.
Problem with Cleaning today - Used the Sooteater - Final Update
- Thread starter Roxburyeric
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Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
lexybird
Minister of Fire
As far as burning goes - since I can't really tell what happen up top I don't want to risk it. The liner could be bent, broken, facing down - who knows what. The Sooteater worked well but if in fact something is broken or did come off the top plate then I will not be happy with it. It worked great cleaning and the liner I can see is nice and clean (the first 6+/- feet is all I can see). The main problem is the liner getting tossed around inside the terra cotta flue as the sooteater spins since there is room in the flue for it to move around. But a brush will move the liner also so maybe the top plate/liner was never installed correctly or maybe the Sweep that came in the fall with the Viper system screwed it up. Hopefully the original sweep will show up tomorrow and it will be just a losse cap. Is it worth the cash - time will tell. Not if it is going to mess up the liner connections. I would like to get a 40 ft. ladder but they are over $400 and my family and friends keep telling me I'm nuts to think about going up that high. I'll be kicking myself if the bill for the sweep and anything he has to do is even close to the $400. I'll keep you posted.
Stevebass4
Minister of Fire
rdust said:
yup i agree and someone to hold the ladder - heck you want to clean it yourself might as well have a look at your system
heck even renting a cherry picker would be cheaper than a sweep
i can't see a liner falling down as it's sized to your chimney
If you use a variable speed drill to drive the SootEater, there's no reason it has to be "aggressive". You trim the strands of the cleaning head for a comfortable fit for your flue, and you can go about the sweeping just as slowly and smoothly as you want to. Of course there's a possibility of something untoward happening when you get to the top, because you can't see when you get to the top. Gotta have a good measurement of the height, and keep track of how many 3' extensions you've put on, and then be extra gentle when you know you're getting close. I don't have a liner, I have rigid pipes, but I'm always very careful as I approach the caps, and make sure I'm running the drill slowly in reverse...that way there's no chance I'm gonna jam the thing up into the cap and spin it off the top of the Class A. I can feel when I've reached the inside of the cap. I like the SootEater a lot, even though I managed (early on while learning to use the tool) to snap a rod by bending it too tightly while the drill was rippin' and I was jamming it up through my shop stove...my leg started cramping and I stood up. Sooteater didn't like that much. Take it slow & easy, it'll get the job done nicely from the bottom up. I like that, as my roofs are 7/12 pitch tile, and I really don't like going up on them, even in the summertime. Rick
Well the sweep came out and I was worried for nothing. The cap was fine and the top plate was fine, in fact I was even two feet short of reaching the top. I guess I got nervous with it being the first time cleaning and when I saw what appeared to be a cap that wasn't on right I got nervous. He took the cap off and cleaned it and swept the top couple feet I missed. You could tell I never touched the cap with the Sooteater. The chimney was clean and there was just a little shinny creosote on the screen part of the cap - nothing to worry about. The liner at the top only had a little brown powdery soot on it. He then told me how the top plate and cap are all fastened to the chimney and basically said that I would not be able to move the top plate with the Sooteater and to just be careful pushing up the Sooteater when I'm near the top - but it would also be hard to knock the cap loose. I also concluded that I'm not going to get a 40 foot ladder - when I looked up I didn't even want to try going up that ladder. So looks like I'm all set for the rest of the season. Best $55 piece of mind money I ever spent. Live and learn.
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
Really? I figure it's like car wash brushes that rely on centrifugal force to apply any scubbing pressure. I think a regular brush would have a lot more grab against the corregated liner and tend to tug at it. I have smooth rigid pipe and the brush drags pretty good on it.webby3650 said:
LLigetfa said:
Not exactly. The bristles on a sooteater cleaning head are nearly as stiff as the bristles on a conventional poly chimney brush. There are fewer of them, but they're not just floppy threads. In the pic are a brand new one, and one that's been trimmed for 6" pipe & used. Rick
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Slow1
Minister of Fire
Slow1 said:
Just enough for a perfect fit inside 6" pipe. The original will go up to who knows how big. The thing comes with a template/guide for trimming to fit your pipe. I used diagonal cutters & snipped them off one at a time. If you have 8" pipe, no prob. If you're doing a big tile-lined masonry flue, no prob. Just trim to fit what you're fixin' to sweep. Rick
I have a 6"x35' SS flue with a nasty roof. I have to go up there again in the spring to install a new cap, but after that I'd like to avoid making that trip for a loooong time. For this reason, I'd like to try cleaning from the bottom up. To clean from the bottom up, I have to go in horizontally around 14" before I reach my tee. At the Tee, it obviously make a 90° up to the 35' SS liner (straight shot).
My questions are... Will the Sooteater work for my configuration (given the length and 90° at the start of the run)? Would the Viper work? Which does a better job? If I have to go with the Viper, will the smaller "Handy" model work, or do I need the larger Viper GFK?
Also, how is the Viper system powered, if it is? Is it a hand crank system, or is it hooked up to a drill? Or do you just push the rod up the flue (it doesn't look like it would be rigid enough)? Lastly, what keeps you from just pushing all the crap up into the cap with the viper system?
Sorry for the stupid question(s), I've never seen these in operation.
My questions are... Will the Sooteater work for my configuration (given the length and 90° at the start of the run)? Would the Viper work? Which does a better job? If I have to go with the Viper, will the smaller "Handy" model work, or do I need the larger Viper GFK?
Also, how is the Viper system powered, if it is? Is it a hand crank system, or is it hooked up to a drill? Or do you just push the rod up the flue (it doesn't look like it would be rigid enough)? Lastly, what keeps you from just pushing all the crap up into the cap with the viper system?
Sorry for the stupid question(s), I've never seen these in operation.
The Viper System is not powered, it is a coiled rod, they are very flexible and will go nearly anywhere. 35' is a long way to push a brush with a Viper, but it would probably do it. I think it would take quite some time to pay for itself though.Wet1 said:
So the "coil" of rod is used in place of standard poles to push the brush, correct? So given my situation (90° + 35'), would I be better off with the longer more rigid 9mm Viper GFK or would the 7mm Handy Viper work fine? Also, if I'm cleaning from the bottom up, what keeps the operator from just pushing all the creosote out the top into the cap area? I can just see it all getting pushed up. I guess you could go almost to the top and then come back down (letting the creosote fall down) and then go all the way to the top... Would that work?
Any thoughts on whether a Sooteater would work for me, or how it would compare to the Viper? I don't mind paying the money for a good tool since I'll have it for my lifetime, but I want to make sure it's a quality product and that it works well if I'm going to dump big money on it!
Any thoughts on whether a Sooteater would work for me, or how it would compare to the Viper? I don't mind paying the money for a good tool since I'll have it for my lifetime, but I want to make sure it's a quality product and that it works well if I'm going to dump big money on it!
BrotherBart said:
Now...if they could just put the green 3M scrubby pad things on the ends of the bristles........ :cheese:
I'm not sure if the Sooteater will do a 90 degree turn. It might but I would think it might have a hard time going up 35 ft. after the turn. The problem will be the spinning of the flexible fiberglass rods. As they spin they want to flex out also - which would be hard on the 90 turn. This outward spinning or flexing is what has caused my concern when I cleaned. My concern ended up being nothing - but I didn't have such a tight turn. The Viper will take the turn and the Sweep who did my Chimney had the smaller version. I was not home when he did it - but I would think the soot will fall down through the brush or you could just bring the brush down after going up a little bit and then go back up. It is very pricey for what you're getting.
The soot eater will do a 90 degree turn. I even called the company to inquire about this prior to purchase. I have a rear exit stove and a 90 degree bend. It navigates this quite well and so far I really like this product. No ladders, keeps me off the roof and overall it saves me time and is (in my application) considerably safer.
Joe
Joe
I have a soot eater also and it works great. I never cut the ends off of the head so it cleans my pipe cap off very niceley. I woiuld recommend this product.
buol
New Member
+++111 on the sooteater. works 90 degree on my vc no problem. highly recommend it, very cost effective. tbeoday i took off my connector afterwards to look inside it and up the chimney. only slight negligible films left. be sure to seal the front, optional to run vac at same time or afterwards.
ChillyGator
New Member
BrotherBart said:
I was resigned to hiring a sweep cause I'm not getting on my metal roof......so I ordered one today.
Now just how do I keep from filling up my living room with soot when working from the T opening on my rear vent stove?
Bigg_Redd
Minister of Fire
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