Chimney cleaning

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nwohguy

Member
Nov 13, 2009
16
NW Ohio
I decided to clean my SS liner after the first year of burning. I can go from the top down, so i thought i would try it myself. I have about 24 feet. Purchased a rutland 6" poly brush ( bristles are very stiff and rigid ) along with 4' fiberglass rods. I went up on roof yesterday and took off my cap. I was surprised how tight the brush fit, I had to use alot of force to go down the first four feet. Then my rod started to bend and flex. I stopped and was afraid i might do damage to the liner. i flash a light down the liner and noticed some slight bends in the liner, not perfectly straight down to the insert. The install was done by the place i purchased the insert. I think the liner is all one piece, insulated. Do i need a different brush to go down easier? or stiffer rods? I noticed when i push the brush down about 4 feet, the liner was moving alittle with it. I was worried that i might actually rip the liner from the top or bottom where it is connected. What should i do from here? Could i damage the liner by forcing the brush too much?

Thanks for the help/ suggestions.
 
Maybe they installed a 5.5" liner? You could trim down your brush to fit better.
 
I installed my SS liner myself and it is far from perfectly straight. I think that is common with flexliners and not that big of a deal. I just installed it so I haven't cleaned it yet but I'll that you in mind when I do.
 
Never used either a round brush or a poly-bristled brush, so I don't have any insight into this particular situation. In my clay tile lined square chimney, I brush with a steel brush. It fits so tightly that I can just barely get it to reverse direction from down to up, and I can't reverse it to go back down without pulling it out altogether. The fiberglass rods bend as far as they can, but get constrained by the chimney itself, banging on the chimney walls as I push the brush down with almost all my strength. I was surprised how tight the fit was when I first bought the stuff, but it hasn't loosened up any after 24 seasons of cleaning.

I always figured that very tight fit would ensure good cleaning of the liner walls, but then I was never concerned about damaging a thin SS liner, either.
 
I will measure the liner to make sure that it is a 6", that is what i paid to get installed so I assume it is. At the top there was not a lot of creosote, just a thin coat on the liner. I did not expect the brush to fit that tight and require that much force pushing down. I understand that you want some resistence in order to clean the liner, but i was pushing so hard, i was afraid of damaging the liner, or breaking it loose from the connections.
 
the poly brush is the only kind you would want to use on the liner. I agree that you should double check the diameter of the liner to make sure it wasn't undersized. The "home owner" rods they sell are sometimes pretty flimsy and tend to flex. If you feel that the liner is not straight enough of if it sags slightly, it may be possible to correct that. If its a flex liner with a stainless top plate securing it in place? Just loosen the connection to the liner and pull up on the liner, tighten or secure the liner to the top plate, and remove the excess liner you pulled up.
 
Only use the poly brush on the ss liner. Im sure it is a 6" liner. There are different grades of brushes as far as stiffness goes. If you go to northline express, they have medium and heavy duty 6" poly brushes. Also, the one piece stainless steel liner came rolled up, which means when you unwind them they will still be slightly oval and not perfectly round. The slightly oval chimney and heavy duty brush is giving you the issues. You have a few options: 1. trim the brush to fit 2. use stiffer rods 3. buy a medium and heavy duty brush to do a light clean followed by a heavy clean. I am going with the third option. Oh, and dont forget to attach an "oh chit rope" to the head in case the shafts break.
 
EJL923 said:
Only use the poly brush on the ss liner. Im sure it is a 6" liner. There are different grades of brushes as far as stiffness goes. If you go to northline express, they have medium and heavy duty 6" poly brushes. Also, the one piece stainless steel liner came rolled up, which means when you unwind them they will still be slightly oval and not perfectly round. The slightly oval chimney and heavy duty brush is giving you the issues. You have a few options: 1. trim the brush to fit 2. use stiffer rods 3. buy a medium and heavy duty brush to do a light clean followed by a heavy clean. I am going with the third option. Oh, and dont forget to attach an "oh chit rope" to the head in case the shafts break.
Click to expand...
Now THAT'S an outstanding piece of advice. I never really considered that my "sweep grade" fiberglass rods could fail, but I guess they could separate where the threaded metal ends are crimped/swaged onto the fiberglass. A length of rope is cheap insurance!
 
the rutland brushes are way to stiff for use in a flexible s.s chimney liner. The only time i might take mine off the truck is if it is a ridged s.s liner, but even then i can usually clean it with my soft poly brushes. try to find a soft poly brush you will be much happier.
 
grommal said:
EJL923 said:
Only use the poly brush on the ss liner. Im sure it is a 6" liner. There are different grades of brushes as far as stiffness goes. If you go to northline express, they have medium and heavy duty 6" poly brushes. Also, the one piece stainless steel liner came rolled up, which means when you unwind them they will still be slightly oval and not perfectly round. The slightly oval chimney and heavy duty brush is giving you the issues. You have a few options: 1. trim the brush to fit 2. use stiffer rods 3. buy a medium and heavy duty brush to do a light clean followed by a heavy clean. I am going with the third option. Oh, and dont forget to attach an "oh chit rope" to the head in case the shafts break.
Click to expand...
Now THAT'S an outstanding piece of advice. I never really considered that my "sweep grade" fiberglass rods could fail, but I guess they could separate where the threaded metal ends are crimped/swaged onto the fiberglass. A length of rope is cheap insurance!
Click to expand...
+1 Great tip!
 
I didn't notice if anyone mentioned this but, did you get the 3/8" rods, or the 1/4" rods.
The 3/8" rods I use are 3' sections. Make sure your not trying to use the 1/4" rods made for pellet stove piping/lining.
They will flex much more & much easier.
 
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