I'm going to sweep my chimney today before our big storm hits. Anyone care to baby step me through

Kathleen,

While I can't help you with your particular stove, here's a couple of suggestions:

1. When you put your ladder up to access the roof, DO NOT put the ladder on a hard surface like a driveway or sidewalk.

2. Once the ladder is up, locate somewhere to tie the ladder to the house. On our home, we have gutters that have support straps - I tie off to the gutter support straps.

3. Depending on how your chimney/cap is fastened, bring along a phillips and flat tipped screw driver. Also, a 1/4" socket wrench might be needed.

4. If you can, bundle up your brushes with a rope so you can haul them up to the roof once you are on the roof.

5. When putting the sections of cleaning rods together note which way they screw together and DO NOT accidentally unscrew them when you have the rods inside the chimney. Attaching a small piece of duct tape to each section avoids a problem... (hint hint).

6. Depending on how your stove is connected inside the house, make sure you get all the crud OUT that fell DOWN during the cleaning.

Hope this helps!

I am sure some NC13 owners will help you on the specifics of your stove. If you have a stainless liner be sure to use a poly brush of the correct size. If like me you have a cap with a worm drive (screw) clamp you may have to work the cap back and forth to remove it once the clamp is loose. Mine can be kind of stubborn to work loose. Most of the creosote should be in the upper part of your liner, but if you can go up from the bottom as well do it too. I have only cleaned mine two times and it only took about 15-20 minutes both times, just scrub the brush up and down as you go. Make sure the screen on your cap is clear as well before i
installing. Be careful, Jim

Great Safety Tips Shari!

Good info on the above posts..I can't help either with your stove, but on mine I remove all bricks so you can clean were the pipe attaches to the stove.

If your short on rods try to measure down to estimate where your not reaching and then you will need to clean from the inside up but go slow on the first scrub from inside because what has not dropped down...you'll be sunrise how easy it really is...

Good Luck!
md

Kathleen,

First do as BB says. Check and see how you are burning. I do it just like the manual says. I don't know if you have yours handy?

1. You are already waiting for it to cool

2. There is one screw in each Stainless steel tube (on the left side, BTW it's a 5/16, will be really dirty, and a slight PITA to get out). Remove the screws from the front and middle tube holders (I take out all three)

3. Shift the tube to the right. so that one end comes completely out of the socket. Drop the end down and pull it out by pulling it back to the left.

4. Drop the board down and push the left corner to the top left. Bring the right corner down to the bottom right of your door opening, and pull the right side out first.

5. Vacuum the board off and blow the carbon out of the tubes, if there is any build up.

6. Re-install the board and tubes, reversing the same method they were removed.

Don't go to crazy cleaning the inside out. I usually vacuum around the doghouse and take a little ash out. Don't take it all out.

Anthony

BrotherBart said:

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:

BrotherBart said:

First, go up

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but that's the hard part :lol:

Great info, thanks. I'm waiting on the stove to cool

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Depends on which of two ways you come back down. %-P

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Yep, one way you take it a little slower, but you get to the ground maybe a little dirty but relatively unscathed.
The other way is quicker, but might require a trip to the hospital. Don't do it that way.
Kathleen, just take you're time. You'll figure it out. Be safe.

PapaDave said:

BrotherBart said:

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:

BrotherBart said:

First, go up

Click to expand...

but that's the hard part :lol:

Great info, thanks. I'm waiting on the stove to cool

Click to expand...

Depends on which of two ways you come back down. %-P

Click to expand...

Yep, one way you take it a little slower, but you get to the ground maybe a little dirty but relatively unscathed.
The other way is quicker, but might require a trip to the hospital. Don't do it that way.
Kathleen, just take you're time. You'll figure it out. Be safe.

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Amen to that. I spend ALOT of time on ladders, (I'm a house painter) and ladder safety is no joke. Sometimes I get too comfortable and need to remind my self that we don't bounce as easily in our 40's. The hardest part for most is leaving the ladder to go on the roof and getting back on the ladder from the roof. Allowing plenty of ladder above the point of contact with the edge of the roof/gutter helps with this. Slow and steady......

Also, when setting up your ladder, remember the 1 to 4 rule: one foot horizontal from the house for every 4 verticle feet. This will help make the ladder safe. When placing the ladder against the house there should be a minimum of 3 feet extended above the surface you are trying to access. As suggested, tying off the top of the ladder is a great suggestion. It is also a good idea, if possible, to tie yourself off while doing the work.

I personally will not go on my roof (10 pitch with a 35 foot dropoff the back) and I clean from the bottom. Just purchased a sooteater and used it once with great results.

The cleaning process is relatively easy, it is being safe while doing it that is the chore.

Be safe and good luck.

I'm out splitting wood, and she's up on the roof !! What's this world coming too? %-P


Hope you made out OK, K It's getting a little dark outside .

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

I'm out splitting wood, and she's up on the roof !! What's this world coming too? %-P


.

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Women's lib....they asked for it....you got it......... ;-)

Warm in RI said:

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

I'm out splitting wood, and she's up on the roof !! What's this world coming too? %-P


.

Click to expand...

Women's lib....they asked for it....you got it......... ;-)

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This is true, but at least we're using what we got :lol:

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

Warm in RI said:

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

I'm out splitting wood, and she's up on the roof !! What's this world coming too? %-P


.

Click to expand...

Women's lib....they asked for it....you got it......... ;-)

Click to expand...

This is true, but at least we're using what we got :lol:

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No doubt! : ) My wife is right out there stacking wood with me when the farmer drops it off in our driveway. She enjoys the heat from the stove and doesn't mind the "free" exercise it takes to make it happen. It's a beautiful thing.

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:

Also, how do I handle the ceramic board (?) that sits loosely over the baffles. Just pull it out? Will my cap likely be easy to take off?

I'm borrowing brushed from my neighbor that I think are a couple of feet short. Should I also access a bit from the bottom?

TIA I am not looking forward to this but y'all have helped me understand that it's not a complicated process.

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So how did the cleaning go Kath? Hope you didnt fall off the roof. ILL bet it didnt even need cleaning did it?

Remkel: what's a sooteater?

Jim: you mentioned using a poly brush with a stainless liner. Are you not supposed to use the regular metal ones with stainless (class a) chimney pipe?

stek said:

Remkel: what's a sooteater?

Jim: you mentioned using a poly brush with a stainless liner. Are you not supposed to use the regular metal ones with stainless (class a) chimney pipe?

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Stek- sooteater is something I saw on some posts here. Go to sooteater.com and there is a video showing the device. Basically it is a weed wacker for the chimney. Makes my cleaning a lot easier!

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

Warm in RI said:

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

I'm out splitting wood, and she's up on the roof !! What's this world coming too? %-P


.

Click to expand...

Women's lib....they asked for it....you got it......... ;-)

Click to expand...

This is true, but at least we're using what we got :lol:

Click to expand...

I'd give this a thumbs up, if I knew how.

Checking up on Kathleen. I've been keeping an eye on this thread all day. She's probably sitting in front of the fire, and has forgotten all about us.

Probably, but I'm going to rattle her cage via email.


Got that flue cleaned & singing and enjoying her stove, me thinx. Or she had a hot date.

Off to email.

Typical younger person - let's all of us old people sittin' on the edge of our seats waitin' to know everything is okay.

If she doesn't check in by midnight someone best ban her from matches & wood for a week as punishment! LOL

When I clean my chimney I don't even use rods. I tie rope on the top and bottom of the brush. My son gets on the roof and I go to the basement. He drops the bottom rope down and I pull the brush down and he pulls it back up. Repeat 5 times and done. Also, I tape a garbage bag to my clean out and cut a slit in it to get my hands thru to pull the rope. Saves a lot of clean up inside.