Bottom up chimney clean,i still have some stuff on cap

[Bub381]

It almost looks like it is in a drippy form but everything that came out was a dry powder of a gray and black form.Done 2 sweeps a month apart and got a small coffee can full both times.Wood was cut this spring so i know it isn't dry but i keep her clean and do a visual up the pipe.Very clean,is the cap ok as long as it doesn't plug?I do have some bigger pieces fall when i run the brush up and tap the cap.1/2" or so pieces.

 

[f3cbboy]

i do bottom up cleanings also. i went up on the roof once and used sheet metal screws and anchored the cap to the last section of pipe with about 6 or 8 1/2" screws and now i just bang the cover with the brush from on the ground. All the stuff stuck to the cap just flies right off.

 

[tcassavaugh]

.........the basement summit install i have to do top down as i can't get past the 90 degrees.....main floor jotul depends on my mood and the weather. i can do either as its straight up. i like the top down as it gives me a chance to inspect the top and cap area, where most of the creasote tends to collect. just remember if you get on the roof to have someone HOLD THE LADDER when you come back down......don't ask me how i know (six fractures when the ladder slipped and i fell from the first floor....not my time to go)

cass

 

[Bub381]

:bug: I'll try to give it a cleaning this summer.

 

[tcassavaugh]

overall your setup sounds like its doing ok. the stuff on the top might be a little tar and creasote. i have gotten that a couple of times in the past when burning pretty green wood because i've had nothing else. it kind of knocks off....as long as the main pipe is ok and you keep it clean, a little on the cap is ok but use it as a sign to keep a regular check or try getting a little dryer wood..

cass

 

[Bub381]

DONE! Thanks.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Duane, is it possible for you to reach the cap from the ground? If so, how about not going up through the chimney but just tapping the cap on the outside. If it was fastened down tight, the tapping should do no harm and many times this will knock the loose crap out of it and save you a trip up top.

 

[Bub381]

Can't reach,2nd story but i tap it with the brush pretty good when i'm brushing.Some stuff falls outside as well.

 

[nate379]

Happens quick too. I did similar Nov 2010 and I will be in some degree of pain for probably the rest of my life. I have to take pain killers every few hours.

.........the basement summit install i have to do top down as i can't get past the 90 degrees.....main floor jotul depends on my mood and the weather. i can do either as its straight up. i like the top down as it gives me a chance to inspect the top and cap area, where most of the creasote tends to collect. just remember if you get on the roof to have someone HOLD THE LADDER when you come back down......don't ask me how i know (six fractures when the ladder slipped and i fell from the first floor....not my time to go)

cass

 

[BobUrban]

X2 or more on just bonking it a couple times with the brush from the bottom. What doesn't fall is not going to start a fire. I do the same from bottom up and keep an eye on my cap with my binos every now and then. I see those black, drip looking stalagetites sometimes but don't worry to much about them as long as I am keeping the chimney clean. Although they look like they are wet I am pretty certain they are as dry as everything else that is coming out.

 

[Bub381]

I bet your right Bob,prob not enough heat up that high either.Chimney is really clean so okay there.I also run her good and hot once in awhile.

 

[turbocruiser]

Couple of thoughts on this:
1. Even though I have the Sooteater System and absolutely love the bottom-up technique, when I was just doing my first full chimney cleaning, along with all the "bottom-up" technique they advise I also went above the roof and onto our chimney chase (chimney chase sticks up above the roof about 4.5 feet), removed the top cap to the chimney cap and manually scrubbed the snot out of that top cap with a plastic stiff poly brush. I also scrubbed the top of the bottom of the chimney cap really well and all the ribs that separate the sections. I don't see how the Sooteater System would have gotten to all these areas because they basically stick out several inches further than the 6" ID the Sooteater System is trimmed to. (Perhaps this is another area where a whip head with full length lines would be better?) So my take home was that although the Sooteater allows you to clean thoroughly from the bottom up, as long as it is safe to do this, one should still go up and completely clean the chimney cap manually.

2. I was also always afraid of heights as long as I can remember and have almost slipped off sideways when I was using a ladder. One thing that I do really religiously now is to take two strong steel spring clamps and attach them to the gutter where the ladder touches. This helps to center the ladder and prevent it pushing off sideways when you are stepping onto or stepping off of the ladder. Hope that helps.

 

[greythorn3]

shoot the cap from outside with your bb gun

 

[firefighterjake]

No black goo or evil stalactites (or is it stalagmites . . . I can never remember which is which) . . . I just do a bottom up cleaning and "bonk" the cap a few times . . . typically I get a little bit of fly ash . . . nothing else really.

 

[Bub381]

Rather than shoot it with a BB gun a few times wouldn't a charge of No 4 buck get the job done quicker.I bet it would breathe then. 2 3/4" of course. :roll: