Sooo, it's my first year burning and I would like to sweep my own chimney. Unfortunately, I have a very steeply pitched roof and a chimney cap that is probably 45 feet up. I would like to try a bottom up cleaning, but have a direct connection from the stove to the flue. Not looking to pull the insert out of the fireplace, and since I don't have room for a 'T' pipe, does anyone know If I can simply take out the burn tube assembly of my Clydesdale to get a brush up the flue? I can't/won't go up that high to go top down, and don't want to pull out the insert or pay someone else for to clean the pipe. It's a 35 ft 6' stainless steel liner inside a masonry chimney.
Bottom up chimney cleaning question
- Thread starter Beardog
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remkel
Minister of Fire
I don't know about the assembly of your stove and looked at the owners manual to see if I could find the answer, but I think you would be a good candidate for a sooteater. I have the same situation at my house (33' chimney, 10 pitch roof, two story colonial).
cmonSTART
Minister of Fire
If it's a true direct connect installation - with a liner stub going to the first flue tile - you really do need to pull the insert to clean it properly. Otherwise, the creosote falls down onto the smoke shelf and collects, presenting a future fire hazard. Also, the smoke chamber of the fireplace should be checked over.
Yep. A fact of life with a direct connect is that the insert has to come out to clean the chimney. And with a Sooteater if you cut the whip the correct size for the connector pipe then it isn't going to be big enough to make contact with and clean the chimney tiles above the connector pipe.
Time to call a chimney sweep.
Time to call a chimney sweep.
remkel
Minister of Fire
Thank God I have much wiser people looking over this site. My gut feeling was the stove had to be pulled out, but sometimes I cannot see past my gut....
I may have used the wrong terminology when I said 'direct connect'. I meant to say I don't have a 'T' adapter from liner to insert. We ran a ss liner all the way up the masonry chimney. Thanks for all the help!
cmonSTART
Minister of Fire
Ok, I see. You can clean it with the insert in place, then. Try to shift the insert forward a bit to give you access to the blower if needed.
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