cheap-o chimney rods

[RustyShackleford]

Ok, I read the thread about building your own chimney rods out of
electrical conduit, but it got too complicated for me with the various
bolts and ropes. I took a simpler and more direct approach (IMHO)
and just used basic PVC pipe and "adapters".

Parts list was:

4 - 5ft pieces of 3/4" PVC
3 - female 3/4" adapters (glues onto 3/4" pipe and has 3/4" female threads)
3 - male 3/4" adapters (glues onto 3/4" pipe and has 3/4" male threads)
1 - 3/4" to 1/2" adapter (glues onto 3/4" pipe, has 1/2" female threads)
1 - 1/2" to 1/4" bushing (has 1/2" male threads and 1/4" female threads)

Total cost as Lowe's was $9.

So I have four 5ft chimney rods. I see no reason for any bolts. I think this
rig is no more likely to break or become unscrewed than the "official" fiberglass
rods (woulda needed five at $7 a pop at Lowe's). I might tie a piece of
nylon cord to the bottom of the brush for safety, but I think that even if the
thing broke/unscrewed, it wouldn't be that hard to poke the brush out of
there.

The big caveat is that my rig is not flexible enough for elbows. I don't care,
because I remove the chimney connector for separate cleaning, and clean
the chimney from the top.

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely that would work, though it's a bit more expensive than the electrical conduit approach - which isn't all that complicated IMHO, just hard to write up in a way that reads as simple as it really is... Not sure why you found it all that complex though... The electrical conduit has a "belled" end on each section to eliminate needing as many couplers - the bolt just acted as a pin to keep that slip fit connection from coming apart. The rope was just a single "safety line" to make sure that if a rod broke or came apart, that I could get the brush back... Maybe I didn't describe it well enough....

If cleaning from the top, your approach does potentially have the advantage of using shorter, easier to handle lengths, which can make a difference if on a ladder...

Gooserider

 

[Kong]

Two things - and I use cheap rods myself, but they were chimney rods when they began life, they're not home made.

First, the PVC ones sound awfully heavy to me. You'd be surprised what a workout it is to give a chimney a scrub from the top down. The second thing may be just a personal preference, but with my cheap rods they bend over so much the end touches the roof when I begin so much of the weight of the rod is supported by something other than my arms. I'd rather have the rod bend over than stand straight up in the air where I think it would be unwieldy.

Oh, I don't know how much I paid for my rods, but I'm sure they were dirt cheap. I just leave them up on the roof with the brush on. That's because I go up there once a month and spend exactly 1 minute making a pass up and down the chimney. They are in their third year up there. Sometimes I find a little creosote, sometimes not. Anyway I've got my money's worth out of those ebay rods and I would buy another set long before I'd try to make a set of my own.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Definitely that would work, though it's a bit more expensive than the electrical conduit approach - which isn't all that complicated IMHO, just hard to write up in a way that reads as simple as it really is... Not sure why you found it all that complex though... The electrical conduit has a "belled" end on each section to eliminate needing as many couplers - the bolt just acted as a pin to keep that slip fit connection from coming apart. The rope was just a single "safety line" to make sure that if a rod broke or came apart, that I could get the brush back... Maybe I didn't describe it well enough....

If cleaning from the top, your approach does potentially have the advantage of using shorter, easier to handle lengths, which can make a difference if on a ladder...

Gooserider

Yeah, I was being kinda silly about "complicated". Just didn't make sense to drill
holes for bolts to me, and I figure it's maybe a little weaker. And $9 seemed
cheap enough to me

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely that would work, though it's a bit more expensive than the electrical conduit approach - which isn't all that complicated IMHO, just hard to write up in a way that reads as simple as it really is... Not sure why you found it all that complex though... The electrical conduit has a "belled" end on each section to eliminate needing as many couplers - the bolt just acted as a pin to keep that slip fit connection from coming apart. The rope was just a single "safety line" to make sure that if a rod broke or came apart, that I could get the brush back... Maybe I didn't describe it well enough....

If cleaning from the top, your approach does potentially have the advantage of using shorter, easier to handle lengths, which can make a difference if on a ladder...

Gooserider

Yeah, I was being kinda silly about "complicated". Just didn't make sense to drill
holes for bolts to me, and I figure it's maybe a little weaker. And $9 seemed
cheap enough to me

I agree, the money is not a big deal at that sort of numbers - either way I would still have more money in the brush than I did in the rods...

I don't think the strength is an issue however - The hole is pretty small, around 3/16" or so, which leaves plenty of meat around the rest of the tube - plenty of strength, especially since most of the strain is going to be pushing the brush through whatever crud is there on the first pass...

Gooserider

 

[RustyShackleford]

... I would still have more money in the brush than I did in the rods...

Makes sense. I just got this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Poly-...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1266479692&sr=8-1

... only $7 or so. But just noticed I COULD have had this one for $34:

http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-PB-6-...3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1266479692&sr=8-3

... no doubt a better product.

 

[LLigetfa]

And $9 seemed
cheap enough to me

Most people here burn wood cuz they're cheap and $9 would be expensive for them.

 

[DonNC]

good stuff here

and that brush is STILL only 7 bucks