chimney cleaning questions from a rookie

[smokinokie]

I've been burning our new Jotul F100 about 2 weeks now. Haven't checked the creosote level yet.

Our double wall stove/chimney pipe goes straight up from the top of the stove through the ceiling and out the roof, no bends or angles at all.

All together we have 10 feet of chimney and 6 feet of stove pipe.

The top of our chimney is about 40" above the horizontal ridgeline of my roof and about 1 foot away. In other words I can stand on the ridge and look straight down into my chimney (once I take off the rain cap).

My roof is a 5 pitch, not steep at all, one story.

Also I never attached the bottom of my telescoping stovepipe to the Jotul flue collar with screws.

Didn't see why I should - the stovepipe isn't going to go anywhere, right? It's resting on the top of the stove, the flue collar is attached to the stove with screws, the only direction it can go is up. I liked the idea of being able to lift it up off the stove easily for inspection and cleaning, so that's how I left it.

So all in all I think I have a very easy situation for cleaning, right?

(1) With such a setup, how would a pro go about cleaning our chimney (I understand that there are different techniques)?

(2) What equipment is best? Where to buy for best price (online?)? I'm not afraid to work a little harder with a smaller investment in the tools if it is possible to still do a good job.

(3) Should I just lift the stovepipe off of the top of my stove and then slip a bucket under it to catch the creosote?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[smokinokie]

Also my stove/chimney pipe is 6" Selkirk Supervent.

 

[dougand3]

For safety, screw each junction of stove pipe together with 3 screws...prob are 3 screw holes on your flue collar. Top down cleaning sounds easy for you. You need 6" brush (either steel or poly) and 4 x 4 ft connecting rods. Lifting stove pipe up and placing bucket underneath will work. I just brush mine into stove - it lands on the open bypass door and I shopvac it out. If you've been burning 2 weeks with dry wodd - doubt you'll have more half cup. Brush and rods can be found at Big Boxes (Lowes, HomeDepot, Tractor Supply, etc) or online.

 

[Hogwildz]

Make sure you read the pkg as check the rod length. The ones I have are 3' long. Would suck to be one short.
3/8" rod is for wood stove pipe cleaning. 1/4" rods are for pellet stove pipe cleaning.

 

[soupy1957]

With respect to "dougand3," I recommend not only putting the screws in, but using all 4. I remember the day the Installers came to our home and put in our Stand Alone wood stove. I recall hearing one Installer saying to the other (obviously a "trainee") "Some folks use 3 screws on these junctions, but I use all 4. It's the RIGHT way to do it."

-Soupy1957

 

[Pagey]

Things I'd keep in mind:

1.) Most will recommend a poly brush for a Class A/stainless steel flue, which you can obtain locally or online from Amazon or Northlineexpress.
2.) Test fit your brush BEFORE sending it down the length of the flue (the first poly brush I had would NOT reverse after 6" of travel; it had to be trimmed with tin snips).
3.) If you leave the connector pipe attached during cleaning, make sure to remove the stove's baffle (if possible) so the soot will fall into the stove's firebox.
4.) In the even of a serious backpuff, in which the heavy smoke inside the stove gets enough oxygen to literally explode, screws keep the connector pipe from potentially lifting off the stove - again, literally.
5.) Wear a mask when you sweep, as the updraft will carry tiny, paper thin flakes of soot all up in yo' face, yo!

 

[dougand3]

With respect to "dougand3," I recommend not only putting the screws in, but using all 4. I remember the day the Installers came to our home and put in our Stand Alone wood stove. I recall hearing one Installer saying to the other (obviously a "trainee") "Some folks use 3 screws on these junctions, but I use all 4. It's the RIGHT way to do it."

-Soupy1957

Agreed..if flue collar has 4 holes for screws, use all. Many have only 3, equidistant around collar.

 

[smokinokie]

My Jotul flue collar only has 2 holes. It is cast iron so there is no way I can make extra holes in it.

My double wall Selkirk Supervent stovepipe has three holes, equidistant around the perimeter.

So I can only use one of the three holes provided, will have to drill the second at the precise spot that the cast iron flue hole matches up, right?

Thanks for the info about the back-puffing, somthing I have never heard about. I knew there must be some good reason for screwing the bottom of stovepipe to the flue collar.

My stove does make a lot of smoke when it is getting going.

 

[SteveKG]

Yeah, just drill another hole where needed. A sharp bit is good, as the Selkirk double pipe is not soft metal. But no problem with a good bit, I did it last week myself. Two screws is fine into the cast iron.

If the bit wants to wander around, mark where you want the hole in the pipe with a felt pen or whatever, then give that spot a little tap with a nail punch or something, anything will work, to put a small dimple there and the bit will stay in place. I would slip the pipe over the collar and tap with the punch over where the hole is in the collar. That will keep the pipe round. Only a little tap is needed. Just enough to make a small impression in the pipe.