I bought a 6 inch poly brush for my 6 inch SS flexible liner. The liner was ovalized a bit to get it through my existing masonry chimney. I got about 6 feet down from the top before I couldn't push anymore. Went inside and saw maybe a quarter cup of soot in the ash pan of my insert.
Decided to trim a half inch off the bristles of the brush. Went back up. This time I got the brush about 17 feet down the chimney. I could hear alot of scraping and there was definitely some resistance as I pushed it down. As I pulled it back up I gave it a little up and down scrubbing. When I went back in there was very little in the ash pan.
So my question... Is it possible the soot was getting hung up on a bend? The chimney is about 22 feet. The SS liner goes through an existing damper from a traditional fireplace before getting into the terra cotta liner. The reason I stopped at 17 feet was because I met enough resistance on the poles that I couldn't force the brush down anymore. I jammed my shop vac hose as high as I could up the chimney from the inside, but I didn't really get anymore soot.
Decided to trim a half inch off the bristles of the brush. Went back up. This time I got the brush about 17 feet down the chimney. I could hear alot of scraping and there was definitely some resistance as I pushed it down. As I pulled it back up I gave it a little up and down scrubbing. When I went back in there was very little in the ash pan.
So my question... Is it possible the soot was getting hung up on a bend? The chimney is about 22 feet. The SS liner goes through an existing damper from a traditional fireplace before getting into the terra cotta liner. The reason I stopped at 17 feet was because I met enough resistance on the poles that I couldn't force the brush down anymore. I jammed my shop vac hose as high as I could up the chimney from the inside, but I didn't really get anymore soot.
