cleaning chimney

[clearblue16]

so i have had my hampton insert for a year and a half now and am thinking about how i am going to clean the chimney...it has a 6 inch ss insert all the way up....instead of paying somebody a bunch of money to clean it can i just go buy some brushes and rods and do it myself? it doesn't seem like rocket science....on that note, my annual inspection should include what? fire bricks inspection? where does one get chimney cleaning tools and is there anything more to it than starting from the top and brushing all the way down to the firebox?

 

[Pagey]

A couple of basic tips:

1.) when you get your brush (poly is recommended for a SS flue), insert the brush and the first rod a few inches into the first section of the chimney, then pull/tug up on the rod and try to "reverse" the bristles. If your brush was like my first one, it may be nearly impossible to remove and will require trimming with tin snips;
2.) read the directions for removing the baffle from your stove, as some stoves use a fragile baffle board/material that can easily be punctured when brushing.

You can get rods and a brush from Amazon.com or Northlineexpress.com. You can also find them at places like Ace Hardware. I clean my own monthly, and it's a 15 minute job.

 

[ibbuckshot]

Greetings folks,
years ago I used brushes on a 8X8 linered block chimney and never had a problem. I am now using a stainless steel chimney insert. The biggest problem I see when I clean will be the way to get the brush back out. I have to go from the top down and cant get past the two 45's just above the damper in the top of the old fisher fireplace insert. The damper is welded in. If I get that brush down to the top of the upper 45 and try to reverse it and it will not come back out I will have to remove the stove. I don't want to go there ! ! ! ! Is trimming the brushes a common fix? If I trim the brush it cant clean as well. Or is that the best trade off? My pipe is seven inch ID. Any other fixes out there. Thanks for any ideas.
Have Fun,
buckshot

 

[firefighterjake]

so i have had my hampton insert for a year and a half now and am thinking about how i am going to clean the chimney...it has a 6 inch ss insert all the way up....instead of paying somebody a bunch of money to clean it can i just go buy some brushes and rods and do it myself? Yes . . . in the long run you'll save a lot of money. it doesn't seem like rocket science....Yes . . . again . . .not all that hard to do. on that note, my annual inspection should include what? I have a free standing stove, but my annual inspection of the whole shebang includes the sweeping of the chimney and I clean out the stove pipe as well . . . I also clean out all of the ash in the firebox to inspect the bricks, metal, baffle, etc . . . and that's pretty much it . . . it's pretty much a big metal box with a few extras inside. I think last year I ran some stove cement along the edge of my baffle just to seal things up a bit more . . . I think in retrospect that this wasn't totally necessary. fire bricks inspection? Yup . . . just once a year. where does one get chimney cleaning tools and is there anything more to it than starting from the top and brushing all the way down to the firebox? Almost any hardware store will have a set . . . or you can order on line as I did . . . I went with one of the advertisers here and was quite happy with the product and speed of delivery -- Northline express.com.

 

[Fsappo]

A couple of basic tips:

1.) when you get your brush (poly is recommended for a SS flue), insert the brush and the first rod a few inches into the first section of the chimney, then pull/tug up on the rod and try to "reverse" the bristles. If your brush was like my first one, it may be nearly impossible to remove and will require trimming with tin snips;
2.) read the directions for removing the baffle from your stove, as some stoves use a fragile baffle board/material that can easily be punctured when brushing.

You can get rods and a brush from Amazon.com or Northlineexpress.com. You can also find them at places like Ace Hardware. I clean my own monthly, and it's a 15 minute job.

Rumor has it you can by chimney rods and brushes from family owned brick and mortar fireplace shops. They are slowly becoming extinct, but they deserve it for trying to turn a profit and employ folks that live in your home town. You could always ask them to negotiate the pricing to get it a little closer to the online warehouses or the big box stores.

 

[Pagey]

A couple of basic tips:

1.) when you get your brush (poly is recommended for a SS flue), insert the brush and the first rod a few inches into the first section of the chimney, then pull/tug up on the rod and try to "reverse" the bristles. If your brush was like my first one, it may be nearly impossible to remove and will require trimming with tin snips;
2.) read the directions for removing the baffle from your stove, as some stoves use a fragile baffle board/material that can easily be punctured when brushing.

You can get rods and a brush from Amazon.com or Northlineexpress.com. You can also find them at places like Ace Hardware. I clean my own monthly, and it's a 15 minute job.

Rumor has it you can by chimney rods and brushes from family owned brick and mortar fireplace shops. They are slowly becoming extinct, but they deserve it for trying to turn a profit and employ folks that live in your home town. You could always ask them to negotiate the pricing to get it a little closer to the online warehouses or the big box stores.

Good point, Franks. We're in such an "isolated" area that mom and pop shops are non-existent without a 45 minute drive one way. I'm just used to shopping online as a result, and that is the first solution I default to.

 

[Fsappo]

You are forgiven! I just get touchy when I think that maybe some day soon my 25 years in the hearth industry will be replace by Amazon and Home Despot.

 

[nojo]

You are forgiven! I just get touchy when I think that maybe some day soon my 25 years in the hearth industry will be replace by Amazon and Home Despot.

Only if you fail to innovate and adapt! Get your online business NOW. There is no overhead doing it this way. Use Amazon or ebay in conjunction with your own website. Its a great way to expand your business and keep up with the times. Not to mention the fact that you could get more walk in customers becuase they go to buy something online and see that the place they are buying from is nearby so instead they just take a ride over. I always think its great when I find a local business online that I had no idea existed.

 

[Fsappo]

We have an ebay store. I could sit in my office and sell on ebay all day long and make money with less overhead. What I miss is the old fashioned way of doing business. A couple comes in, we talk, touch feel the stoves, shake hands and make a deal. I dread the day when I can't see my customers face it face in our shop, develop relationships and stuff. It is probably the future, hardly any showrooms, just computers and warehouses. I just want to delay that future.