First year findings on clean out

Well guys, after the first season of burning in our new insert, it was time to do a clean out of the chim pipe.
I bought one of those Gardus roto weed wacker thingies that go on your drill. I purchased just enough extensions to fit our application of 26' of flue and marked the last extension to know when the distance to the chim cap cover has been achieved.( It comes with only 16' worth of extensions.)
I found out that the "string" needs to be replaced at every clean out as it looses a significant amount once it spins around in the chim cap and gets all tore up. Changing out the 5 strands of .105" string does take some time but is necessary. I had a spool of .095" so I added another to make it an even 6 (3 in each hole).
The soot found this first season was probably going to be what it's going to look like in future clean outs.
The pipe was very clean except for the last 6' I'd say. There is about 2'+ of uninsulated pipe sticking out of the top of the chimney that really cools down the soot so creosote was not a surprise.
My ( Quadrafire 5100i ACT ) was easy to take apart. I had added some Ford high temp nickel anti-seize to the threads on the bolts that secure the burn tubes. I think this will also help in the future keeping the bolts from rusting and seizing up.
The shop-vac worked wonders keeping the soot from entering the room without the need for any plastic covering over the door. After everything was said and done, the stove glass got a good cleaning and can't wait to perform for the next big chill.
Since I installed this wood burning insert I noticed so far there is no longer any issue with stinky smelly stuff due to negative back pressure coming back in the house.
I would highly recommend one of these spinning devices for your flue clean out needs. They work well, keep you off the roof and will pay for itself in the first year and you'll never need to pay a sweep to achieve the same results.
Well guys have a good one.

Bench

Good report, but I wonder what the cap looked like if you're doing this from the bottom up.
Does this thing whip around inside the cap and clean? Seems like that would tear up the "strings" pretty quick and make the cleaning less effective.
Just wondering.
Almost time to do the last cleanout here too.

Good question Papa Dave, realize that the cleaning begins at the stove and you progressively work your way up the flue leaving the chim cap the last item to be cleaned and it should be since it eats the string.
By the time the tool gets to the top, its done its job and any cleaning on the way down is just a bonus. You can tell how much soot and creosote has built up because it just falls down into a pile in the stove. Each section is 3' which is a helpful indicator knowing how far the tool is up the flue.

On another note; It's a good feeling to be burning wood again, I've got a jump on splitting so far and as the summer months progress, it would be nice to be ahead of the game and have a few cords split long enough to be ready for this winter. The name of the game is to have a bunch seasoned already then cut and split this new stuff for the following years to come.
I too wish you guys a wonderful summer, and Happy Mother's day out there to all you Mothers.

ta ta
p.s. Love the look and features of the new website guys!

Hey Bench, I too have the soot eater and love it....I dont care much for ladders and heights, plus there is no going into the elements....But, the threads on mine aren't tore up or loose....Wondering why yours are ending up that way??

I also have a Sooteater and love it. For a simple insert like mine with a very straight chimney system it's the only way to go. I'm guessing the cords getting beat up depends on the kind of cap you have and how much you run the Sooteater in it. I start by running mine up until it's just even with the top of the pipe and then clean it on the way back down. I don't spin it around the cap. I can go up and knock the junk off the cap myself if necessary.

Hehheh . . . you and me both on the ladders and heights . . . which is perhaps a bit ironic giving our line of work . . . of course I much prefer playing it safe and being inside the burning building vs. being up on a ladder or tower.

Agreed....Dang truckies

I used my Soot-Eater 4 times now... The string is just like the day I cut it down to the required length.

I remove my cap and do Top down cleaning. Tried Bottom up once amd wasnt a fan (basement install, running up clean-out T outside). Living in a Ranch, getting on the roof is easy and my Flue sticks up 5' over my roof. I remove the cap and the 3' section its attached to. I then have a open flue 2' over roof line (very easy access and good height to work on).

I would do as suggested above. Run the soot-eater to the top (with-out spinning) and once you reach the cap, then bring down a little, so you dont spin it inside the cap and chew up your string...

Sounds like you had a good year.. Congrats.

Do those of you who've used both the soot eater and traditional brush feel like one cleans better than the other?

I don't have either yet, but will be getting one or the other soon for my first cleanout. Roof access isn't an issue & whichever way I go, I was thinking top down would be least messy since I could keep the stove door closed while doing it. I've got a 30 degree kit in my stainless chimney plus a 45 in my double wall, so is one more flexible than the other?? My installer kind of scared me out of trying to clean my setup by myself, but I'd really like to do it myself if I'm not risking damage. In any case, very curious what I'll find after my first ~1/2 winter of burning.

He probably wants the $$, its pretty easy, I go up on mine every year and it takes 1/2 hour, Im considereing a soot eater too, I would do it top down if I get one, not crazy about the rods I have.

I agree about the $$$$$. As for which one is more flexible?

The brush I have, has rods that are about 3/8" in diameter and have to be threaded together. They are pretty flimsy.

The Soot-eater has rods that are about 1" in diameter and also lock together (wont disconnect)..

I dont think the Soot-Eater would have a problem with the couple small angles in your flue...

I had a bottom up cleaning last summer, they charged me a little less for the convenience which worked on my wallet. What I didn't like was when I had to go up on the roof for something else and saw what the chimney cap looked like, not good. There was alot of material crusted around the cap that could not be cleaned from the bottom up. I have opted to have the crew go up on the roof this year (when they come) to do a top down.

Just measured they are about 5/8" (11/16 actually), where my other rods (brush) are 1/4".

I did say "about" an inch and after looking at the 2 different rods, I would still clearly take the Soot-Eater. Hands down a stonger rod and still very flexible.

Seems are rods are different in size??

(15/16 is almost an inch ^^^^^ I think you meant 15/32?)

All joking aside.... Your rods for your Soot-Eater are not only smaller in diameter, but also a different color. Im intrigued at when they changed the size (and why)? The color change.. I totally understand. A white rod with Soot and such on it? ? Or a Black rod with Soot and such?

But why the slight increase in diameter. Mine are very flexible also? I do my inside pipe (basement) from the stove, up to the Clean-Out T outside (bottom up) . Its about 4' of vert, to a 90°, to 3' of horizontal, and finally the Clean-out. It doesn't even seem like there is a 90° there....

There are two different sizes...One is for cleaning the lint trap....I ordered the wrong one at first....Speaking of which, anybody looking for extra rods for cleaning the lint trap??

One is the Lint-Eater (4" brush for dryers and pellet stoves) and one is the Soot-Eater.

The Soot-Eater has 2 different models. One for pellet, one for wood stoves.

But the Lint-Eaters rods do not lock. The Soot-Eaters do. They are 2 entirely different animals. The rods will not mix-and-match.

Me and Rick both have the Soot-Eater. His rods are of the locking kind and much bigger than the lint-eater rods...