Chimney Cleaning help for Lopi large flush insert

[davo]

Hello all,

I have a Large flush wood insert from Travis Industries. I want to clean the chimney myself but I am looking for help. Does anyone have any advice? I was going to hire a professional, see how they do it, and try to duplicate what they do. I hear and read here it is not that difficult but I wanted to see, on my particular stove, if anyone has done it. What is the difficulty on a scale of 1-10? What rods and tools would i use? I have a dutch colonial house with a straight shot up the chimney, SS liner connected to the insert.

I was figuring I could just open the damper, clean from the top to bottom, and then vaccum out the soot? It is my first year burning and I want to make sure i get it right! Thanks!

 

[cachunko]

Sounds about right. I clean mine myself. I have a big nylon brush start from the top and push down. I have a cleanout on the bottom, and clean that out after brushing. Doesn't get any more simple for me. I use a brush and a dust pan to pick up the majority, then clean the rest up with a vacuum

 

[davo]

Sounds about right. I clean mine myself. I have a big nylon brush start from the top and push down. I have a cleanout on the bottom, and clean that out after brushing. Doesn't get any more simple for me. I use a brush and a dust pan to pick up the majority, then clean the rest up with a vacuum

Awesome. So you open the damper and just push the brush up and down? What tools do you use? Any links so I know to buy the right stuff? Thanks!

 

[prezes13]

Davo I have a smaller none cat cape cod. I do it myself, there is a bit more to it than opening the damper. I have to remove two tubes, few bricks and a baffle. I am not sure if your stove will require the same but I think it would other wise you would have all that creo sitting on top of the baffle plus you have a cat. Like I said I don't know how is the cat position and if you have to take it out or not, but your manual should have some explanation.

 

[cachunko]

My setup is a little different than yours. I have a wood/oil combination furnace. But the concept is the same. You would need to open your flue so the creosote and junk and fall through.

This is similar to my brush, only difference is mine is plastic bristles:
http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Produ...&qid=1433001369&sr=8-4&keywords=chimney+brush

I made my own rods out of pvc pipe from home depot. I used 1 inch PVC, the gray stuff for electrical purposes, and put a couple of fittings on one end to screw a brush into it. Was way cheaper than buying rods.

Thats pretty much it. Brush down, clean out at the bottom.

 

[Woody Stover]

This is similar to my brush, only difference is mine is plastic bristles

Yeah, probably should use a poly brush if you have a liner, especially if it's light weight. If it's rigid pipe, I don't think it's as big a deal. Maybe one of the pros here will chime in.

 

[davo]

Davo I have a smaller none cat cape cod. I do it myself, there is a bit more to it than opening the damper. I have to remove two tubes, few bricks and a baffle. I am not sure if your stove will require the same but I think it would other wise you would have all that creo sitting on top of the baffle plus you have a cat. Like I said I don't know how is the cat position and if you have to take it out or not, but your manual should have some explanation.

If I have to remove tubes, bricks, and baffle I might just hire someone. I do not know how to do that and I dont want to break anything, I paid alot of money for this stove haha. Are those procedures fairly easy? Thanks guys!

 

[prezes13]

It's not to bad. At least on my stove. The thing is you should be checking your baffle and bricks annually. Read your manual mine explained pretty well.