Cleaning Chimney CAp

[nate379]

What is the easiest way to clean the chimney cap if it can't be reached from the roof without having to tear the chimney apart?

 

[Highbeam]

You talking about cleaning it from below from inside the pipe?

 

[Ashful]

What is the easiest way to clean the chimney cap if it can't be reached from the roof without having to tear the chimney apart?

If you can't reach it, this should do the job of knocking off the creosote. No word on whether it will tear your chimney apart.

 

[jharkin]

You could use a sooteater and get a second head leaving the whips long so they scrub out the inside of the cap.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

You could use a sooteater and get a second head leaving the whips long so they scrub out the inside of the cap.

I also use this approach. I usually have wife go outside with the binoculars to tell me when I reach the cap area. I think this year I am going to paint the head of the soot eater a florescent orange/bright color, so its a little easier to see when the head reaches the cap area.

 

[charly]

I agree ,, my soot eater cleans my cap as well... Before attaching the last section to my drill I feel for the cap top, then I have an idea of how much rod distance to reach the cap... once there I just spin the drill in both directions,, not too fast or you'll start tearing off lines... works great..

 

[nate379]

I have a soot eater, but the strings are cut to fit the pipe. Should I have left them long??

 

[nate379]

My pipe is about 9 ish feet from the roof on a 6/12 pitch. I broke my back a few years ago after falling off a roof while roofing, so I'm a bit gunshy about rigging up ladders to get to the cap.
Rather nit spend 100$ or whatever to have it done.

 

[charly]

I have a soot eater, but the strings are cut to fit the pipe. Should I have left them long??

I left my lines the correct size for the pipe and it worked fine a week ago,, and they had already been previously used... That head oscillates back and forth once the strings pop up out of the pipe and are in the cap area.. I also rotate the drill in both directions once at the cap.

 

[nate379]

Ok. I wasn't sure how well it was actually cleaning it being that I can't really see the inside of it.

I left my lines the correct size for the pipe and it worked fine a week ago,, and they had already been previously used... That head oscillates back and forth once the strings pop up out of the pipe and are in the cap area.. I also rotate the drill in both directions once at the cap.