Cleaning Day with the SootEater

[jatoxico]

Given that this is the warmest day we are going to have for the foreseeable future I pulled out the Sooteater. Last cleaning was 10/29/16 so most of last season and close to half of this one.

I point the rigid hose of my shop at the stove and would have run the other end out the door but too cold and it's snowing so I put a couple socks on the outlet end just in case any ash gets past the filter.

Using this setup I get little to no ash in the room. All in all it takes about an hour taking it easy.

 

[DodgyNomad]

Love mine. Only way to go.

 

[spoon059]

I bought one recently, haven't used it yet though. I'm concerned about the mess I'm gonna make

 

[jatoxico]

I bought one recently, haven't used it yet though. I'm concerned about the mess I'm gonna make

That's why I posted the shop vac setup. It helps a lot. The light stuff gets sucked right in and the heavier stuff just drops down. Another trick I saw but never tried is to cut a Clorox type bottle in half and run the rods through the small end while holding large end to the flue. One guy even made it secure to the flue exit so he didn't need three hands.

 

[highanddryinco]

I'm concerned about the mess I'm gonna make

May be a bit cold right now but my normal routine in the fall is to put a box fan in a window, blowing inward. It pressurizes the house just enough to carry all the light material right up and out the stack. Any little chunkers fall into the stove.
Run the spinning rods through an old rag as you draw them back out and you've not made a mess at all.

 

[spoon059]

Thank you both! Good tips, hope to get to try them out next week when the temps get above 20

 

[Retired Guy]

I cut the bottom off a gallon plastic bottle. I slide it up the 6" flue with the first SE section and use painters tape to hold it in place. My wife holds the ash vac at the nozzle end of the bottle while I clean it. Very little dust to clean up after.

 

[Lakeside]

That's why I posted the shop vac setup. It helps a lot. The light stuff gets sucked right in and the heavier stuff just drops down. Another trick I saw but never tried is to cut a Clorox type bottle in half and run the rods through the small end while holding large end to the flue. One guy even made it secure to the flue exit so he didn't need three hands.

Here's a link to the clorox bottle method.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...n-chimney-first-time-tips.90981/#post-1189802

 

[Ashful]

Instead of the Chlorox bottle, I found a 1 gal Rubbermaid pitcher is a perfect slip fit over 6” single wall stove pipe. I drilled a 3/4” (from memory) hole in the bottom. Just put the head and first rod section in the pipe, slide the pitcher over the end and then start feeding it rods as you go. Beautiful, simple, clean. Doesn’t funnel the way an inverted Chlorox jug would.

Question: Is a sooteater considered good enough to permanently forego brushing? I’ve always considered it good enough for a mid-season cleaning (which I don’t even bother doing, anymore), but always wanted the 6” brush at the end of the year. Brushing my rig is definitely not trivial, so I’d love if I could just go Sooteater all the time.

 

[highanddryinco]

Answer: Right or wrong, it's all I use and stack looks nice and clean when I'm done. I have a straight run all the way so I can see from bottom to top with a flashlight and a mirror.

Guess I should probably edit: I burn almost only pine.

 

[jatoxico]

All I use too. I'm pretty diligent about taking it slow and giving the tool time to work..

 

[Ashful]

How's it work thru back-to-back 45's? It'd be nice to just do it straight up thru the bypass door on these BK's.

 

[blacktail]

Guess I should probably edit: I burn almost only pine.

Then your flue is clean because of constant chimney fires! [emoji14]

 

[jatoxico]

How's it work thru back-to-back 45's? It'd be nice to just do it straight up thru the bypass door on these BK's.

Can't help you there. I have to make one big bend to almost 90 deg but over 4-5' so not too stressful on anything.

 

[bholler]

Instead of the Chlorox bottle, I found a 1 gal Rubbermaid pitcher is a perfect slip fit over 6” single wall stove pipe. I drilled a 3/4” (from memory) hole in the bottom. Just put the head and first rod section in the pipe, slide the pitcher over the end and then start feeding it rods as you go. Beautiful, simple, clean. Doesn’t funnel the way an inverted Chlorox jug would.

Question: Is a sooteater considered good enough to permanently forego brushing? I’ve always considered it good enough for a mid-season cleaning (which I don’t even bother doing, anymore), but always wanted the 6” brush at the end of the year. Brushing my rig is definitely not trivial, so I’d love if I could just go Sooteater all the time.

I cant speak about soot eaters in particular but in general rotary cleaners do a better job than brushes.