Cleaning Jotul 550 Insert

[Setter Fan]

I am planning to clean my Jotul 550 insert for the first time myself from the top down. Have used a chimney sweep for the past four years but the last time was a sub-par cleaning. He did not clean the cap or the last foot or two of the liner at the top. I got up on the roof this weekend and cleaned the cap myself but noticed the top foot or two of the liner was pretty dirty while the rest of the liner seemed relatively clean. Did not clean the liner since I don’t have tools and did not want to push the ash/creosote down onto the baffles without removing first.

My question is how do I remove the baffles and top fire bricks to gain clear access to the 6” chimney liner? The manual is a little lacking in detail and was hoping to get some help from someone who has done it before.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Additional information if needed;

23 foot center chimney

Burn 3 year old Ash and Maple between 15-18% moisture content

Burn nearly 24/7

Have had the chimney cleaned once a year

 

[jatoxico]

If you want to sweep from the top and vacuum you can pop the two Skamol bricks up and slide them to either side. They may be stuck a little if you never move them so a sharp but gentle rap with your knuckles will free them. The two Skamol bricks cannot be removed entirely until you at least drop the center burn tube.

Personally I remove all the tubes, cast baffles and Skamol bricks when I sweep. To do that push up the cast baffles and remove the back and center burn tubes by sliding to one side then down. Then remove the Skamol bricks by turning them diagonally out and down. Now push the baffles up and back so you can remove the front tube. That is kind of u-shaped so pull forward while rotating ends up and it will come straight down.

The baffles overlap so to get them out push the right baffle up from center while sliding the left one towards the middle of the firebox. Let the front drop and take it out. The left will sit on the ledge but be careful its supported. They're heavy enough and its kind of an awkward position.

 

[Setter Fan]

Perfect,
Thank you jatoxico
Could you offer a recommendation on cleaning rod/brush. I have read good reviews on the sooteater. The liner is straight shot down with no bends.

 

[jatoxico]

Perfect,
Thank you jatoxico
Could you offer a recommendation on cleaning rod/brush. I have read good reviews on the sooteater. The liner is straight shot down with no bends.

That's exactly what I use. Works as advertised.

 

[Setter Fan]

Thank you. Appreciate the detailed instructions.

Will be back up on the roof once the weather warms up and I can shut the stove down a few days.

 

[EJL923]

I use a stiff poly brush when cleaning from the top, and soot eater if cleaning from the bottom. I prefer the stiff poly brush, seems to clean a little better. I bought the soot eater one year because i wanted to be able to clean if snow was on the roof. I only had to do that once when i had some greener wood, but im a year ahead now.

If buying rods and poly brush, buy the heavy duty thicker rods. I bought the thinner ones first and they flexed so much it was a PITA.

 

[jatoxico]

Only ever used the SootEater. I could see how you could miss a lot if you rush it. I try to move it nice and slow and up and down the length of each rod at least 2X. Poly probably does hit more of the surface. The pros here have commented that they prefer rotary cleaning maybe because the whipping action dislodges the crud well (?). They do use different commercial set-up though.