Cleaning Jotul Flue Outlet & Pipe

[Sun&Snow]

I bought one of those DIY flue cleaners with the flexible rods, thinking I'd clean the stove myself, but the ~2" diameter cleaning head doesn't fit through any flue opening I seem to have access to. I tried going up through the catalytic converter opening and also tried to fish it up from inside the stove (adjusting the bypass to maximize the opening in both cases), but no luck. It probably would be more sensible to disconnect the flue pipe, but I have no idea how to do this. Any ideas? Can I remove the stove outlet? This is a Series 8. I don't have roof-access and the sweeps never go up there, so there must be a way to do this. Maybe they're using a smaller diameter cleaning head?

 

[Todd]

What kind of pipe is that? I have a telescopic pipe I unscrew and slide up then tape a plastic garbage with the first rod section and brush through a hole in bag then just brush up adding rod sections.

 

[Sun&Snow]

I wish I knew! I'm wondering if the pipe will slide freely within that upper collar if I remove the uppermost and lowest screws. I'm a little afraid to mess with it, because I don't know what parts of the pipe, if any, can be adjusted.

 

[Todd]

I would try and remove that lower section of pipe first. If it’s telescoping it should slide right up into the top section. If not you may have to slide the stove out a bit to remove it. Then I would leave that top pipe section there and sweep up with bag attached.

 

[Sun&Snow]

The first segment is not telescoping, unfortunately and I don't believe I can move the stove enough to get it out.

If I remove the screws on both bottom and top collars, maybe the pipe would be floating at that point. If there's space above, then I could push the whole pipe up through the top collar. I'm afraid to try it for fear I might damage the roof connections.

 

[Todd]

I don’t think you will damage the roof connections. Before you remove the screws take a pencil and mark where the screw holes are so it’s easier to line up when reinstalled.

If you don’t feel comfortable about doing this find a local sweep and ask if they’re willing to sweep this from the bottom up. After watching them I’m sure your feel better about doing it yourself in future.

 

[Sun&Snow]

I don’t think you will damage the roof connections. Before you remove the screws take a pencil and mark where the screw holes are so it’s easier to line up when reinstalled.

If you don’t feel comfortable about doing this find a local sweep and ask if they’re willing to sweep this from the bottom up. After watching them I’m sure your feel better about doing it yourself in future.

Definitely. I have a sweep I like (Garett's in Fort Collins), but he's booked up for a while. He says he was able to clean it from inside the firebox. He must have been using a smaller brush head. I'm thinking I'd like to replace the lower pipe with a telescoping section, so I (and the sweeps) have better access for inspection and cleaning.

 

[Sun&Snow]

Seems the answer might be a pellet stove brush like this one:

Round Pellet Stove Flue Brush

Using a Poly Pellet Flue Brush is the best! Use this poly brush to clean flues of pellet burning stoves. This brush has stiff black polypropylene bristles; it will resist acids that will deteriorate regular steel bristle brushes.

www.rockfordchimneysupply.com

 

[Sun&Snow]

Just spoke with Garett. He's been using a viper. It's got a smaller head and it's way more flexible than these rods that fasten together. I asked him about installing a telescoping pipe. He warned me that it's pretty messy to deal with (makes sense). Based on forum comments, they can be hard to pull out after collapsing when they're dirty and they scrape together, so you have to touch up the paint. The upside would be direct access to both the stove outlet and the pipe, good visibility, and easier to clear out anything that gets stuck in there.