Cleaning my vent for the first time

[MarkSJohnson]

I’m feeling dense because I’m not understanding what are likely some very basic things about cleaning my vent. I’ve burned about a ton and a half in my new installation, so I’m doing this for the first time.

My installation includes what I guess is called a “clean out trap” or similar. It’s on the inside of the house, not the outside. I bought a Linteater system as I’ve seen recommended here.

If I take the cap off the outside vent pipe, and run the Linteater brush through the pipes, I assume that I am, in essence, knocking all that stuff down to the “bottom” of the pipe where the cleanout is located. (On this photo, my “cleanout” is at the bottom of this pipe. After the pipe goes through the wall at the top, it goes straight out for about 4’ to go under decking):




So, if I knock all that stuff down to the bottom of the pipe, what prevents the gigantic messy situation when I pull that cap off? What prevents some of the stuff from pushing into the back of the stoves exhaust vent blower? My installation is only in a basement, but if this were a living room, it seems like this setup will create a huge mess(?).


And though I’m not planning on using the method, how in the heck does using a leaf blower to blow INTO the exhaust vent not blow all that stuff INTO the house? I watched the YouTube videos, and all the gunk is blowing right out again instead of into the house!


What am I missing?

 

[mikkeeh]

The leaf blowers that you use...have a suction port also. Not all blowers will have this feature. When you connect the "suction" port of the leaf blower, to the outside of your vent pipe...it works like a large vacuum cleaner and sucks the ash out of the pipe and stove....and blowing it out of the "blower" port. Saves a lot of work. Hope this helps.

 

[chken]

I’m feeling dense because I’m not understanding what are likely some very basic things about cleaning my vent. I’ve burned about a ton and a half in my new installation, so I’m doing this for the first time.

My installation includes what I guess is called a “clean out trap” or similar. It’s on the inside of the house, not the outside. I bought a Linteater system as I’ve seen recommended here.

If I take the cap off the outside vent pipe, and run the Linteater brush through the pipes, I assume that I am, in essence, knocking all that stuff down to the “bottom” of the pipe where the cleanout is located. (On this photo, my “cleanout” is at the bottom of this pipe. After the pipe goes through the wall at the top, it goes straight out for about 4’ to go under decking):


So, if I knock all that stuff down to the bottom of the pipe, what prevents the gigantic messy situation when I pull that cap off? What prevents some of the stuff from pushing into the back of the stoves exhaust vent blower? My installation is only in a basement, but if this were a living room, it seems like this setup will create a huge mess(?).


And though I’m not planning on using the method, how in the heck does using a leaf blower to blow INTO the exhaust vent not blow all that stuff INTO the house? I watched the YouTube videos, and all the gunk is blowing right out again instead of into the house!


What am I missing?

The Linteater usually is sold as a 10-piece kit. In that kit is an adapter to attach to the bottom of your T, to which you can attach an ash vac. Then when you run your Linteater down the pipe, it will suck all that ash into its canister. As for the blower, you can buy an electric leaf blower from Home Depot. It's the cheap $40 one. You essentially reverse the leaf blower, and with a PVC fitting, people have been creating an adapter that goes on the large suction port of the leaf blower. Instead of blowing leaves, it blows out ash.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Homelite-12-Amp-Electric-Blower-Vac-UT42120/202071356

Oddly, I already owned this leaf blower before I bought a pellet stove. Now, it has another use. I'm just wondering if I use it for ash cleaning, whether I can still use it for leaf blowing.

 

[MarkSJohnson]

Now I understand the leaf blower technique. I watched several videos showing this technique, but non had explained that you're using the leaf blowers intake for the process.

Chken, thanks for the infor regarding the ash vac adapter in the kit. I looked through the Linteater manual, but missed that you would remove the cap from the T and have an attached vac running through the Linteater process!

 

[St_Earl]

be sure to disconnect the vacuum switch line of your stove before doing the leaf blower trick.
i'm not sure if i will ever do the leafblower thing.
my vent terminates up fairly high and my cleanout T is inside.
but i know you're supposed to disconnect the vacuum line so as not to ruin the switch.

 

[MarkSJohnson]

Thanks, St. Earl. I'm not planning on doing the leaf blower thing, I just kept running across it when searching YouTube for "pellet stove vent cleaning" and, without explanations, couldn't figure out how they were blowing INTO the the pipe and having it blow back out at them!

 

[Bioburner]

Here is a closer picture of a converted vac-blower. Carmels are from a stove service. Stuck exhaust blower, mouse was storing the carmels from the kitchen candy dish inside the stove and the vac sucked em out. Glad it did as fan removal on a Countryside is a pain.

 

[MarkSJohnson]

I just wanted to update this thread and post that the cleaning went well.

I hooked up a shop vac to the T (with another vac hose blowing the exhaust out of the basement door) and the Linteater system worked great!

Thanks again to all of you for your help!