do you guys clean your own chimney

[Stevebass4]

i thing i might want to save a few bucks and clean my own chimney this year

it's not too high and as some of you know i have a direct connect now so i'll have to pull the insert out first and buy the brush and rods at home depot

thoughts?

 

[wahoowad]

Many do. I do. That way I know it is done right.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Peace of mind is worth a lot. It can be a little messy, but I think it's a good idea to become intimately familiar with that important part of your installation.

 

[TMonter]

I just can't bring myself to pay someone $75.00 to run a brush through my liner, especially when the entire job takes me 20 minutes start to finish except for the end of season cleaning.

 

[Stevebass4]

I just can't bring myself to pay someone $75.00 to run a brush through my liner, especially when the entire job takes me 20 minutes start to finish except for the end of season cleaning.

it's $150.00 here but i think my biggest issue is that i need to remove the insert

 

[budman]

I just can't bring myself to pay someone $75.00 to run a brush through my liner, especially when the entire job takes me 20 minutes start to finish except for the end of season cleaning.

it's $150.00 here but i think my biggest issue is that i need to remove the insert

Steve I think it's time to get a liner in that puppy. For 150.00 a pop 3 1/2 cleanings will pay
for it. :cheese:

 

[burntime]

Brush my own, that way I know the chimney is clean and safe. Cost 50 bucks for rods and brush. A regular cleaning here is 150.00 so it more than pays for itself in 1 use. I figure if I can cut and split the wood I can run the brush.

 

[hardwood715]

Same here do my own!

 

[budman]

Same here do my own!

Hard wood I used to go camping up there (hyde park) right on the hudson river
they even small cabins you could rent.Great place.

 

[kwburn]

i don't know all the types and models but i know there are different quality brushes out there and a brush at home depot is probably going to be on the low end. since you only buy it once its usually worth ponying up for something a step up. i'm pretty sure the most popular brand has an entry level and a professional series and neither are probably what the pros use but the better one is probably fine for just doing your own chimney.

maybe someone here has more specifics and i'm sure they are online if not available locally.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have two chimneys and clean them both myself. I spent way more time and back pain than I care to remember pulling an insert out of the fireplace and then cleaning the chimney and then putting it back. Hopefully after this last liner replacement that stove will be sitting there unmoved in that fireplace when they come over to console Mz. BroBart on my passing.

Put a full liner in that thing and the first time you clean it you will want to smack yourself in the head with a ball bat for what you have been missing. Not to mention the eye popping increase in draft and burn efficiency the first time you fire it up.

But for this go-round, it isn't hard to clean'em. Just messy like mentioned above and time consuming. And be sure you re-seal around that direct connect pipe where it goes into the first flue tile when you put it back together. And after you brush down the chimney be sure to vacuum the collected crud off of the top of the smoke shelf at the top of the back of the firebox. Creosote piled on top of smoke shelves from chimney cleaning has got to be one of the number causes of chimney fires. And it is easy to forget to clean it off.

Also, if you do it yourself be careful sliding the insert in and out of the fireplace. It is real easy to damage a hearth doing that. Something I always lusted for was one of the insert pullers that the good sweeps used to have. With one of those things even the heaviest insert just slides right out. By the time I finally found out where to get one I had discovered hearth.com and full liners.

BTW: What size chimney flue tiles do you have? If they are 7 X 11 inside measurement I will send you a Rutland brush that has been used twice. You don't need rods. Just two ropes. Pull it down. Pull it up. Works a lot better than those floppy fiberglass rods. I know. I threw fifty bucks worth of them off the roof one day and went and got my ropes.

 

[Stevebass4]

Thanks VERY MUCH for the offer of the brush - very kind of you! i'm not too sure of the flue size - but i'll get up there this weekend and measure it

 

[karl]

Steve, if you need a brush. I have a 12" square metal bristle one I'll sell you cheap. Only used once to clean mine out before I put the liner in. Send me a PM if you're interested.

 

[Dexter]

I clean my own chimney. 'Saves $$. It's a pita when underway, what with separating the connector, pre-positioning a catch-bag under the t-clean-out, climbing onto the roof, ash vaccing the stove, inspecting and re-gasketing if necessary. On the other hand, it's a ritual performed for safety's sake, and I reward myself with an adult beverage when finished. And I contemplate wood-heating the house with confidence the following season. AAAAAhhhhhhh....

Regard,

Dexter

 

[hardwood715]

Hard wood I used to go camping up there (hyde park) right on the hudson river
they even small cabins you could rent.Great place.

Was that at Norrie Point? Yes there are some nice views from town of the river valley, Vanderbuilts is less than a mile from me. Warren, and Kevin from this forum also live in Hyde Park. FDR grew up here, and is buried here.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Can't see paying someone to do my jobs for me if at all possible. Perhaps if I get old enough so as not to be able, then I'd either pay or, more than likely, call a neighbor.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I clean mine from the clean out door on the bottom. I run the brush up and down a few times and then check it out with a mirror. The mirror doesn't tell me so much if there is creosote in it, but shows me the SS pipe through the thimble is into the chimney far enough.

Matt

 

[budman]

Hard wood I used to go camping up there (hyde park) right on the hudson river
they even small cabins you could rent.Great place.

Was that at Norrie Point? Yes there are some nice views from town of the river valley, Vanderbuilts is less than a mile from me. Warren, and Kevin from this forum also live in Hyde Park. FDR grew up here, and is buried here.

Thats it.

 

[Gooserider]

I've cleaned mine once, not a big deal. One suggestion - don't buy the fancy rods, you can save a great deal by getting the grey plastic electrical conduit in 3/4" instead. I got enough conduit for my 25' chimney, and the fittings from the plumbing departement to make it fit my brush for less than ONE of those three foot fancy rods would have cost me.

Gooserider

 

[ourhouse]

I do mine and my dads. It takes about an hour to do each. I do them 2 times a year .

 

[wg_bent]

I did mine last year, and this year it will take 1/2 the time. I use a flash light on a string lowered to inspect it. I don't use polls to push the brush, I use a rope to push/pull on the ropes. Use a shop vac in the entrance of the stove to keep dust down. it works really well.

 

[mtarbert]

I'm getting ready to clean my chimney for the first time. It is 8x8 terricota I have the steel brushes and poles but have one question: If there is creosote build-up will the brushes remove it?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[isuphipsi1052]

I have a VC Winter Warm small model. I'm getting ready to climb up on the roof to clean my chimney as well. No problems with heights since I'm a firefighter, I climb around on roofs all the time. My question, do I need to pull the insert out to properly clean it, or am I ok to simply brush out the chimney?

 

[n6crv]

Mtarbert, if it is just the fluffy stuff yes the brushes will clean it. If it is stage 3 ie glaze then no. There is stuff that you can put into the fire that will help break down the glaze, to allow you clean it better. If it is really heavy you need to get a chimney sweep to do the job as they have stuff that can break down the glaze, but might take a couple of times to get it all.

Isuphipsi1052, I would say you don't want all the junk just filling up the top of the insert. If you have a way to vacuum off the top you should be ok. If not I would pull out the insert as lease once to see how much is sitting there.
Don

 

[isuphipsi1052]

Thanks. I always set up the shop vac, working the hose as far up the flue as I can get it. The wife runs the vac while I work the brush from the roof...