Does my chimney need cleaning?

[Budman93]

I'm curious if you guys think I should have this cleaned before using it this winter. I had it swept and inspected when we bought the house in early 2024. Last year was my first winter with this stove in this house. I tried to burn it very hot regularly to keep it cleaner. I don't think it looks too bad but I'm a novice so idk.

 

[Sodbuster]

Your chimney looks similar to mine after a season of burning hard, it needs to be cleaned. I use a Soot Eater and it works very well on my 6" stainless. Kudos on the hot and clean burning BTW.

 

[Budman93]

Your chimney looks similar to mine after a season of burning hard, it needs to be cleaned. I use a Soot Eater and it works very well on my 6" stainless. Kudos on the hot and clean burning BTW.

Had to Google the soot eater. Looks like a weedwhacker for a chimney sort of. I would need to make nearly a 90 degree bend to get it through the stove. Is that possible with these? I'm also curious about how much of a mess it makes inside.

I'm not exactly sure on the chimney height but I think it's about 30 feet. The roof is super steep so no chance of me doing anything from the top.

 

[Sodbuster]

The Soot Eater rods are flexible, but will most likely not go through a 90 degree angle, I think you'll need to remove it. Like you, my roof is steep, so I do all my cleaning from the bottom. A short section of my chimney runs from the stove top to the chimney support, (about 6ft), it contains (2) 45 degree elbows. I remove that section and clean it outside, using the SE from each end. For the main run, I take a plastic pail and drill a hole in the center of the bottom that just a little bigger than the connectors on the rod. I run the rod through that and place the pail over my chimney pipe, to catch the majority of the soot. It will be a little messy, but it's not awful. Just install additional sections as you go up and remove them as you bring it down. My wife usually takes a shop vac, and puts suction by the hole in the pail to catch dust etc. What you'll end up with is a dry powdery substance that looks similar to coffee grounds. I hope this helps!

PS - the SE is good for 24' I did have to buy additional rods to get to the top of mine.

 

[Budman93]

The Soot Eater rods are flexible, but will most likely not go through a 90 degree angle, I think you'll need to remove it. Like you, my roof is steep, so I do all my cleaning from the bottom. A short section of my chimney runs from the stove top to the chimney support, (about 6ft), it contains (2) 45 degree elbows. I remove that section and clean it outside, using the SE from each end. For the main run, I take a plastic pail and drill a hole in the center of the bottom that just a little bigger than the connectors on the rod. I run the rod through that and place the pail over my chimney pipe, to catch the majority of the soot. It will be a little messy, but it's not awful. Just install additional sections as you go up and remove them as you bring it down. My wife usually takes a shop vac, and puts suction by the hole in the pail to catch dust etc. What you'll end up with is a dry powdery substance that looks similar to coffee grounds. I hope this helps!

PS - the SE is good for 24' I did have to buy additional rods to get to the top of mine.

Yeah it looks like I would need to disconnect the pipe and maybe slide the stove over. looks like it would be cheaper to just buy 2 kits to get the length instead of one and 4 extra extension rods

 

[kborndale]

A soot eater has no problem going thru a 90. I go thru my thimble which is a 90 with either rods but the white ones are easier as they are more flexible.

 

[Budman93]

A soot eater has no problem going thru a 90. I go thru my thimble which is a 90 with either rods but the white ones are easier as they are more flexible.

It's not a pipe 90 though, it's the damper in the stove. It's very tight. I could try it it but I may just take it off to reduce stress on the rods.

 

[Whitenuckler]

It's not a pipe 90 though, it's the damper in the stove. It's very tight. I could try it it but I may just take it off to reduce stress on the rods.View attachment 340397

Do you use the damper?

 

[Budman93]

Do you use the damper?

Yes, it's required to reburn with the catalyst. It's a serious task to remove the upper damper in the stove. I did that when I rebuilt it last year. It's not something that can be removed for sweeping.