Fiberglass Chimney Cleaning Rods

[jbrown56]

Happy New Year Everyone! Can you believe it's 2008. When I first started cleaning my 8 x 12, clay liner 26 years ago I used 1/4" fiberglass rods. After the first 12' or so they became flimsy and difficult to push down 20' so I switched to 1/2" black iron pipe. Heavy but very effective. I now have a rigid liner and am going back to the fiberglass rods. The 1/4" rods are reasonably priced, 5 dollars at Lowes, but do you think the 3/8' rods are worth the extra money as they are twice the price. Looking for opinions.

Jim

 

[n6crv]

Hello, I use the 3/8" rods and they still have alot of flex. I have 12' of chimney and once I get the second rod up it I can not reverse the direction of the brush with out pulling it all the way out. With just one rod I can scrub the chimney. I sure would not like to have to push 3 1/4" rods up. I think you will be happier with the 3/8 rods.
Don

 

[JimWalshin845]

With a liner you'll probably be using a softer brush too, so the thinner rods should be fine.

 

[bjorn773]

I have a 15 foot chimney on my woodstove and have the 1/4 inch fiberglass rods. It's never been an issue for me. I can reverse the brush at any point with a minor pull. They do flex quite a bit, but still rigid enough to push the brush.

 

[hfjeff]

I use 1/2" electrical PVC conduit. Last I checked it is around $2 for a 10' stick, flexible, and nearly impossible to break.

 

[Hogwildz]

If you look at the box/wrapper, I think you might find the 1/4" rods are for pellet liner (Smaller diameter)cleaning, the 3/8" for wood stove liners.
I was looking at the same things at the store one day. Remember, you get what you pay for.
I use 9- 3' fiberglass sections to get to the bottom of my liner, I doubt I would trust 1/4" for that.

 

[velvetfoot]

I used threaded poly rods that were quite expensive, but work for cleaning through the insert from below.
They really seem to be similar to sprinkler pipe to me, which would have been much cheaper.

 

[n1st]

I use 1/2" electrical conduit too. There are a couple of threads around here explaining how to put the 2 adaptors on the pipe end that you need to attach your brush. The whole deal shouldn't cost more than $10 and a trip to Lowes.