First Cleaning Using Soot Eater

[cmarc]

I'm about to do my first bottom up cleaning using the Soot Eater. I have a 6" liner that's a bit shy of 25' to the top. I think I'm good to go, I have the 18' of rods that come with it and an additional 2 rods.

A couple of questions come to mind:
- Do I need to have someone outside spotting when I hit the top or will it be obvious with the feel? I don't want to knock that cap off.
- What diameter do I cut the whip line to, exactly 6" or do I run a longer than the diameter in case the head is not center.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
-Chris

 

[Woody5506]

For me it was pretty obvious when mine hit the top but my chimney isn't that high, so i was able to hear it. As you power the drill, it wants to go up the chimney, and once you reach the top it won't pull upward. I didn't trim the whip line on mine but when I do i'm just going to take a couple inches off. I wouldn't trim it to exactly 6"

 

[cmarc]

Ok I trimmed it to 8.5-9”. Seemed to work simple enough. Fed in all 8 rods with no issues. Unfortunately I didn’t crest the top, but I had to have been within a few inches. I’m going to measure again and possibly order another rod set just to ensure I get all the way up.

Didn’t have much fall down over the first 10 ft, but after that I got a lot of dark brown powder-like material. I’d estimate 2-3 cups worth, maybe even more.

Overall I’d say I’m pretty happy with this new tool. Seems to do a good job and saves a lot of time over climbing up to do a top down cleaning.

 

[Highbeam]

The owner's manual tells you how short to cut the strings. Maybe they want the strings pretty short so the tips do the brushing instead of the lines dragging around. Get enough rods and feel the ball hit the cap gently. Linger there at the top to beat the cap junk loose.

It's just weedwacker line so easy/cheap to replace but you might notice that you can get one refill for free by loosening the set screw and sliding the strings over instead of cutting on both sides of the ball.

I sure like my sooteater.

 

[begreen]

The directions say to trim the strings to 1/4" over the pipe diameter. I did 1/2" over, so far ok.