How often should I clean a chimney cap?

[Agolthir]

Hello folks!

I've been reading here for years but never posted. Thank you for all your help!

I have a 25'ish tall stove pipe (6' of which is above the roof) on a very steep A-frame metal roof. It is used daily but not overnight, from Oct to April.

We cleaned the cap last year but it's super sketchy access from the top.

We've cleaned it from the top each year so far, but would like to clean it from the bottom this time. How often do you think we need to clean the cap? We are very remote and getting someone else here to do it is beyond our means.


Thank you!

 

[begreen]

Is there a screen on the cap? What did it look like at the last cleaning?

The smart alek answer is as often as it needs cleaning. It depends on the dryness of the wood burned, the stove, how the fire is run, the screen size if there is one.

 

[stoveliker]

If there is no screen you can use a sooteater. Buy a normal head for the pipe and a head for the cap (this has some strings pointing up).

(The outside of )A screen will be hard to clean without getting on the roof.

 

[Highbeam]

I clean my caps from below with the standard sooteater. It knocks all sorts of stuff off the cap and clears all the openings. I don’t go on the roof.

I don’t have bird filters on my caps.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

When I clean my chimney I pull the top section of pipe. It makes it really easy.

 

[bholler]

If you just let the strings long on a rotary cleaner it typically does a pretty good job of cleaning the cap. Screen or not