I just swept my chimney with a sooteater

[Swedishchef]

Hey guys

I swept today. I figured it was time to get it done since I had not swept since last summer. Not to mention my 3 year old was visiting his grandparents for a few hours so I could get some work done without running after my tools (not to mention the mess he would get in with the soot..he sticks to me like glue when I am out and about in the yard).

Here are some pics of the sweep...it is only my second time sweeping so I am slowly getting into a smart process (systematic). I still did go inside/outside 12 times or so since I would forget a tool, screws, shop vac, etc.

I figure I got about 1/2 to 2/3 of a gallon on a 20 foot class A Chimney setup. Fluffy, brown and dry. That's a good thing right?

Ready to burn for another year! yay.

Andrew

 

[pen]

The color is spot on. A tiny bit more than I'd expect, but I wouldn't complain a bit.

If that's how much you had stuck in there, and the cap was not plugged or anything, then I'd say you are on a good schedule, especially if this is the second year with similar results.

 

[Swedishchef]

Pen: I had a bit more in there than I had hoped for and I think I know why: a sooteater comes with 6 rods and last year I didn't have the extra set of 2 rods yet. So I didn't get the last 2-3 feet of my stack. 2 years of not being swept I am sure can give a cup or so of soot (maybe I am completely wrong though..)

Now this time I made sure (using my wife as an Observer) that my sooteater made it all the way to the top and hit the underside of the cap (without knocking it off). The attached picture is of my cap. It is hard for that to block up....

Andrew

 

[jharkin]

Thats looks good - what size is the bucket?

I got less volume last year but it was all black (bad) which is why Im working on fixing things

 

[Machria]

WOW, that is alot! I got about 1 to 2 cups from my 16' with the sooteater.

Why is "black bad"?

 

[Swedishchef]

Thats looks good - what size is the bucket?

I got less volume last year but it was all black (bad) which is why Im working on fixing things

I am not sure what size the bucket is. ha. I just found an old bucket. I put it into a 5 gallon bucket afterwards and estimated it to be 2/3-1 gallon. It is super light and fluffy and easily compressed. I am still blowing black from out of my nose, cleaning it out of my ears and the crack of my....nevermind. TMI.

ALso last year I burned about 1 cord of wood that was wet. ABout 28-30% moisture content..some of the maple was even foaming. Sigh. None of that this year!

Machria: black is a step above brown (aka closer to forming tar-like creosote). BUt it's not the end of the world. If you get dripping black tar from your chimney, there are problems. Here's a good article: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/creosote_from_wood_burning_causes_and_solutions and here are some pictures of what you don't want.. http://chimneyswift.net/photos/creosote/

I once saw a chimney from which tar was bubbling out and dripping down the side I pulled over and backed up to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. Well, I wasn't. I went and knocked on the door and explained to the older gentleman that he may want to close his stove and get a sweep to check out the chimney.

I feel relieved that it is done. AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhh

 

[Machria]

Isn't the white bucket a 5 gallon bucket? If so, it's half full which means you got 2 1/2 gallons of it.

 

[bag of hammers]

Why is "black bad"?

Maybe a lot of black, or very shiny black, tar like, etc. that Jeremy is talking about...?

I ran the brush down the chimney last March and got this after a 5+ months of weekend fires. Wipes off the inside of the chimney with a glove or rag. It's black, but less than a handful and all powdery dry. So I'm not sure....?

 

[jharkin]

The black I got was crusty, not sooty. Stage 1 creosote as I read. Its why I'm rebuilding the stove.

 

[Sprinter]

The black I got was crusty, not sooty. Stage 1 creosote as I read. Its why I'm rebuilding the stove.

I was starting to wonder about black vs brown. Yeah, crusty would be bad. I used to get that back in the olden days. When I Sooteater'ed mine last spring, I got a handful of black, fluffy soot. I figured that was good.

 

[firefighterjake]

I almost always get black soot . . . but as others have said it's very dry, fluffy and more soot than creosote. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the soot I used to get with my old oil boiler -- very fine and light.