My First Sweep/Now Trouble

[smmjam12]

Had the chimney swept today. The guy went from the bottom up, he could not get the air tubes out but was able to go between them. The cleaning went well but now the blower fan will not work in the automatic mode, works fine on manual. my question is do you think that it was something he did or just coincidence. Any ideas, oh ya, its a Hampton HI300.

 

[Hogwildz]

How did he clean the cap if he cleaned it from bottom up?
Check the wiring to the fan switch, maybe one came loose.

 

[smmjam12]

He didnt clean the cap. Yes, I will check the wiring . Thanks.

 

[Hogwildz]

The cap is the dirtiest part of the stack. If your going to shell out the cash for someone to clean the chimney, make sure they do the top & cap most of all.

 

[1750]

Can you clean the cap from the inside with brushes or a soot eater?

 

[Nick Mystic]

I have never tried to clean any of my flues from the bottom up, so I can't comment on how effective one can clean a cap in that manner. Like Hogwildz said, the cap is almost always going to be the dirtiest part of the chimney package. I can see how a brush from the bottom or Sooteater might be able to do some cleaning of the cap from the bottom up, but in my experience I think the only good way to get the cap clean is to remove it and take it down to the ground and clean it with brushes and scrapers. That is the part I want to get the absolute cleanest since it is what gets clogged up first and will cause the most draft problems. I would be very leery of a chimney sweep who didn't go on my roof and clean my cap unless he discussed it with me ahead of time and had a good reason for why he wasn't going to clean it that way. Plus, he'd have to convince that his alternative method was going to be effective.

 

[stejus]

Had the chimney swept today. The guy went from the bottom up, he could not get the air tubes out but was able to go between them. The cleaning went well but now the blower fan will not work in the automatic mode, works fine on manual. my question is do you think that it was something he did or just coincidence. Any ideas, oh ya, its a Hampton HI300.

Make sure the bottom section of the stove under the ash lip is pushed in all the way. If it come out just a little, the contact for the auto switch will not make contact to turn the blower on.

 

[smmjam12]

Ok, great suggestion Stejus I will check that out. I checked the wires and they look fine. The cap is not really an issue. I was on the roof and took the cover off prior to having the flue cleaned and the cap was fine.

 

[smmjam12]

Stejus, could you tell me where the contact for the thermocouple is on this stove?

 

[stejus]

Stejus, could you tell me where the contact for the thermocouple is on this stove?

Go to page 17 on the manual (the PDF manual). There's a picture of where it is located. If you are looking at the stove, it's on the left side on the other side of the switch harness and assembly.

 

[smmjam12]

Stejus, Thanks for the info and advise. I located the thermodisc and bent in foward a little like you suggested. it working fine now.

 

[Heatsource]

Can you clean the cap from the inside with brushes or a soot eater?

depends on the cap, and how dirty it is
sometimes its just dusty and other times you need a chisel to get hard deposits off

 

[bholler]

we clean allot from the ground but yes you need to check the cap and some times you need to get up there and clean it. many times it comes clean with the brush. it is also cheaper if we clean from the ground. the blower was probably nothing he did make sure te stove is up to temp and if still no good in auto it is either the thermo couple or the wiring to it

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Ok, great suggestion Stejus I will check that out. I checked the wires and they look fine. The cap is not really an issue. I was on the roof and took the cover off prior to having the flue cleaned and the cap was fine.

Why didn't you just clean the chimney yourself while you were up there?

 

[bens_igloo]

Agree with Stajus, the side of the blower closest to the door handle most likely just needs to be pushed in a bit so that the thermostat makes contact with the stove body.

 

[smmjam12]

Lumber-Jack, id not have the tools yet, going out to get brushes and plan on doing them myself in the future.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Lumber-Jack, id not have the tools yet, going out to get brushes and plan on doing them myself in the future.

In most cases you can buy the tools to do it yourself for the cost of someone to come sweep your chimney, once.
It's really a rather simple job, especially if you have no trouble getting up on the roof and accessing the chimney.