Should I try cleaning chimney myself?

[rudysmallfry]

Okay, I received 3 prices for chimney cleaning with a free standing a wood stove. None were under $200. I'm off the plan B. It doesn't seem like rocket science, but I am concerned about what I don't know. I've got the wire brush to do the outside class A chimney and the inside stove pipe. What I don't know is the stove itself. It's a Hearthstone Heritage. Is there anything in the stove itself that I need to remove and clean? I read the other post about a baffle, but can honestly say I don't know what that is. I'm not a dope, but do have concerns about doing this myself and missing something important. Can anyone give me more insight on what I need to be cleaning? Does the brush get everything out, or is there some finishing thing to get the fine stuff out? It's not like I can vacuum out the entire 18' chimney.

This whole setup is new and didn't even exist a year ago. I'd be surprised if I burned even a cord last year. I had a new roof put on this summer which resulted in 5 straight days of banging and strong vibrations near the chimney. I would think that any buildup would have been shaken off by all the racket. I checked the chimney cleanout today and found about 1/2 cup of loose creosote sitting there. I'd hate to shell out $200 for a chimney that was already "cleaned" by the roofers. What do you guys think, should I try to do this myself?

 

[Roospike]

Saftey on the ladder & roof is always #1 so be carefull.
Cleaning a chimney is not that hard one you have done it. I think on your stove you have a secondary burn chamber but i have lack of knowlage of how in installers. I just pull the pin and pull out my secondary burn chamber , close the door and go up on the roof and clean the pipe.
I went once down , once up and did it again , put the cap back on and checked for a good seal around the pipe and roof.

Went back into the house and open the stove and took out the clean out dust.
You mentioned having a chimney cleanout so that should make things a lot easier.

 

[elkimmeg]

tomorrow post as picture of you outside setup does it have a tee if so is there room to get flexible rods up threw it? and finally a picture of the stove setup including the connector pipe.

 

[GVA]

Okay, I received 3 prices for chimney cleaning with a free standing a wood stove. None were under $200. I'm off the plan B. It doesn't seem like rocket science, but I am concerned about what I don't know. I've got the wire brush to do the outside class A chimney and the inside stove pipe. What I don't know is the stove itself. It's a Hearthstone Heritage. Is there anything in the stove itself that I need to remove and clean? I read the other post about a baffle, but can honestly say I don't know what that is. I'm not a dope, but do have concerns about doing this myself and missing something important. Can anyone give me more insight on what I need to be cleaning? Does the brush get everything out, or is there some finishing thing to get the fine stuff out? It's not like I can vacuum out the entire 18' chimney.

This whole setup is new and didn't even exist a year ago. I'd be surprised if I burned even a cord last year. I had a new roof put on this summer which resulted in 5 straight days of banging and strong vibrations near the chimney. I would think that any buildup would have been shaken off by all the racket. I checked the chimney cleanout today and found about 1/2 cup of loose creosote sitting there. I'd hate to shell out $200 for a chimney that was already "cleaned" by the roofers. What do you guys think, should I try to do this myself?

I think MSG burns this stove he could give you more info about what to remove from the stove........ maybe PM him

 

[Shane]

The baffle is in the top of the firebox. You need to remove it or part of it to clean the stove properly.

 

[rudysmallfry]

Okay, you guys have been holding out on me. None of you mentioned that cleaning a chimney was fun! I should have been a guy. I climbed up there, took off the cap and to my delight found very little creosote in there, certainly no shiny stuff. I went down it a few times with my wire brush, and almost nothing came out the other end. I'm happy to see that packed insulation class A chimneys do just fine staying warm in New England winters. My inside stack temp was only about 350, so I was concerned last year about it being too cool up there.

The less good news was the inside. The buildup in the single wall pipe was much greater than I wanted to see. It reaffirms my suspicion that my setup with the hard 90 angle sucks. I already know the draft to be almost non-existent. I will be modifying it to something with a softer angle. I was thinking of coming out of the tee about 12", a 45 to another 12" section, and then another 45 to the 12" leading to the stove. (assuming it meets clearances of course) The other idea would be to just shave off about 3" from the section coming out of the stove, open up the 90 angle to about 120 and that would leave the piece to the tee with about a 2" rise. Any ideas on which would work better?

I've posted a few pics of my cleaning results, and one of my ideas for pipe modification. I do have a question about the baffle. Since I removed all the single wall pipe, and vacuumed the stove from the opening, do I still have to remove the baffle?

As always, you guys rock. I know I'm going to get solid info whenever I post here.

 

[Roospike]

Just to thow an option .......... double wall indoor pipe.

 

[rudysmallfry]

Why double wall? I think the creosote buildup is more due to that hard right angle. The temp's been staying around 350, so I don't think more insulation's an issue.

 

[Rhone]

No you don't need to remove the baffle. Generally, you'd only remove it if you don't have a cleanout Tee or in the case of inserts where the liner goes directly in without an easy means of removing it. A chimney brush slamming into the ceramic insulation will damage it and, all the creosote falls on the top of the baffle and it needs to be unfastened and dropped down so you can remove it with a vacuum. If you have a Tee or it goes to a cleanout, no need to remove the baffle.

 

[Roospike]

Why double wall? I think the creosote buildup is more due to that hard right angle. The temp's been staying around 350, so I don't think more insulation's an issue.

Double wall pipe will keep more heat inside the pipe and form less creosote. Single wall pipe will cool faster and in turn leave more creosote.

Not to say that the 90° pipe is not a problem but i think double wall pipe will help just as much as two 45° pipes and you can keep the "look" you have now.

Just an option.

Also when installing a pipe with a 90° like yours the horizontal run is to angle at 1/4" up run per 1' of pipe. I'm assuming you knew that but if you didnt look at the posted pic.