Sweeping 6 inch flex liner

[woodhog73]

Hello

I've got a 6 inch poly brush made by meeco along with some rods. I'm planning on sweeping my 6 inch flex liner.

Any tips ? Any reason why I should disconnect the flex liner from the stove insert ? I'm planning on a top down sweep and was planning on removing the baffle and pushing the brush until it enters the stove so that I don't have to mess with disconnecting the liner.

 

[begreen]

What stove is this? Your plan should work fine if the baffle is easily removable and there is a straight shot then into the firebox. Treat the baffle carefully, especially if it is ceramic fiber board. They can be quite fragile.

 

[woodhog73]

It's a quad 3100 insert. It's a straight shot into the stove. There's an adapter between the stove and the flex liner that's held in place with 2 or 3 metal screws. I'm assuming they are a couple inches long ?? so I'm not sure if it will prevent the brush from getting past them into the stove.

But if I'm stopped at the adapter screws I'm thinking I can clean the rest from inside the stove upwards ? When the baffle is removed I can actually see the adapter/ flex liner

I just don't want to deal with removing the face plate.

I've got a good deal of build up. You think I should grab a 5 inch brush too ? So I can use that one 1st incase the 6 inch is too tight ?

 

[bholler]

There's an adapter between the stove and the flex liner that's held in place with 2 or 3 metal screws. I'm assuming they are a couple inches long ?? so I'm not sure if it will prevent the brush from getting past them into the stove.

they should at most be 3/4". ( Well they should actually be rivets but its done now.) But even if they are longer the brush should go past them

But if I'm stopped at the adapter screws I'm thinking I can clean the rest from inside the stove upwards ? When the baffle is removed I can actually see the adapter/ flex liner

Yes if all else fails you can do that. We actually clean many from the bottom up.

I just don't want to deal with removing the face plate.

There is no need to at all we never disconnect liners for inserts like that.

I've got a good deal of build up. You think I should grab a 5 inch brush too ? So I can use that one 1st incase the 6 inch is too tight ?

What does the buildup look like? As long as it is pretty soft you should be fine. We do have to start out small sometimes but with that stove you would have to be doing something really wrong to need that. How much wood has been burnt through it since the last cleaning?

 

[woodhog73]

Thanks for the replies

The build up actually looks moderate but that's at the outside tip and several inches down the liner and the rain cap area of the liner. I don't know if the build up is like that the entire distance.

I've burned around 1 1/2 cords in it. All dry wood though.

It doesn't smoke much and I get good hot fires with great draft. So I was surprised to see the build up. Perhaps my wood wasn't as dry as I thought ? Although it was 2 and 3 year oak

 

[Hogwildz]

You don't need to get all the way into the stove. Once you hit the outlet, your good to go. Keep the door closed while sweeping ;-)

 

[mstoelton]

When I sweep mine i put a piece of plywood at the bottom to protect the ceramic baffle and catch the crud. Works really well. I can do both of mine in about an hour.

 

[blades]

Sounds about Normal. The top portion loses a lot of heat due to being exposed to elements hence the creosote condensing out of the exhaust.

 

[woodhog73]

Well I was disappointed in the 6 inch poly brush. It barely made contact with the sides of the liner. I had to scrub several times. Trying to get it to make good contact.

I'm wondering if I should have gotten a 7 inch brush and cut some off for a tighter fit ?

Also there's one area where the liner was squished a tad and somewhat made oval to get it to fit. In this area I could not really get the brush to make good contact and I can tell there's a bit if creosote on a small section still left.

Couple questions for the pros and anyone who knows....

1) my rods are basic Fiberglas with metal connectors. Can those connectors damage the flex liner ? I really had to scrub up and down and the metal connectors made contact several times with the side of the liner

2) I burned about 1 1/2 cords possibly closer to 2. Didn't keep track I've got lots of wood. After sweeping I measured 3 cups of creosote. Shiny dark flakes. Is that a normal amount ?

3) I can't get the flex liner shiny clean. I can see metal on the ribs of the liner but there's still some black creosote in the grooves . Could be my crappy brush . Is this normal ?? I've attached a before and after picture.

Any comments ? Does the flue look ok ?

Thanks

 

[Hogwildz]

Looks good to me. Not going to get it much cleaner.7" ain't going to fit, and will be a pita cutting ti down. Try another manufacturer's brush, or try a steel brush. There are nay sayer's that will tell you not to use a metal brush, but many use them and have no issues. Going on 11th burning season here, and no issues with the liner. Steel actually does a better job of cleaning in my experience. I have used both.

 

[bholler]

try a steel brush. There are nay sayer's that will tell you not to use a metal brush, but many use them and have no issues. Going on 11th burning season here, and no issues with the liner. Steel actually does a better job of cleaning in my experience. I have used both.

Yes but you have a rigid liner. He has a light wall liner they are very different steel brushes can punch a hole in light wall liners. We do use steel brushes on liners that are really dirty but only heavy wall or rigid never on lightwall.

 

[woodhog73]

Thanks for all the replies.

Bholler.....you mention light wall liner. It does infact seem very thin. And I can see a few feet down where it actually turned oval which is strange cause there's no bend in the chimney at that area. I know it was a tight fit.

Just got me wondering ( concerned) how long does a light liner like this last ? How many seasons ? How do you know when it's time to replace the liner ?

And how would I know if it ever did get a tear or puncture ? Do people chim scan these things with a camera every so often?

Also to me the flue still looks dirty. I guess I'm used to seeing swept clay liners those look far cleaner. But that's as clean as I can get it. Those darn ribs make it impossible to get everything. I know I did something cause I got 3 cups of creosote to fall into the stove

 

[bholler]

Just got me wondering ( concerned) how long does a light liner like this last ? How many seasons ?

As long as you don't abuse it by having multiple chimney fires or cleaning it improperly it should last you 20 years or so. The fact that it is out of round in an area could possibly be an issue down the road if it was kinked at all it would make a weak spot.

Just got me wondering ( concerned) how long does a light liner like this last ? How many seasons ? How do you know when it's time to replace the liner ?

Yeah generally a scan is the only way to know. Some sweeps scan every chimney they clean we only scan if there is an indication of a fire or some other problem. Otherwise we do it about every 5 years.

Also to me the flue still looks dirty. I guess I'm used to seeing swept clay liners those look far cleaner. But that's as clean as I can get it. Those darn ribs make it impossible to get everything. I know I did something cause I got 3 cups of creosote to fall into the stove

That is another reason we use heavy wall it has much shallower grooves and is considered smooth wall. A rotary cleaner like the sooteater does a better job of cleaning out those grooves

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

Just did mine today. The Soot eater.

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

 

[velvetfoot]

Did you use the Soot Eater from the top down?

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

Did you use the Soot Eater from the top down?

No from the inside. Bottom to top. It works well. And besides. No ladders needed.

 

[velvetfoot]

I swept my chimney this afternoon, only with rod and brush. I run a vacuum in the stove cavity, so I'm not sure how much I got. Yours does seem like a fairly large amount, but the Soot Eater probably does a more thorough job.

Do you get a lot of dust without using a vacuum?

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

I swept my chimney this afternoon, only with rod and brush. I run a vacuum in the stove cavity, so I'm not sure how much I got. Yours does seem like a fairly large amount, but the Soot Eater probably does a more thorough job.

Do you get a lot of dust without using a vacuum?

No not at all.

 

[woodhog73]

I'm going to try a soot eater.

My 6 inch brush just wasn't a tight enough fit.

I really scrubbed the heck out of mine. Everything I've read says make 1 or 2 passes. Well in the heavier areas I literally went up and down with the brush 20 or more times , up and down in short 6 inch motions.

Ok so stupid question but with the light wall flex liner like I have, does doing this ( scrubbing up and down many times) OR using a soot eater that spins at high speed , can this damage a light wall flex liner ?? My brush is poly

I was really shocked at how thin this liner is. I suppose the people who make it tested it so I'm probably worrying for nothing but still it's thin

 

[xman23]

I go thru a poly brush ever 3 or 4 years. I do top down. In the top, double wall area, a new brush is not a tight fit, but when I get down to the single wall it gets tight. The brush wears a bit after a few years, and it feels like I don't have much resistance in the double wall section. I never did it but, I would try a 7 inch poly brush, and cut it down if needed.

I always wondered about cleaning that corrugated pipe. I guess the valleys just get filled, making the pipe fairly smooth. Your picture of the clean pipe looks fine. 1.5 cords is not a lot of wood. And all you got was 3 cups, your burning is fine. I burn about 3 cords and get about 6 cups, once a year cleaning.

 

[Hogwildz]

View attachment 183229

That's a good bit there. When you get down to about a 1/4 of that, you will know your doing well.

 

[xman23]

View attachment 183229

That's a fair amount. What's the time frame since it was cleaned last? How much wood was burned? You may have to clean more often. Maybe you can improve that by better wood and hotter burns.