Sweeping chimney from the ground

[tkirk22]

I just saw a cool idea in an old issue of farm show magazine. It's a chimney brush that can be operated from the ground and is permanently mounted above the flue.

“My best buy is something I invented,
patented and installed on my own house 16
years ago. After all those years of flawless
performance, we recently checked it out and
it was still in good condition,” says C.F.
Marley, Nokomis, Ill., about the “automatic”
chimney sweep that mounts at the top of the
flue pipe on his house.
Marley “sweeps” his chimney every few
weeks during the winter using a cable from
the ground. A weight hangs below a stainless
steel brush housed inside a housing about a
foot above the chimney. The weight pulls the
brush down through the chimney, sweeping
away creosote buildup with just a few strokes.
When he’s done, he just pulls the brush back
up to the top.
“After I came up with the idea, we put the
sweep on the market for a while in the 1980’s
but cut it short because of all the hassles of
marketing.
“One great thing about this system is that
you can use it when a fire’s burning. In fact,
it seems to work better then.”
Anyone is welcome to build their own.
Here’s how you do it:
• Cut a disk of stainless steel.
• Bend flat stainless steel rods to use for legs
and to hold the gooseneck pipe on top.
• Gooseneck pipe, through which cable runs,
is fastened to the top disc by stainless steel
bolts.
• Guy wires are installed opposite the pull as
a precaution against pulling the device over
as you pull on the cable.
• Hang the brush and weight from the end of
a piece of cable long enough to reach the
ground. You can buy the brush at chimney
sweep supply stores.

 

[BrotherBart]

1. You let the cable slip out of your hand.

2. The weight flies down the chimney.

3. You go inside and pick up the weight and the pieces of your baffle out of the bottom of the firebox. Unless the mess is in the middle of a burning load of splits.

4. You call the stove dealer and order a new baffle for a couple of hundred bucks. And while you are on the phone you ask him for the telephone number of a good sweep.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I sweep from the cleanout door.

Matt

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sounds like a great idea for an outside chimney. Would need to be quite solidly built for sure.

Our chimney runs horizontally through the wall and then up. We clean from the bottom. Just take the cap off and push the brush up. I can see though where this has possibilities.

 

[tkirk22]

1. You let the cable slip out of your hand.

2. The weight flies down the chimney.

3. You go inside and pick up the weight and the pieces of your baffle out of the bottom of the firebox. Unless the mess is in the middle of a burning load of splits.

4. You call the stove dealer and order a new baffle for a couple of hundred bucks. And while you are on the phone you ask him for the telephone number of a good sweep.

glass half empty? ;-)