Chain in the Chimney!

[chainsawaddict]

Borrowed some stuff last feb to do a cleaning of the chimney, so I havent done it yet this year. Ive had a couple fires and was up on the roof yesterday so I checked it out. Does anyone think it would work to just hang a 3/8" chain down the chimney and rattle it around to clean it? In my case I have a centrally located brick chimney and its not too bad, but the thing probably cant be too clean...Just a thought, Im a cheapskate, but if need be i will buy the stuff to clean the chimney, i know the consequences.:greenchainsaw:

 

[AOD]

Just buy/borrow a brush and use the chain to pull it. Just rattling it around won't do much other than knock off some soot, and it might even crack a tile.

 

[bore_pig]

How did your chimney look?

I would have to agree with AOD. And, if you're going to keep burning for years, you'll need the proper tools in the future.

 

[husky455rancher]

i agree you wont get anywhere just banging a chain around. brushes are cheap enough.i think i even saw em at homp depot for like $30. i brush mine every year. its never really been bad but it gives me peace of mind.

 

[AOD]

I've seen a good selection of brushes at Menards for under $15. Thats cheap peace o mind for knowing the job has been done with the proper tools.

 

[Wirenut2266]

Yup: Purchased my brush at Menards (8" round) for $9.00......The fiberglass rods are spendy, but you can cobble somethin together there if you are cheap.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I've heard of this being done but never really bought into the idea of it.

Seems a brush would be more thorough and give more peace of mind. It isn't something I want to risk my home for to find out it didn't work.

 

[Evanrude]

I've heard of this being done but never really bought into the idea of it.

Seems a brush would be more thorough and give more peace of mind. It isn't something I want to risk my home for to find out it didn't work.

I agree. I've seen a lot of people go the 'cheap' route. It usually comes back to bite them, and then they spend more fixing it than doing it the right way in the first place.

 

[chainsawaddict]

Im cheap, not stupid. thanks for the advice guys

Im pretty sure I can swing a $10 brush:censored:

 

[wdchuck]

Started heating with wood to save money, well, we didn't have the money in the first place due to 50% loss of income.

Had a creosote fire in the smoke pipe, that was a learning experience.

Then checked the chimney with a Q-beam, plenty of material to ignite, it would have been the loss of our house.

That same day, fortunately the event ocurred while we were awake and home, we went to Menards, bought the fiberglass rods and the correct size brush to sweep our masonry chimney.
Since then, we sleep well at night, no worries.



Had a coworker call me a fool to spend money on a brush and rods, he just used a gunny sack with some chain in it. :monkey:

 

[A. Stanton]

Another way to go is put that chain in a burlap bag and drag it up and down with a rope. I've seen it done in a book on home repairs. You might also look in to rentiing some brushes from a rental center.

 

[superfire]

rope and and a cable tire chain

built a scruber from a cable tire chain and a length of rope back when i waz still a vfd member. we used it to nock down the scale of creosote from the side of chimenys in town to reduce the flue fire calls. it works best if it iz weight a little bit.

 

[Mike Van]

You can also just buy the right size brush, tie a good 1/4" line to it with a weight on the end. Drop the weight down from the top, go to the cleanout & pull the brush down. Saves buying the rods if you don't have the $$$$.

 

[danrclem]

If you don't have the money do it the cheap way. If you just want to do it the cheap way and have the money then I'd say buy the brush and fiberglass rods. The rods are about four ft. long, screw together and are light. It is one investment that should last you a very long time or maybe even a lifetime.

 

[kevin j]

I have a 3 section roof snow rake with 6 ft alum tube handle sections that snap together. Not wanting to buy dedicated chimney rods and store more junk in my life, I welded a 1/4 NPT coupling to a bolt that fits the end of the snow rake. Remove the flat rake part, put the wire brush on (mine have 1/4 NPT threads) and go to work. Takes less than a minute to change back anf forth.

But granted I don't need flexible rods for corners, and most people up here have snow rakes, or can find them on garage sales for a couple bucks. My solution won't apply down south obviously.

 

[Suz]

Not wanting to climb on the snow covered roof in the winter I manufactured a frame on top of my chimney that has two pulleys, one in the center and one on the edge.
I have some 1/4 stainless aircraft cable laced through these two pulleys that extend to the bottom of my chimney. Now I open the clean-out door, hook on cable to the brush, push it into the door, and pull the cable to pull the brush up the chimney. I have another cable attached to the brush to pull it back down.
Of course, I have to wear a dust mask and sometimes be pretty quick to close the door when I hear some "dust" fall down the chimney.
Anyway, I can clean the chimney anytime without climbing on the roof and I run the brush through at least once a month during the heating season.

 

[Coldfront]

Yup: Purchased my brush at Menards (8" round) for $9.00......The fiberglass rods are spendy, but you can cobble somethin together there if you are cheap.

Yes I'm cheap also, I bought the right size brush at the hardware store for about $9 then took 2, old 10 foot pieces of 3/4 inch electrical conduit I got for free from a local electrician, and join them with a smaller 3" piece of pipe that fits inside the conduit drilled 2 holes and joint the pieces together with a 1/4" bolt and nut, and put a pipe union on one end to screw the brush on and drilled a hole and bolted that onto the conduit also. Works great made the whole thing for under $15
Be careful if you buy the spendy fiber glass rods, if your chimney is hot the rods will melt/burn. The glass rods come in 3, 6 foot sections for about $35 I needed 24 feet and would have had to buy 2 sets @ $70 plus tax, I went the cheap way.

 

[Crofter]

I agree. I've seen a lot of people go the 'cheap' route. It usually comes back to bite them, and then they spend more fixing it than doing it the right way in the first place.

Coming back to bite them reminds me of hearing a redneck joke about him using the neighbors cat and pull him up and down the chimney a few times by a rope on his tail!

The roof rake, chimney cleaning brush sounds like a good all purpose hybrid.

 

[im2tall]

How cheap is it going to be to replace your home and all those treasures it holds?
I started out with a brush, 2 pieces of rope and a girlfriend. She would go up on the roof (of course I held the ladder) drop the rope tied to the brush. Like a 2 man saw, we pulled that brush up and down the stack til it would fall by itself.
PS-Girlfried is now my wife and I go up on the roof, she holds the ladder!

 

[wkpoor]

I have the brush and fiberglass rods setup but don't need to use them in the off season too much. As it turns out birds do the job for me. I remove the stove pipe and secure a clear bag to the ceiling thimble. The about twice a week I remove the bird and let it go. But by the time it gets to the bag at the bottom of the pipe it had flapped and scratched for 2 days. after a few months of that the pipe is cleaner than I can do with a brush. You say what kind of birds....chimney swallows of course hehehehehehe.