# Sooteater performance compared to a brush



## chris2879 (Jun 23, 2011)

I have seem many posts saying that people are happy with the sooteater.  I am thinking about buying one.  How does it perform in comparison to a conventional chimney brush?  Let me say that last winter was the first year with the stove and i have never cleaned a chimney myself.  Bottom up is the only option for my house tough... roof is way too steep and the chimney is about 35 ft off the ground...


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## Backwoods Savage (Jun 23, 2011)

Chris, there have been several folks reporting that they really like the sooteater. This time of year there aren't so many on the forum so you might have to do a search. I wouldn't worry too much though unless you have a really bad and dirty chimney. It should do fine. Just remember though that brushes have been used for many, many moons and still do a good job and a proven good tool. They are not expensive and can usually be purchased for less than $20.00.


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## isuphipsi1052 (Jun 23, 2011)

I've got one - love it! I was up on the roof fiddling with the chimney cap while the wife was running the sooteater. Looked down into the flue and could see where some creosote had built up, told her to add another rod. Right before my eyes the damn thing cleaned the area in question right down to nice and shiny again. Works for me, and makes it easier to clean the flue in the middle of winter (live in Upstate NY - we get well over 100" of snow annually). I would recommend it. And yes, I use to clean from the top down with a conventional brush - I seem to get the same amount of creosote with the sooteater that I did with the conventional method....


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## ddddddden (Jun 23, 2011)

When comparing $, don't forget the cost of the rods to go with a brush. The total $ isn't going to be much less than the SootEater kit, which includes 18 ft of rods. It sounds like you would need more than 18 ft. . .the extra rods from Gardus seem $$, so I did as someone else on here suggested and bought 2 full kits = 36 ft of rods + a spare brush head. Best deal was @ www.honeydohardware.com . . .


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## ddddddden (Jun 23, 2011)

oops! DP.  Anyhow, if you agree that the cost is about the same, I think it's just a matter of preference for a power tool vs. hand tool. One tool probably cleans ~95% of the gunk, the other might get ~99%. Either tool will do the job. I haven't tried the Sooteater from below, but I don't see why a manual brush couldn't also be used from below. . .maybe a lil' more difficult to keep the dust out of your face, since it's probably harder to keep the flue covered with plastic, per Gardus instructions, while plunging with a brush.


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## fossil (Jun 23, 2011)

Hate going up on the roofs.  Perfectly happy with the bottom-up performance of the soot-eater.  Rick


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## HJsimpson (Jun 23, 2011)

I used mine to clean a 30+ feet tall masonry chimney and loved it. It has a wicked 90 degree bend at bottom but went around it with no problem. A little bit of info is once you get above 20 feet it does require a little more power from the drill.


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## fishingpol (Jun 23, 2011)

I used mine last winter from the top down.  It worked great.  You can go at your own pace.  Search the post and you will find other people's methods for using it.  I did buy the extra rod set.  I would absolutely recommend one to a friend or relative.  The flex liner looked almost brand new when finished.


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## remkel (Jun 23, 2011)

I have one and would recommend it. Cleaned from the bottom-up last winter, approximately 33'. No problem, but make certain you have a good drill.


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## chris2879 (Sep 8, 2011)

How fast do you run the drill, full speed or less?  The whips does not "beat up" the SS liner at all?


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## remkel (Sep 8, 2011)

Had a clay liner last year. Just installed a new SS liner.

The head of the Sooteater is just like a weed wacker. The whips will not mark up your ss liner.

Heck, depending on where you are in western MA, I might even be willing to let you take mine for a run.


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## mhrischuk (Sep 8, 2011)

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31911/


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## daveswoodhauler (Sep 8, 2011)

Remkel said:
			
		

> I have one and would recommend it. Cleaned from the bottom-up last winter, approximately 33'. No problem, but make certain you have a good drill.



How good of a drill do you need? (I have a Black and Decker 18V)
Wondering if it will do the job..probably about 26-27 feet total


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## remkel (Sep 9, 2011)

Well, I have a black and decker also, plug in model, 120v 5A (1350 rpm) is what I read off the label.

I have a 33-35 foot run and had no problem in a 8X12 clay liner last year. I am anticipating even less of a problem with the SS liner.


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## charly (Sep 11, 2011)

Wow, just got done cleaning my 22 ft insulated liner with my soot eater. Shined the liner right up. I found using the low speed on my lithion Ion Mikita drill was plenty of speed. High speed seemed way too fast at full speed, so instead varying the speed I just used low speed. Since I go through an outside metal door on my chimney, I found the rod getting scored up a little so I just wore a glove to keep the rod in better shape. Next time I'm going to run the rod through a short piece of one inch pvc pipe as a protective guard for the rods. Also before I even used the soot eater, I took and loosened the lines all up in the head, slid them back through to give the right length on one side, then cut the other side to the proper length stated for my 6 inch liner. Now I nave enough line left over to string the head one more time. Just thought I would pass that on. God Bless America and the people we lost on 911 along with all the people they left behind, and all that helped.


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## fishingpol (Sep 11, 2011)

xclimber said:
			
		

> Also before I even used the soot eater, I took and loosened the lines all up in the head, slid them back through to give the right length on one side, then cut the other side to the proper length stated for my 6 inch liner. Now I nave enough line left over to string the head one more time. Just thought I would pass that on. God Bless America and the people we lost on 911 along with all the people they left behind.



Clever.  I wish I thought of that.  Same here for 9/11 victims and families, and the men and women in uniform defending this great nation.


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## charly (Sep 11, 2011)

Took my double wall inside pipe off all in one piece, 3 ft straight vertical run to a 90, then a straight foot run to the wall thimble, first section is adjustable. Took it outside, laid it on it's side, and ran the soot eater through from both ends. Doesn't get any easier than that. Then hit the Tee from inside with the soot eater and shop vac going, which was sitting outside. The Quad 5700 is all clean. Going to do a burn tonight, just to take the chill out of here, Irene has left a chill in the air. Managed to slide out my 2 inch thick insulation blanket, while the wife held the shop vac hose to collect the ash dust as I inched it out. Just lost one little corner of insulation board. Should be fine, got  both insulation boards back in after wire brushing my secondary tubes, along with the insulation. I could tell if I didn't take my time, the insulation would have been toast. Myself, I'm thinking the it's going to get cold here early this fall. I've been watching the squirrels burying nuts already. Bumper crop of Hickory nuts on my trees , maybe saying a lot of food for the deer for a long cold winter?


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## tickbitty (Sep 11, 2011)

I have a couple sooteater questions - we need to get brushes or one of these, this sounds like a good trick for us to stay off the roof. 

Our liner seems to do OK, it's insulated, but the cap up top has mesh that has clogged on us.  Would the sooteater clean that, or get stuck up there, or break, if we were doing bottom-up cleaning?   if you clean from bottom up, how do you close off the stove interior and not end up with tons of dust and junk in the house or in your face?  The professional cleaner had it sorta sealed off with a vac that got it all as it fell, not sure how you guys do that!

And what's the expected price on a kit?  I see it's 56 and change on Amazon - good price?  I may see if the hearth.com advertisers have it for similar! Thanks in advance.


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## charly (Sep 11, 2011)

tickbitty said:
			
		

> I have a couple sooteater questions - we need to get brushes or one of these, this sounds like a good trick for us to stay off the roof.
> 
> Our liner seems to do OK, it's insulated, but the cap up top has mesh that has clogged on us.  Would the sooteater clean that, or get stuck up there, or break, if we were doing bottom-up cleaning?   if you clean from bottom up, how do you close off the stove interior and not end up with tons of dust and junk in the house or in your face?  The professional cleaner had it sorta sealed off with a vac that got it all as it fell, not sure how you guys do that!
> 
> And what's the expected price on a kit?  I see it's 56 and change on Amazon - good price?  I may see if the hearth.com advertisers have it for similar! Thanks in advance.


  Look at post #3. That's suppose to be a sight with good prices on the soot eater. I have a square mesh chimney cap and it seem to clean the screen up well.   A chimney sweep friend said , he wraps the pipe bottom with an old drop cloth, then puts a small hole through the drop cloth for the rods. Then keeping a vacuum by the small hole catches any ash. Of course you'll have to insert the brush head on the first section of rod and put that through the drop cloth before securing it to the pipe. Then just keep adding rods as you go. I'm sure other people will chime in, with more info as well.


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## Joey (Sep 11, 2011)

My Sooteater is on its way,,,its comin this Wednesday,,,,hope it works as good as people say,,,,should pay for itself in one cleaning.


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## charly (Sep 11, 2011)

I was impressed. I'll clean more often that it worked so well. Pull the lines back through  the head to get the length you need on one side, then trim the other side to length. Gives you a whole extra line set ;-)


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## chris2879 (Sep 12, 2011)

Joey said:
			
		

> My Sooteater is on its way,,,its comin this Wednesday,,,,hope it works as good as people say,,,,should pay for itself in one cleaning.



Seems like everyone is really happy with it so i pulled the trigger... just not sure when its going to show up!


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## Joey (Sep 18, 2011)

Just tried the sooteater out for the first time, totally impressed.  My hats off to the chimney sweeps,,,for it truely is,,,,a dirty job.  The sooteater worked without a hitch,  I have a 35 foot lined chimney and I used a lot of rods to get to the top,,,but it was well worth it.  Got about 6 coffee cans full of "coffee grind" material, brown in color,,,nothing black or flakey.  Very Satisfied.  Had my first small fire last night,,,gettin ready for the cold.........


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## charly (Sep 19, 2011)

Joey said:
			
		

> Just tried the sooteater out for the first time, totally impressed.  My hats off to the chimney sweeps,,,for it truely is,,,,a dirty job.  The sooteater worked without a hitch,  I have a 35 foot lined chimney and I used a lot of rods to get to the top,,,but it was well worth it.  Got about 6 coffee cans full of "coffee grind" material, brown in color,,,nothing black or flakey.  Very Satisfied.  Had my first small fire last night,,,gettin ready for the cold.........


 Isn't that great using something that works so good? Money well spent, and a peace of mind that the flue is good to go.  ;-)


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## shawneyboy (Sep 25, 2011)

Well I just cleaned my chimney with the soot eater.  Gotta say I am impressed, all of the rave reviews here are spot on.  Easy to use, fast and effective.  Money well spent.  I bought 2 of them due to the height of the chimney and it was still less than having a sweep to do the job.  The best part of it is, anytime I want to clean my pipes, I can.  Now perhaps I will eat some soot a few times a year, although maybe the one coffee can of junk coming out means I don't have to.  I tip my hat to the inventor who thought about more or less running a weed wacker up the chimney to clean it.

Shawn


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