How Many of You Clean Your Own Chimney?

[thephotohound]

After my first year of burning, I have learned a lot:

1. I burned wet wood all year
2. My house is under-insulated
3. My house is not air-tight (not even close)
4. My floor plan is inefficient to maximize radiant heat from a stove

Even with these handicaps, I still saved over $1,000 in oil last year!! This year, I plan to double those savings.

As I was writing a check for $139 to have the chimney swept, I was trying to think of more ways to save money, and a thought crossed my mind: why didn't I think to do this myself?? So... how many of you sweep your own chimney? For those of you that do, where do you suggest I get the brush(es)? For those of you that don't, why don't you?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i do, i use worcester brushes, got them through a friend of mine who had them laying around. helps me as well knowing what my flue looks like (as well as what comes out of it when cleaning) to detect potential problems. be advised however , it is somewhat labor intensive at times depending on the chimney setup. and IMHO you should be comfortable up there on the roof to do the work yourself.

BE SAFE!

mike ESW

 

[thephotohound]

Mike -

Thanks for the tips... no way in hell am I getting up on my roof, though! I have a very simple set-up... elbow off the back, straight up 15 ft. I figure if I can find a flexible extension, I'm good. Your thoughts?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

for staters , change the elbow to a "tee" but more importantly , ive never tried to push a brush up from the bottom so i couldnt tell you how hard it would be , but i wouldnt think it would be easy. not to mention the cap at the top which needs serviced just as bad (and worse in some cases) than the chimney.

 

[BrotherBart]

I you aren't getting on the roof, and I get more leary of it every trip myself, just grin and give the guy his $140. Checking out the topside is as important, actually more important, than the bottom end. Cheapest insurance you will ever buy.

 

[hardwood715]

clean my own brush down from roof, most stuff is on first 2 feet of top of chimney, coolest area to elements above roof

 

[kellog]

I clean my own because I want to know it is done right. I do not relish climbing a 35 foot ladder to the top of the chimney either. The cap has to be serviced.

In the summer, I climb up the ladder, take the cap off and replace it with a fixture I built from 2x4s and a couple of pulleys. I drop a rope down the chimney and put it thru the pulleys. Then I climb down and clean the chimney from below by pulling the brush up and down with the rope. I clean the cap and climb back up to replace it and retrieve the fixture.

Once or twice during the heating season, I just run the brush up from the bottom using Rutland chimney brush rods. I can get the brush nearly to the top. Usually don’t get too much soot but safe is better than sorry.

I save the $140 and make sure it is done right and often enough.

 

[elkimmeg]

Been cleaning my chimneys for over 30 years and never bought a brush I made up my own cleaner out of chicken wire I must be doing d something right two stoves two chimneys and never a chimney fire in 30 plus years of cleaning I will re post the picture of my home made yankee inginuity. Never paid to hav e it cleaned or inspected.

I admit seasoning wood for at least 2 or more years

 

[Harley]

Mike -

Thanks for the tips... no way in hell am I getting up on my roof, though! I have a very simple set-up... elbow off the back, straight up 15 ft. I figure if I can find a flexible extension, I'm good. Your thoughts?

I think everyone is giving you the best advice. Someone needs to get up top, and make sure the cap is good to go. You can do all of the cleaning you want from the bottom, but a good check at the top is needed to make sure all is well. That doesn't mean you couldn't, or shouldn't give it a 'mid-season' cleaning and inspection from the bottom if you put a "T" in there. That way you can do some quick and easy checkup's.

 

[BrotherBart]

Been cleaning my chimneys for over 30 years and never bought a brush I made up my own cleaner out of chicken wire I must be doing d something right two stoves two chimneys and never a chimney fire in 30 plus years of cleaning I will re post the picture of my home made yankee inginuity. Never paid to hav e it cleaned or inspected.

I admit seasoning wood for at least 2 or more years

These days chicken wire costs more than a poly brush Elk. And ain't near as cute.

 

[elkimmeg]

Mine was created back in the early 70's and used everyt time since Cheap then formed from left over scraps
Bb you will appreciate this I get a kick out of the posters that purchase pro saws opperating at 14,000 Rpms and thik what that power is in the hands of inexperience.
Me I cut trees safetly with a 1940's ranger two man saw that had a 5' bar One had to wind the rope in it just to get is started. Unfortunately all to often more tha as few times

One gains a whole lot of respect to cutting trees using a 5' bar. One person positioned at the power head working in concert with the guy holding the handle at the tip.
as one might imagine any tree needing a 5' bar is quite tall and dangereous and need quite a bit of advance knowledge Mistakes are deadly.

Tonight I played golf with a guy that had $4000 invested in clubs in his bag. I'm using a 1947 Bulleye putter. I trounced this guy in every facet of the game of golf and he has 6" and 50 more lbs than me. My clubs are blade wilson staffs vintage 1993 bough used for $165 . Skill and experience is more important than equipment. The dress clubs do not make the golfer Me 5'7 with shoes on out drove this guy up to 50 yards on some holes using vintage club. Did I mention this guy is 15 years younger than me.

I'm sure old yeller in your hands is a lot safer then a dolmar 5100 in the hands of a novice. and that you will get more done and safer than the inexperienced

 

[stoveguy2esw]

lynx black cat irons (x shafts) stock "R-7 quad" driver 8.5 degree tip cut stiff shaft 32 grams in the head with a fade bias, calloway big bertha 4+ fairway metal tip cut stiff at +1/2 " odyssey rossi 2 putter....currently carrying a 3 handicap total cost less than 600.00

come on down one day we'll play some "pasture pool"

p.s. chainsaw is a 165 dollar craftsman P.O.S. wife bought me for christmas, works almost as good as my old vokey lob wedge

 

[BrotherBart]

Tonight I played golf with a guy that had $4000 invested in clubs in his bag. I'm using a 1947 Bulleye putter. I trounced this guy in every facet of the game of golf and he has 6" and 50 more lbs than me. My clubs are blade wilson staffs vintage 1993 bough used for $165 . Skill and experience is more important than equipment. The dress clubs do not make the golfer Me 5'7 with shoes on out drove this guy up to 50 yards on some holes using vintage club. Did I mention this guy is 15 years younger than me.

I'm sure old yeller in your hands is a lot safer then a dolmar 5100 in the hands of a novice. and that you will get more done and safer than the inexperienced

I hear ya. Back before I gave up golf and got my Saturdays back my old Wilson Dave Marr Stylists took more than a few bucks off of guys that trailered their own carts to the course. Fair off the tee but a seven iron and putter that would put the fear of God in the rich guys on my home course. On that course the first hole was funny. A closed eight iron off of a tee would go over the trees and land on the green. Bypassing the fairway shot to the dogleg right. Nailing that shot demoralized the chit out of the rest of the guys for the rest of the round.

"Mind if I I fill out your foursome. My partner must have gotten hung up in traffic."

The young married couple made more than a few rent payments off of that course.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

sounds like hidden vally in roanoke , first hole is a dogleg (left though) only about 210 to the green as the crow flies , but close to 300 by the drawn out route.started with eagle my senior year in district play on route to a -1 70 for the day , love that track

 

[Mo Heat]

Do my own chimney. Rutland Poly Brush bought at ACE Hardware for about $18. Rods from Home Cheapo, a couple bucks each. Cheap crap rods, but good enough for me. My roof is super easy access, so that makes things pretty simple. I put a plug up there at the first of the summer and I haven't had that horrible odor during the hot, humid months... so far.

Alien graphite shaft (woosey clubs ) used clubs that someone returned to Sports Authority. Got 'em half off. I think I bought 'em halfway for the name. Alien. That's cool... Hmmm, I don't think they mean illegal alien... They're made in Arlington, TX, my old stomping ground (and BB's). With a cut-rate Sam's Club cart-bag I've probably got about $150 invested. I use my trusty Alien putter, but I had to pick up an extra non-Alien, wedge. I'm lucky if I can shoot a 90, but could probably do it tomorrow even though I haven't played in 3 years. My golfing buddy moved away. I wish I lived closer to some of you guys, especially you, Elk. I could probably pick up some pointers, knock a few strokes off, and play a little more often.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

used to carry an alien 3 wood at 11 degrees , was a hot club , but i tended to hook it (not good at winton cc. winton in medical terms is simple, hitting it right is like cancer, its not good, but occasionally sombody recovers, left is FULL BLOWN AIDS. aint no recovery


by the way im working on the homesite for our club, just getting started , but the url is (broken link removed)

take a peek if ya like, but dont bash me yet , its not where it will be in 6 weeks

 

[BrotherBart]

Bad thread shift but you guys are bringing back memories. Not enough to call for a tee time, but memories none the less.

Playing one day down in Grand Prarie, Texas around thirty years ago on a municpal course with my bud and a couple of cart trailerers I was just addressing the ball when I hear a whisper behind me. "These yokels are gonna be easy."

First and last 265 yard driver I ever landed, three inches from the hole. And we smoked their butts the rest of the round. They decided they had to "be somwhere else" on the sixth hole and left.

Incentive is a good thing in anything in life.

 

[jpl1nh]

Bad thread shift but you guys are bringing back memories. Not enough to call for a tee time, but memories none the less.

Playing one day down in Grand Prarie, Texas around thirty years ago on a municpal course with my bud and a couple of cart trailerers I was just addressing the ball when I hear a whisper behind me. "These yokels are gonna be easy."

First and last 265 yard driver I ever landed, three inches from the hole. And we smoked their butts the rest of the round. They decided they had to "be somwhere else" on the sixth hole and left.

Incentive is a good thing in anything in life.

You can tell its summer time on Hearth.com when a chimney cleaning thread shifts to golf in only 4 replies... :lol:

 

[elkimmeg]

Lets put it this way I develope my stroke and timing when it really counts, burring the mall in the round Maybe this is why I still can hit decent lenght drives

but it is not helpfull for chipping and putting. Real hot here today I got cooked in the sun framing I really thought I had nothing left at the golf course But like Bb said, incentives somehow get the juices running plus a lot of trash talk from the younger opponents. Which soon ended. I mean they were calling me gramps .So I asked them at the end how did it feel to have you a* handed to you from gramps? I then informed they wasted all their money on the clubs. I hate to see their game without them bad enough to see it for the past 9 holes.

they leave in their leased Bmw's I hop in my 1998 Izsu PK without Ac but I own it.. Btw I drank only one beer they owed me. I still would be there colleccting the bounty but not able to drive

 

[DiscoInferno]

I don't like golf much,so I'll pick a different off-topic sport. Hand splitting might help golf, but it is not helping my batting (softball). My arms are bigger, but my timing was off all year.

OT, I just cleaned the chimney on my Majestic. Well, I climbed up, took off the cap, and ran a bush down anyway. Can't really say I cleaned it because there wasn't anything to clean. Could still see shiny metal in there. Although there were a couple of chunks of charcoal in the cap. That's my "easy" chimney. I say "easy" because it's only 15' and isn't at the roof edge, so my crippling fear of heights doesn't kick in. But since the chase top is 8' above the roof I have to haul a stepladder up to the roof as well, so not so easy really.

My other chimney is 25', about 30' above the ground, and is at the edge of the roof. I don't think I'll be able to handle that one from the top.

 

[Gooserider]

I clean my chimney myself, from the bottom, just like my sweep does - It's a Vermont Chimney; "You Caan't Get Theah From Heah..." :wow: I look at the cap with my monocular, see that it isn't clogged, go inside and run the brush up from the bottom.

I posted a thread a while back on my last cleaning, so I'll just hit the high points...

1. Best price on a brush I found was to order one online through my local ACE hardware store - IIRC it was 16.95, for a 6" Dia. Poly brush w/ free shipping if you have them send it to the store and pick it up there. By the time you figured in shipping everyone else was over $20.

2. Don't waste money on those fancy fiberglass "stove cleaning rods" :exclaim: Instead go to your local Home Cheapo, and get as many lengths of 1/2" NMT (the grey PVC stuff) electrical conduit as you need for your chimney, then stop in the plumbing aisle and pick up whatever fittings you need to adapt the brush to the conduit (takes same fittings and glue as PVC plumbing pipe) and a 1.5" x 1/4-20 screw and nut for each bell joint in the conduit. Drill a cross hole in each joint to fasten the tubes together. This approach costs less than ONE fiberglass rod section for enough conduit to do a 30' chimney, and the conduit seemed as flexible or more so than any of the rods I looked at.

3. Attach a rope to the brush as a "safety" - if something breaks it gives you a way to drag the brush back out w/o needing to call the sweep...

4. Plan what to do with all the crud you knock down - wear a respirator or dust mask while working, and it helps to have a vacuum running near the pipe to try to help catch some of the dust. (That big August West vac is one advantage the sweeps do have...)

5. Stick the brush in the chimney and give it a back and forth stroke, make sure you get all the way out the other end...

6. Clean up and count the money left in the wallet...

I would reccomend a pro cleaning every couple years at least though, more for the sake of the inspection than the cleaning.

Oh, and on the other topic, we had a company picnic a few years back at a driving range / Putt-Putt / farmstand type place, I won the prize for Worst Swing - Think I did manage to hit the tractor once though.... :coolgrin:

Gooserider

 

[Eric Johnson]

Lost up in Maine once, I stopped into a small diner to ask directions. The guy looked at me in silence for a few seconds, then drawled: "You can get theah from heah---but it's haaaad."

I don't golf. I do cut wood.

And I clean my own chimney, with a poly brush and flex rods, from below. I hate chimney caps, but I finally broke down and bought one. So that means periodically climbing up the roof and screwing around with it, but hopefully that's all in the past.

 

[Mo Heat]

Elk, That's priceless. I like to humiliate the teens and 20's nieces and nephews at my place at the foosball table. Well, at least I did, none of them seem to want to play with me anymore. There will probably be some serious payback when I'm wetting my pants and unable to stand for the time it takes to play a game a few years down the road. :gulp:

I find it amazing how horrible most golfers that I meet at the course, are. I know I've probably never played anyone that's any good, but I've been paired a lot since I usually go out there alone. I find it unusual, but rewarding of course, that I've never run into anyone out there who seems to be able to even shoot below 100. I do see an occasional guy out there knocking the crap out of a ball that seems to be headed straight for the green. I guess that's Elk's and StoveGuy's counterparts out there kicking putt and taking names.

I'd actually never played a round of golf until I was about 44 years old. My first game was a 105 or a 110 or thereabouts, with a mulligan, maybe two, with encouragement from my two neighbors who had invited me and let me swing their clubs. Ironically, I beat them both that day. But since then, I usually manage the mid 90's, lower on a good day. It might be because I could always putt pretty well. In fact, I won an open Putt-Putt Golf tournament once when I was about 12 or 13. And chipping seems to come naturally. Strangely, I think I can almost hit a ball farther with a 6 iron than I can with a wood, if I can hit the ball at all with those damned woods! I could really use some help from some long ball guys. That might get me to my life long goal of shooting a round below 90, which will probably never happen, no more often than I play.

Now that my golf bragging is subsiding, I guess I should fess up that I mostly play what is probably an easy course by Elk and StoveGuy standards. It was constructed in the local Missouri river bottom area that people seem to forget floods every few years, so there aren't many hills or natural obstructions, and only a few holes have trees that are "in the way", and I swear a couple of the holes are almost like drains with both ruffs running right down to the cup... well, almost.

BB, That is priceless, too. It's amazing how one can sometimes rise to the occasion and pull off something special. I remember once over at Wilt's Pool Hall on Cooper Street in Arlington, near the college. I'll bet you've been there. I was a pretty average guy with hair a bit too long, in my mid 20's, just minding my own business at a table when a real bad-ass looking dude and his crew, that must have picked me for a hustle mark, came stomping over. His crew must have been there to bait, distract, and/or intimidate their chosen prey with all their mouthing off and hard looks. He asked if I wanted to play a game. I said sure. I'd been practicing for a couple weeks and figured I had a shot. And hell, he'd probably even let me win the first game, right? He let me break, and like you, for the FIRST and LAST time in my life, I "ran the table" (8-ball) in front of amazed onlookers. They all went mute as church mice and wandered off without a word. I had a beer, gloated for a few minutes, and then left. I didn't dare play another game. :zip:

 

[Mo Heat]

... by the way im working on the homesite for our club, just getting started , but the url is (broken link removed)

take a peek if ya like, but dont bash me yet , its not where it will be in 6 weeks

Nice site, and even nicer club. There's some pretty long history there, especially for the U.S. of A. But I didn't peg you for a high roller, StoveGuy.

Not bashing, but here's a couple proof corrections for you to make.

On page one: "The 18 hold championship Winton golf"

And on the Brochure page: "The club’s manager can help plan all of you social needs"

PGA qualifier, women's PGA, wow! Must be a tough course.

I remember the factory boys I used to work with in Texas talking about playing the public course in Grand Prairie that BB mentioned. They allowed for no penalty improved lies whenever a ball went into a gopher hole. And one guy claimed to have actually killed one coming off the tee.

 

[Mo Heat]

This is a serious high-jacking, sorry PhotoHound. :red: