Mechanical Chimney Sweeper finally broke but was worth it

[mpilihp]

So after 8 years of using my mechanical sweeper weekly and year round (we heat our DHW and hot tub with with) the cable to my sweeper finally broke. Not bad for spending under $100 and not having to get up on the roof. Remember I have a conventional wood boiler so frequent cleaning is a must.

Here is the link to the build, unfortunately the picture links appear to be broken.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ing-the-roof-in-the-winter.36199/#post-461833

Gonna put a new cable in and hopefully go another 8 years without climbing the roof!

~ phil

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a great investment even if you have to replace the whole thing after 8 yrs..

 

[mpilihp]

Sounds like a great investment even if you have to replace the whole thing after 8 yrs..

Hi thanks, im thinking of an improvement using an externally mount dual drum hand winch, issue is i can only find units geared down for 1500lbs, thinking it will move slow...

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[mpilihp]

So I finally got my new mechanical chimney sweeper installed, its a bit more involved to operate it because it has two winches, one for up and one for down but I think it will be less problematic.

Here is an overview of the parts before installing it.
This is the pulley house assembly with cabling before installing it.



This is a closeup of the pulley house


Closeup of how I connected cable to the threaded end of the brush.


These are the shafts with pulleys at the end for the cables to turn up and into the chimney. One is short so the cable that pulls brush up runs along the wall. One of the issues I had before was the brush would twist and tangle the up and down cables.


One of the two brackets that hold the winch to the side of the chimney.


Bracket with the winch on it


One of the winches installed, this one pulls the brush up, the winch on the other side of the chimney pulls the brush down.


Simple and works good!

~ Phil

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Very nice. Looks like one of my pipe dream projects, but you actually did it! Does the frame go at the top? If so, can you just leave it on under the cap, or do you climb the ladder to put it on and take it off each time?

 

[mpilihp]

Hi the doghouse in the first picture goes on top and stays there all the time. Its been there for years from the first setup. It does need to be run regularly to keep creosote from building up and locking the pulleys in place.

Phil

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