SootEater and cracked baffle

[Charles2]

What's the maximum rate at which you can feed a SootEater and still get a proper cleaning? Wondering if I'm going too slow.

As shown below, the upper baffle on my Englander 17-VL is cracked down the middle. The crack is wider in the back than in the front. What causes this? Does it require replacement? Is there any way to prevent another crack? Do baffles exist that won't crack?

 

[double-d]

The rate of feeding a SootEater down the flue, is probably going to depend on the amount of buildup inside the flue. The RPM and the rate you go up and down, should be a steady pace. It doesn't take long for the nylon strands to clean the soot and creosote from the flue. If you have glazed creosote, the Sooteater may not remove it and you may need a professional chimney sweep to come out and take care of that.
If you're going bottom up, be careful not to push the cap off or get it caught on the cap.

It's common to see the stove baffles cracked, as long as they are not falling apart and still fit tight. I would recommend you get a replacement on order, especially with the burning season on it's way. You could try try to do a repair with some high temp cement or something like that, if you had to.

 

[Highbeam]

What's the maximum rate at which you can feed a SootEater and still get a proper cleaning? Wondering if I'm going too slow.

As shown below, the upper baffle on my Englander 17-VL is cracked down the middle. The crack is wider in the back than in the front. What causes this? Does it require replacement? Is there any way to prevent another crack? Do baffles exist that won't crack?

Slower the better on the sooteater. I mean, it's like brushing your teeth. You'll get most of it with even a quick brush but the longer you sit there and scrub the more certain you will be that all possible junk has been removed. The red weedeater string is replaceable and even though I go really slowly in two flues it has taken probably 8 cleanings to wear through the strings.

The baffle cracking stinks. It happens though and so long as the crack is tight like that you can continue to use it. My NC30 uses two boards with the necessary crack and gap in the center. What causes it is you hitting it with something like firewood from below or the brush from above. To prevent another crack, don't hit it. Some stove brands use baffles made of stainless that won't crack but the replacement baffle for you will be another fragile ceramic. It's hard in a small stove to not hit the baffle with firewood when loading full.

 

[Woody5506]

I just used my soot eater for the first time the other day and I thought it worked pretty well. I just eased it through the whole chimney, didn't really find it necessary to run it as fast as possible.

 

[Highbeam]

To be clear, I'm talking about the speed with which you push and pull the brush through the pipe. Slower is better. I always run the drill (cordless dewalt 18volt) in high gear at full speed in reverse. I use reverse so that the sooteater doesn't unthread my chimney sections or the cap.

 

[double-d]

The newer SootEater, White Rods, now have "Button Lock" mechanisms, so you can run them in both directions and not worry about then becoming disconnected.

 

[Highbeam]

The newer SootEater, White Rods, now have "Button Lock" mechanisms, so you can run them in both directions and not worry about then becoming disconnected.

My black sooteater rods also have button lock mechanisms. Not sure which is newer, black or white. I'm not worrying about the rods unthreading but the chimney sections and cap. Only half joking but the chimney and cap is all twisted together CW so I spin the brush to help tighten that connection.

 

[Charles2]

The red weedeater string is replaceable and even though I go really slowly in two flues it has taken probably 8 cleanings to wear through the strings.

How do you know when the strings are worn out? Do you buy replacement strings from SootEater or somewhere else?

What causes it is you hitting it with something like firewood from below or the brush from above. To prevent another crack, don't hit it.

That may be how most people crack it, but not me. I can't really even hit the lower baffle with firewood from below because the air tubes protect it. And I clean the chimney from the bottom up, so I don't hit the upper baffle with a brush. Something else made it crack.

Some stove brands use baffles made of stainless that won't crack but the replacement baffle for you will be another fragile ceramic.

Does anyone make aftermarket baffles? Is Englander the only place to get a ceramic?

 

[bcrtops]

I just used my soot eater for the first time the other day and I thought it worked pretty well. I just eased it through the whole chimney, didn't really find it necessary to run it as fast as possible.

Same here............& I like it better than the wire brush & rods.
We did it from the top down this time, as the grandson was here to help (Gma, doesn't like me on the roof by myself). Other than getting the top cap clean, it would work wonderfully well from the bottom up. We went all the way up & down 2x, slowly, but only got a couple cups of brown powder from the chimney.

 

[Highbeam]

How do you know when the strings are worn out? Do you buy replacement strings from SootEater or somewhere else?



That may be how most people crack it, but not me. I can't really even hit the lower baffle with firewood from below because the air tubes protect it. And I clean the chimney from the bottom up, so I don't hit the upper baffle with a brush. Something else made it crack.



Does anyone make aftermarket baffles? Is Englander the only place to get a ceramic?

The string looks exactly like the 0.080 inch weedwacker string I also own a spool of. Even the same color. Now before I use that I will offer a tip. When you first buy the sooteater you are supposed to trim the lines to match your flue. If you are using a 6" flue like most of us then you need to cut quite a bit off. Here's the funny part. Rather than cut off a bunch of line from each side of the head you can loosen the line retainer bolt and slide the lines over in the sooteater head until one side is at the specified length. Then cut all of the extra from the other side. The part you cut off is sufficiently long to be used in the sooteater head when the first strings wear out. Not sure if I explained that clearly enough but the OEM sooteater kit comes with enough red line for a refill unless you screw up and cut it from both sides.

My lines didn't wear down below specified length. Instead, they are now breaking off at the edge of the black ball. There is some wear and rounding of the tips but they are still long enough.

The tubes on the stove top are not enough to protect the baffle from abuse from logs from below. It doesn't really matter how you broke it, it's broken and that didn't happen without being hit at some point. We can just say it was already broken when you bought it!

This ain't a mustang GT. There is no aftermarket stove parts supplier. There are some sources of bulk ceramic sheet that you may be able to trim for a goodnough' type of fit. Search for bulk ceramic insulation board. I realize the stove is cheap so the boards seem expensive but the boards are similar in price to boards from other brands. When you get new ones, be really careful. Small stoves are very hard to live with since you always are trying to cram more wood in.

 

[Charles2]

Rather than cut off a bunch of line from each side of the head you can loosen the line retainer bolt and slide the lines over in the sooteater head until one side is at the specified length. Then cut all of the extra from the other side. The part you cut off is sufficiently long to be used in the sooteater head when the first strings wear out. Not sure if I explained that clearly enough but the OEM sooteater kit comes with enough red line for a refill unless you screw up and cut it from both sides.

Yes, that's a very clear explanation and a great tip for new users! Wish I had known when I bought mine last year.

The tubes on the stove top are not enough to protect the baffle from abuse from logs from below.

Did you understand that it's the upper baffle that's cracked, not the lower baffle that might get hit with firewood?

We can just say it was already broken when you bought it!

That's definitely a possibility because I heard the firebricks rattling around in the stove as we transported it. But I didn't think to inspect the baffles before installing it. In fact, I didn't even know I could remove the lower baffle to inspect the upper baffle.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, that's a very clear explanation and a great tip for new users! Wish I had known when I bought mine last year.



Did you understand that it's the upper baffle that's cracked, not the lower baffle that might get hit with firewood?



That's definitely a possibility because I heard the firebricks rattling around in the stove as we transported it. But I didn't think to inspect the baffles before installing it. In fact, I didn't even know I could remove the lower baffle to inspect the upper baffle.

Ha! no, I have never seen a stove with a separate upper baffle board. Weird. That would certainly make it pretty hard to hit from the firebox!

 

[Charles2]

So now both my upper and lower baffles are cracked in half. I can push the 2 halves together and run it that way, but over time the pieces separate and create gaps. If I leave them in and don't replace them, what problems would it cause?

 

[bholler]

So now both my upper and lower baffles are cracked in half. I can push the 2 halves together and run it that way, but over time the pieces separate and create gaps. If I leave them in and don't replace them, what problems would it cause?

It can cause a big drop in efficiency and even hot spots on the tubes leaving to damage down the road

 

[Charles2]

Can you explain how it decreases efficiency and creates hot spots on the tubes?

 

[bholler]

Can you explain how it decreases efficiency and creates hot spots on the tubes?

Well the escaping air between the baffles will decrease the firebox temps and increase stack temps. That reduces efficiency. That air going up through the crack that is fed hot air from the tube will be very hot. That will focus lots of heat on that crack creating hot spots.

 

[Charles2]

Do you trust the aftermarket parts from Stove Parts 4 Less?