I did search the subject and didn't find anything that would help. Indeed, I have received good advice on the forum in the past on the subject of brush cleaning my 6" diameter SS chimney from my Quadrafire 4100 I up my masonry chimney.
I tried first with the heavy duty poly 6" brush and failing to get that over the bend from the top of the Insert to the offset (backward/away) to the straight up chimney. I thus purchased the lighter duty brush hoping that would help make the bend. No, still having trouble. Here's what I noted:
1) the chimney pipe is deformed a bit as it departs the insert, not real round, but bush is flexible.
2) the stainless steel sheet metal screws used to connect the insert out-collar (my name, must be an official name for that piece) stick into the smoke path a good 3/4", but the brush is a bunch of "quills" that should slide right by the screws.
3) I pulled the insert outward from the fireplace as far as I can without disconnecting the chimney, this helped a little bit, I got the brush into the chimney at least a foot to a foot and a half, then stuck - depending on how hard one pushes.
4) I am using the fiberglass rods that are sold by Lowes, and over the web, I got some both places and they appear to be the same manufacturer. They are rather stiff and may be a big part of the problem.
5) the brush fibers/quills are attached to a very stiff metal rod that is about 10" long, this and the solid part of the rod to which the brush screws in makes the assembly have a very stiff starter section about a foot long.
Any suggestions? Can I push too hard on the rod and get in trouble? Here I am not so strong as to may that an issue, but I am reluctant to push real hard and get the brush stuck up the chimney.
I looked up the chimney with a hand light and mirror and it looks like there is very little "dust" up as far as I can see. Is the worst section the top part? I can't see up more than 3 or 4 feet I estimate. But a clean lower end seems to suggest the chimney isn't very dirty. After I cleaned the tubes, and the heat buffer cleaning the entry area to the chimney produced only a small pile of very black hard particles, maybe a full cup is all, then it looked quite clean, could see the metallic finish of the SS chimney liner.
I tried first with the heavy duty poly 6" brush and failing to get that over the bend from the top of the Insert to the offset (backward/away) to the straight up chimney. I thus purchased the lighter duty brush hoping that would help make the bend. No, still having trouble. Here's what I noted:
1) the chimney pipe is deformed a bit as it departs the insert, not real round, but bush is flexible.
2) the stainless steel sheet metal screws used to connect the insert out-collar (my name, must be an official name for that piece) stick into the smoke path a good 3/4", but the brush is a bunch of "quills" that should slide right by the screws.
3) I pulled the insert outward from the fireplace as far as I can without disconnecting the chimney, this helped a little bit, I got the brush into the chimney at least a foot to a foot and a half, then stuck - depending on how hard one pushes.
4) I am using the fiberglass rods that are sold by Lowes, and over the web, I got some both places and they appear to be the same manufacturer. They are rather stiff and may be a big part of the problem.
5) the brush fibers/quills are attached to a very stiff metal rod that is about 10" long, this and the solid part of the rod to which the brush screws in makes the assembly have a very stiff starter section about a foot long.
Any suggestions? Can I push too hard on the rod and get in trouble? Here I am not so strong as to may that an issue, but I am reluctant to push real hard and get the brush stuck up the chimney.
I looked up the chimney with a hand light and mirror and it looks like there is very little "dust" up as far as I can see. Is the worst section the top part? I can't see up more than 3 or 4 feet I estimate. But a clean lower end seems to suggest the chimney isn't very dirty. After I cleaned the tubes, and the heat buffer cleaning the entry area to the chimney produced only a small pile of very black hard particles, maybe a full cup is all, then it looked quite clean, could see the metallic finish of the SS chimney liner.