Warmed up today, tried out the Sooteater.

[Ashful]

I have a telescoping pipe on the stove so I just slide it up, stick the shoteater in the pipe, put a trash bag over and run it up and down the pipe.

Hmm... I have telescoping pipe on one of my stoves. Perhaps time to install one on the other, as well?

 

[coaly]

I'll be trying mine this spring on my off grid log cabin WALLS. The outside hasn't been cleaned, or refinished since built in 1972. UV rays have degraded the surface and made it very dark. Just sweeping with a stiff broom makes a huge difference, so I'm thinking this will be as good as a buffer pad, but I can keep it going with the grain instead of circular. I was looking into walnut or bead blasting, but would need a gas or diesel compressor. Forget pressure washer with no water or electric, an dit causes "felting" of wood surface. A small generator with electric drill just might be the ticket ! It will follow the contour of the machined logs too. We'll see.

 

[Ashful]

I'll be trying mine this spring on my off grid log cabin WALLS.

Way OT, but why not just mix up some oxalic acid and water and scrub it on with a hog brush? Either rinse manually, or let the next rain storm take care of it. I do not know of any way better than oxalic acid, for removing UV damage, short of pressure washing.

 

[coaly]

That requires rinsing, and there's a 2 foot overhang keeping walls dry. No well yet, so I'd have to catch it once gutters are on, or haul it. The well will be manual pump anyway, so water isn't easy. I was going to start hand sanding, this looks like a real time saver.

 

[Machria]

That might not be such a bad idea. I have a telescoping pipe which many of the folks here will use to facilitate cleaning. But it's a bear to pull up off the flue collar on my stove - i think it's actually easier to pull the burn tubes and baffle bricks, then go get the ladder and go up on the roof. A T would make life easier for sure....

Why is that hard? I was planning on doing that on mine, I also hae a telescoping pipe coming off the stove ....

 

[bag of hammers]

Why is that hard? I was planning on doing that on mine, I also hae a telescoping pipe coming off the stove ....

I suspect this might not be the case in many other installs..? I'm guessing that the slip joint in the pipe, which was pretty tight to begin with, gets some crud in it through the burn season, and it doesn't slide very easily. And the bottom of the pipe is a really snug fit on the flue collar too. Plus the pipe is not extended to anywhere near the full length, so there's quite a bit of overlap where it has to slide. So it does come off, I can do it, but I have to get a really tight grip around it and pull pretty hard. And getting any leverage over the stove is awkward (back hurts a bit too). Long story short, by the time I get it done, I could have the burn tube and front baffle support off, and baffle parts on the hearth, with less effort.