Coalpail.com Forum

Considering whether it makes sense to clean my chimney. My 28' ladder won't get me to the top of the chimney so I'll have to do everything from below. Whether through the clean-out or the thimble, there's about a 2' horizontal run to the main vertical run up. It looks like most of the chimney brush kits come with 3' x 3/8" fiberglass rods. I'm wondering whether any chimney rod can make this kind of turn up or do I need to go with a more flexible (and likely expensive) rod? Also, how do rod thickness and length factor in to flexibility?

Your thoughts please?

A flat plumber's snake might be better.

The cleanout should be the better choice...
Less or no horizontal run...
You will never get the brush to make a 90* turn into the chimney...
A tape will not have the strength to do a push up the chimney...

CapeCoaler wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 21, 2017 7:36 pm

The cleanout should be the better choice...
Less or no horizontal run...
You will never get the brush to make a 90* turn into the chimney...
A tape will not have the strength to do a push up the chimney...

There's no difference in horizontal run between the clean out and the thimble. The thimble is round though and the clean out is square.

Rutland advertises a 6' x 1/4" rod that will do a 90. I think it's difficult in my situation. The flue is 6" x 6". That's a pretty tight turn.

There's a plumber's snake that's much stiffer than I'd imagine tape would be. I think it's a kind of wound steel that forms a flexible steel cable. Either way though, you'd have to attach a brush to the end of it. Not sure how you would do that.

Has a pipe thread just like the cleaning rods. You want the flat steel plumbers snake. About 1/2 inch wide.

Ah yes that kind of snake...
Might do the trick...
Use them for clearing blockages in the septic pipes...

Yeah... and I can probably rent one first to see if it works. Thanks for the tips guys.

sooteater on amazon. I bought two. You can replace the heads easy with weed eater trimmer string when they wear out. You cut them to size for your chimney. The flexible rods bend to almost 90 degrees. 2 kits gave me enough rod to clean my 32 foot chimney. Worked great for me, my boss and 3 friends. My chimney cleanout door is 6 inches or so above the cellar floor.

Thanks oldschoolhouse, I picked up a brush and rod kit, used off CL. It had the fiberglass 3' rods. I bent the steel wire at the base of the brush and with some patience and persuasion I was able to make the turn and push the brush up through and out the top of the chimney. I watched some Youtube video on the Sooteater... looks like a home run.