[juliem]

Does anyone have any tips for what to put up a lined chimney in order to clean it...have a set of rods but they aren't flexible enough to initially get up the lining from the stove .Did they use holly years ago?
I do begrudge a chimney sweep (they are called technicians now) because I burn wood that is years old...have a barn full of it....saving it for when oil prices increase (some of it even has woodworm in it !) However had an incident recently when had to call fire brigade and they can be so critical of woodstove owners and they always trot out the advice of regular chimney cleaning regardless of the circumstances.In my case it was the lining which has partly become dislodged from the flu.......AND THAT WAS CAUSED BY A CHIMNEY SWEEP.
I might add I only burn wood occasionally as have oil central heating....but it does heat the water which is very useful.
Apoligies if this should be in another forum...

[henchard]

I bought these very flexible rods here (but my flue is actually pretty straight)

http://chimneyrodsdirect.co.uk/15-m-Flu-Flex-Ultra-Flex-flexible-rods-for-liners-with-brush-145145145.htm

Their brushes also have a guide ball.

May work for you perhaps?

[juliem]

Looks ideal..can anyone explain what the "guide ball" is ?

[Buttermilk]

A ball above the brush which finds and follows the bends before the brush runs into the far wall.

[chrismahon]

I don't think they have chimney sweeps here. Everyone cleans their own, judging by the amount of sweeping equipment you can buy inexpensively in the stores. We bought 8 metres of very flexible plastic rods and a brush head for just €15. But the installation of our flue must be different to yours Juliem. The flue exit at the back of the fire goes into a T piece fitted sideways. The downstroke of the letter is therefore the outlet behind the fire and the top stroke is then the flue above and below there is a removable cap for cleaning. So perhaps your installation is incorrect?


Cleaning here has to be done every year otherwise your insurance is void. You either take a dated photograph showing you sweeping it or buy a special 'log' to burn which strips out the carbon deposits from a stainless steel liner and then keep the till receipt. Can you buy those logs in UK?

[william_wt]

You can buy the special logs, but the jury is out on how effective they are.
The chimney behind my Rayburn is a 90 degree angle, and so I swept it from above by ladder.
William

[Rupert the bear]

Monthly sweeping in the winter months basic set of rods , I like the idea of the ball though.

[pgkevet]

I've got sympathy for the fire-brigade's viewpoint. I've had the unfortunate experience of dealing with dogs that have been in house fires and seeing a young labrador turned crispy on most of it's body, face swollen like a balloon, blinded and still trying to nuzzle up and lick a hand while it can hardly rattle a breath: heart-rending. Just think how much worse it is for those guys when it's people or children they're pulling out.

Yeah. I have two woodburners here also. One has a straight up flue so easy to clean albeit messy 'cos access is from inside the stove. The other has only access through a flue port and then that opens into the original chimney which also has a swan neck near the top. It's a real pain to get a decent brush into that port so it'll sweep the chimney proper... and even harder to get the darned thing back out. probably the best but expensive solution would be the fancy flexible rods that one can spin with a hand drill and flail bristles (£3-400 of kit?). I can get two full buckets of sooty clinker and a vacuum bagful out of this big burner every couple of months of fulltime use and invariably need to dustsheet the whole room before i start. At least when i do it I know it's clean but as i;ve said many time shere.. if it wasn't for the amount of timber on this land I wouldnlt have a woodburner.. dusty, messy, reduce room oxygen even with vents and every time you open it to add more then you have potential for fumes or smell - and that's all apart from the fire hazard.

Oh and both badly burned labradors died - probably as much from the opiates i was pumping into them as the pulmonary oedema.

I did have one survivor of a less crispy nature - just very bad smoke inhalation and a week in an oxygen tent.