Jake, I'll be honest here, I ain't gotta clue,

I just wanna see you after the job is done, and before ya clean up!

I did that just one time, used a brush and a long handle thingy, and swore, i'd never mess with it again! I got filthy in a hurry, and it was worse than workin on diesel engines!

 

SGW is p!$$in me off! OK here goes, AGAIN!
Jake, Simple Simon. Either pay sombody a couple 100 or, do it yourself. As a wood burning vetern I'll give you the how to do it. First clean out the fire box proper and if the damper is in line, try to reach up to it with an old toilet brush, get what you can. Then seal up the stove, Wrapping in trash bags and duct tape works fine. Then go up top, take off the cap and either use a chimmney brush and pole, that can be rented or purchased ( www.lehmans.com ) or just take a rope and a wad of chain and run it up and down a few times letting the chain rattle off the sides. First get some idea of the damper loacation , don't want to hang up on it. I tie a knot in the rope for reference. Then take the chains and run them into an old pair of jeans and tie the legs in knots , not unlike a shotgun swab, only not real tight. repeat a few times. Then go down and unwrap the stove and hit it with the shop vac, done. 45 minutes tops. If you burn good dry non conifer woods, look at it in five to seven years, if you burn pine, three to five.

 

I use the cleaner log once a year, usually right about now before the fireplace season really starts.

Depending on your basement set up, you will want to do it on a warm day when you are able to open a few windows or a door to the outside because it stinks.

I can't say I've ever stuck my head in there to see how well it's done but I can definately say big flakes of old crap will come falling down after using it. Including any birds or critters that thought that would be a good place to spend the winter.

But if you have never used the stove before, it before it might be wise to have it all proffesionaly inspected and cleaned first, then use those logs once a year after.

 

Those logs work in a "kinda sorta" way, they will not substitute for a proper periodical cleaning. Otherwise chimmney sweeps would be out of busness. It should also be noted that unlike 870shooter, you can stay pretty much out of the mess if you don't crawl into the stove and try to push the pole up. :wink:

 

Ours has the chimney damper built into the top of the stove. Stove is like this:

I've never used the log before but swab our chimney out about every other year (we burn 3 or 4 cords/yr of dry hardwood) with a brush made for the ID of the pipe and a sectional pole that screws together about every 3 or 4 feet...the whole works probably cost $60 and should last the rest of my lifetime.

It usually takes longer to round up the tools, fetch a ladder and remove/replace the cap than the rest of the chore. With the door closed, it's a no mess deal (except on the roof that a leaf blower cleans up pretty quick)...slam the chimney damper open and shut a couple of times and all the crap falls into the firebox for shoveling out.

 

Well thanks gents. It has only been used for a year or two and had nothing but oak burned in it, maybe a cord at most. I think I may just burn a cleaning log in it and sweep it out next year.

 

I am thoroughly disappointed in this board... 7 posts and not ONE mention of this guy...

 

Chimney fires suck!

One cord isn't much, but critters will make homes in unoccupied chimneys.
Is your chimney lined? Is there a pipe in the chimney? Is there a cap?
Describe your setup.

I am on my third season with a Napolean Insert. I love it!
4 cords a year. I clean it twice a year, and get about a large handfull of stuff.
I have the fiberglass poles and fitted brush.
My biggest problem is keeping the cap cleared. It soots at the cap a lot because I lined the chimney and insulated it. As soon as it hits the cold air, soot forms.

 

Jim, it is lined and there is a cap. We have a fireplace in the living room, and the stove is piped up through the fireplace into the chimney and out.

 

If you have a standard 6" pipe then buy the brush and poles and do it yourself, assuming you have decent access on the roof and a safe area to work from. Falling off a foof sucks too.
I really can't say I would trust those logs. For me I used one once, but it was a fireplace at the time. You can't really prove for yourself that they work. If you brush it yourself, you see the results.
Many people only put 3-5' of pipe up the chimney for their stoves. In the long run that is asking for trouble many years down the road if the pipe AND chimney are not cleaned regularly. If yours runs the full length that is way better. Insulated is the best. Being in MO I imagine it doesn't get really cold for a long time. Clean it at least every 2-3 years at your burn rate.

 

Dang Tom, you are one heck of a fancy interior decorator at home!

I was expecting to see a Rock Chucker bolted to the dinner table, not a strategically placed Flexible Flyer, snow shoes, and an antique fishing creel. :lol:

 

Notice I said "like", nody. But there is a brand spankin' new HD TV beside our stove, our Christmas to each other.......now, if ther was just something to watch on it.

The rock chucker us in my hidy hole.

 

But there is a brand spankin' new HD TV beside our stove

I hope it doesn't end up looking like this, next to that hot stove:

Ok, two teasings is two too many; "go away, gnat!" :lol:

 

very few houses here now have open fire's.

however i grew up on a farm, our cottage was heated and the hot water powered by a range fire and the living room had a seperate open fire.......

We once had a really bad chimney fire that ended up in the fire brigade being called and an oak beam being brunt through that was above the kitchen range

we then bought our own brushes and poles and cleaned our chimneys at least twice a year.

basically used a sheet to stop the soot spreading into the room, taped it over the fireplace, the poles were flexible ones that screwed into each other, a brush on the end and kept feeding it in until we could see it out of the chimney on the roof, then pull it back down...........remove the sheet and sweep up all the soot that was now in the fireplace and on the hearth (the poles are the same as what i have seen used on sewers and drains)

 

At the very least, the chimney needs to be inspected and cleaned as necessary. It's a lot less messy if you can clean from the top but even with the stove tightly shut some stuff will drift up as it's cleaned. I cleaned mine once last year in season and inspected it before starting this year. I'll inspect and clean as necessary toward the end of this season but I can normally tell by how well the stove draws if there's any crud.

 

Regular chimney cleaning is essential not only to improve the efficiency of your chimney, but also to ensure safety. Soot and debris buildup can lead to dangerous fires, while a clean chimney helps your heating system operate at peak efficiency.