Chimney Sweep Logs
 

Anybody use them? I can't see how it would really work.

Any good/bad experiences?

Do you get your chimney swept regularly? Do it yourself?

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hocslog.htm

http://www.cleanyourchimney.com/

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

I used to use a wad of tire chains on a rope and drag it up and down the chimney pipe. They have a brush. We tried to burn good seasoned Maple Alder and Birch and kept it pretty clean. Birch has the best btu rating here followed by Hemlock

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

My parents burned hardwood, and almost exclusively heated with wood. It made for some pretty chilly mornings but I'm sure it helped to put an Atari 2600 under the Christmas tree.

Dad would go up with a brush in the spring once a year for 10 minutes and the tools aren't very expensive.

If you're interested in that method

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimne...himney-Brushes

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

:cool2: There is a commercial product that goes by the name of Soot Blaster.

We used these sticks to blast carbon and gunk out of oil and coal fired boilers.
Just throw a stick in and slam the door...flames are spectacular coming out of the stack about ten feet high...

Gave a couple to my Dad to clean out the old fireplace chimney...birds avoided flying over his house for six months...they put his house on the no fly zone list.

Might be able to pick up a couple at a mechanical contractor's supply or look on the net...these things are almost like rocket fuel on a stick.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Keep the garden hose handy....

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

How often to you do it? What is the risk of going long periods of time without cleaning it?

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

Yearly, especially if you burn pine. Silly Colorado.

The risk if you burn in a dirty flue is chimney fire. They also sell flares that you can put a chimney fire out with.

I wish I could say, "You'll know it when it happens" but I sure didn't. My hilbilly roomate did. It sounded like a bunch of weird pops and groans in the flue pipe. IIRC he threw 5lb table salt in and killed it. We bought a flare the next day and cleaned the pipe.

Re: Chimney Sweep Logs
 

It's very important to keep a chimney clean, especially if you're running a modern air tight woodstove. Best way is to mechanically clean it with a steel brush that fits tightly into the flue. It can be cleaned from the outside by getting up on the roof, directly on a ladder, etc, but much safer from inside the building. I use a series of bendable fiberglass rods which has a disc of hard nylon or some other synthetic plastic at the end. This can be pushed around a 90 degree bend, and go as high as you have number of rods. Each rod is about 36" long and connects with the others by way of compression fittings. This is a great system, and was not expensive. Been using it for almost 25 years, and it has been one of the very best products I have ever bought. Got it from a place called Sotz, back in 1982.They had a lot of great no-nonsense products, so of course they had to go out of business! Also got my Monster Maul for splitting wood from them, and other stuff.
I've tried rock salt once or twice. Am of the opinion that some chemicals probably are effective, but am only sure of the mechanical scraping method. Like Gasilat said, clean frequently until you get the feel of how often you really need to do it. Regular open fireplaces seldom need it, but the less air that gets in to your stove, the more you should keep an eye on it. I have an old air tight (from a Sotz kit) barrel stove that is a great heater, but I need to clean the chimney and pipes at least four times a year. And, as others have said, the drier the wood, the less cleaning you will need to do. It also depends on how you use it, translated as how hot you run your stove. Best to have a thermometer on the stove pipe to keep track of temperatures. But to sum it all up- you got to keep 'er clean!