I'm not sure this is the correct forum to post this question, but here goes; I'm getting ready to clean my new SS flue after using it last year for the first time. I was under the impression that you needed to use a poly brush on SS. However, at Lowes this afternoon I saw they only offer steel brushes and they are "approved" for SS flues. Is this correct? Can someone that knows the correct approach to cleaning a SS flue give me the straight scoop on all this? Thank you in advance.
I use a poly brush and I have never heard anyone suggest that you should use a steel brush on a SS flue. Go to a mom and pop hearth store and get a poly brush or order one online.
I bought a steel brush when we moved here and used it for a couple years. When I put in the new 6" pipe, I got a poly brush. Had to cut the bristles down a wee bit though, as it was WAY too hard to push through. Works great.
I know there are many folks who do use the steel wire brushes and have for quite some time. However, when we put up the SS chimney, I talked so several folks and one man in particular who had been working with this stuff for 25 years or more. I took his advise and bought a poly brush. What the man told me is that you can use a steel brush and get along just fine for many years. But, the only SS chimney's he has ever had to replace were cleaned using a steel brush. Never has he had even one chimney go bad when using a poly brush. He did say that those he replaced had been in over 10 years. In my humble opinion, or in our case, we had a steel brush and could have used it but for less than $15 we bought a poly brush and it does the job nicely. Is it worth $15 knowing it probably will make the chimney last longer?
Thanks all. You're conforming what I understood going into the SS flue situation. Great forum, great people, informed information. Thank you.
We have not noticed any problems like this and almost always clean a warm chimney. However, out chimney is outside the house; flue goes straight out the rear of stove and through the wall then up. We clean from there on the outside so not close to the stove.
Are there any special considerations for a flue that is not SS? Mine has some deposits that won't come off with the brush. Seems like there would be a power drill attachment or something similar to break off those stubborn hardened particles.
Heard of folks using a set of old tire chains on a rope. Supposed to strip the really tough stuff off of the chimney wall.
I installed my SS chimney probably twenty years ago and this is the very first time I ever heard of a poly brush. I use a steel brush and push it straight up once then pull it back down. The pressure on each individual bristle is next to nothing and I can't see how it could damage the inside. Run one bristle in one direction along your palm and you'll see what I mean. I'm not disparaging those who say to use the poly, it just seems to me that the bristles wouldn't be stiff enough to do the job properly unless you just had a buildup of fluffy soot. Mine is frequently courser than that.
After cutting a one inch hole in my SS kitchen sink I can attest that the sink was harder than all the drill bits I ruined. Got the job done after spending $60 for the proper bit.
That was my thinking on the matter... Kind of like cutting aluminum supported vinyl railing with a chop saw(ok, sort of) since AL is softer than than a carbide tipped saw blade, or copper pipe- both of which I've been directed to do in my previous trade days... Can't see much of a problem with the steel brush/SS pipe situation. Just my $.02. Who has a counter point?
You can drill SS with a regular tungsten bit. The secret is using a sharp bit turning @ a SLOW speed and irrigating the site with cold water. The heat build up is what kills the bit, and stainless steel builds heat very quickly....................
