Chimney Cleaning Tools - Soot Eater or Poly Brush?

I am at the point that I need to think about what chimney cleaning tools I should buy. After the transmission repairs on my old transport, funds are tight so I want to make this a one time purchase. Since I have never cleaned a chimney before, I have no experience with the tools. I know there are members here with experience with both the soot eater and brush systems. I will be cleaning my chimney from the ground up through the bottom access. I can not safely do it from the top down. Looking at prices for both the soot eater and the brush and rods I see they are close to the same in costs. Are the strands on the soot eater replaceable like you would have on a string grass trimmer? What life can one get out of the poly brush or soot eater head? I am looking for any feedback on use and effectiveness; any information that can help me make an informed decision.

Thanks everyone.

 

The sooteater line is exactly what you stated.....trimmer line. Easily replaced with one screw. Iirc, it's .095 diameter.

If you want to do bottom up, you don't have a choice if ur planning on going thru the stove door.....fiberglass rods won't bend. Sooteater rods do bend.

Bonus of the sooteater is that with a simple line change to a lesser length, and you can do your dryer vent also.

I'd go sooteater if I were you. Just for the benefit of cleaning the dryer vent also.

 

I don't have a dryer; I use solar energy to dry my clothes. I won't attempt to go through the stove; there is the 90 elbow on the stove and then the 90 through the wall. Instead I will go through the bottom of the chimney. Here is a photo of my chimney.

 

I have always used the wire brush. I have looked a the soot eater. The bottom
up is a real advantage, if you need that.
On my current setup, I am top down.
I don't see how the SE could possibly do
a better job than the brush.
At my last house, I brushed that setup 3 times a year for
14 years. I never saw any damage to the pipe.

Very interested to hear replies to this thread.

 

Lowes has the wire brushes and tractor supply has the poly brushes. I thought I read that one should not use the wire brush on a SS chimney because it would create scratches that would help the creosote to cling to.

 

That'll be easy no matter which you decide.
You will need to, or at least should, disassemble the interior sections of pipe and do those outside also so you don't make a mess inside. Just taking them apart will make a small mess. Cover your flooring with plastic or an old sheet etc.

Leave it connected inside until you are done sweeping the outside to minimize mess blowing in your wall pass thru.

In your case, with that clean out and the two 90s, Id go brush. The sooteater doesn't do 90s, so it's of no benefit to you.

 

If I take the stove pipe apart to clear them; then I can go from the inside to outside with either to clean the through the wall part.

 

I've used both...I'd go Sooteater.
You will need to do the outside and inside sections of pipe separately as you said.
If you have a box fan that you can hang in an open window (sucking air in) when you go to clean the inside pipe, that will pressurize the house and all the soot dust will blow out. BTW, if you go with an old school brush, I like the plastic ones better...they're stiffer and you won't have to worry about the whole steel brush on SS pipe issue (real or not)

 

Don't buy one of these Poly Chimney Brushes piece of crap, does not clean well

 

Yeah, that doesn't look good at all...mine has much heavier bristles

 

Oh, and BTW, I don't remember where I seen it, was just recently, somebody posted that when you get a new Sooteater that the line comes long enough to get an extra replacement set of line from it if its being used for a 6" pipe...just have to loosen the pinch screw, pull the line out to one side to the correct dimension, then cut off the extra length on the other side.

 

So this is a great post by the way but maybe I am missing something. So if I tried the downward way, rooftop and and cleaned while I took the fiber board out, will this be ok if I have the stove closed up or is dust going to go out the seams and air intakes no matter what?

 

Should be fine...unless you have a reverse draft going on for some reason...you could do a bottom up cleaning too...its pretty easy with a through the roof chimney. There's lots of you tube vids on doing it this way

 

Never had a problem with the stove closed up , just have to wait for every thing to settle before ya open the door .
Clean all ashes out of stove good before ya sweep the chimney

 

Ok I was only thinking downwards is a no brainer as long as the to do list is checked before the actual cleaning or I find loose seams in my pipe which if I do, I'm calling my chimney guy to say hey fix this. Likely to purchase soot eater and do it from the roof. My roof isnt that tall so it's a job I'll do likely when a warm spell comes on. Thanks guys

 

Never used a soot eater, I have always cleaned top down with brush pretty simple doesn't take long , pipe is straight up .
What takes me long and is the messy part, is taking the top of stove apart , I like to clean up in there good ,I take all tubes out , all fire bricks and supports out of the top , scrap if needed and vacuum , run a brush through the tubes and put it back together

 

But is this like the end of the season deal or ? I'd take the time to do this, its the prep work that I'll have to get used to. Having never done this, I have to ask since most of the time it is overlooked by someone who burns but simply neglects their stove or fireplace altogether. Then the cleaning job is REALLY needed and at this point I'm looking at my parents on this one but its really me who could physically get the job done. The mess could be another thing coming............

 

I do it annually in the fall , take it apart so the crap falls in the stove then clean the chimney then the stove and put it back together.
Really not that messy I have a box right there and put everything in it, arms get black almost up to shoulders though