Chimney Sweeping.

[Pattree]

Very happy with the air flow as it is.

It’s an ordinary open fire place but it pulls smoke and dust from six inches or more in front of the grate opening.

My manometer is home made each time I use one. Still, water is water so I dunno.


Whatever it reads, all I want is that it remains the same or improves after the job is done.

 

[Stew]

Liner brush sizes are made for specific liner diameters, about 1/4-1/2 wider than the liner. So you have probably got the wrong size brush for your size liner.
The other thing that can vary is how stiff the actual bristles are, there is a grading. Stiffer ones are generally only needed if you are not burning properly and consequently getting tarring. If you've got a metal brush - chuck it ! Or will damage just about everything, liners are thin.
Either buy a new brush for your liner (measure it, most are either 6 inch or 5 inch dia) or have a go at trimming it down. It's not something I've tried to do. Suggest you get something the desired size, like a ring or pot/tube, to mark up/check the size as you trim.
Yes, more passes are good, if you pause after each push, and can still hear stuff coming down - keep sweeping. Eventually you hear very little or nowt = clean liner

Super - thanks!

 

[Pattree]

@Falstaff
I defer to your professional advice without reservation but I’m confused.

Has measurement of chimney draw changed in the last thirty years or so.

Esse, of blessed memory, told me that if my chimney didn’t pull an inch of water they wouldn’t install it. That was thirty years ago and a different chimney in the same stack.

I’m in no way contradicting you, just puzzled.

 

[Falstaff]

@Falstaff
I defer to your professional advice without reservation but I’m confused.

Has measurement of chimney draw changed in the last thirty years or so.

Esse, of blessed memory, told me that if my chimney didn’t pull an inch of water they wouldn’t install it. That was thirty years ago and a different chimney in the same stack.

I’m in no way contradicting you, just puzzled.

Interesting, I was using an online calculator, but think there is a confusion as to where the decimal place goes, and can see 2 different sites quoting approx the same number but with the decimal point in a different position.
I fished out my own manometer to check, 1cm = 98.0638 Pascals, but the fireplace industry refers to this as 9.8 pa therefore my 400 pa (actually about 396) could be read as 40Pa but is still very high. A standard fireplace efficiency is about 15-20%, but with that draw you are losing a lot of heat and probably only getting the radiant heat off of it.

The tech has changed but the measurement principles haven't.
Esse's inch is a lot less and comes out at 24.5 Pa - much more likely in an open flue. Most shop-employed installers want an easy life and tend to be very cautious, it would work with less, but might be a bit harder to light when cold. Conversely, it would produce more heat once warm as less air rushes up the chimney.
Sweeping it can only improve matters, unless you knock a brick out and it jams rather than falls - unlikely but sometimes happens, there is only a half-brick between two adjoining flues and the mortar joint gets worn away. You'll soon know if you do, either the smoke comes back into the room or the draw is massively reduced.

 

[Pattree]

Are you trying to scare me The flu was 100 years old last year!
The retired sweep didn’t have any problems and other than a mess I’m not really anticipating any.

The sweep at my childhood home used to put rods up the chimney without a brush and then go outside to see how far above the pot he’d gone. Then he counted the rods and counted them back up with the brush on.

I have no idea why that might have been.

Edited to add:
The chimney breast is about four feet away from the outside walls and well inside the rooms. Heat may well be vanishing up the chimney but the big brick radiator does a wonderful job. My daughters moved their beds so they could sleep against the walls

 

[Falstaff]

Are you trying to scare me The flu was 100 years old last year!
The retired sweep didn’t have any problems and other than a mess I’m not really anticipating any.

The sweep at my childhood home used to put rods up the chimney without a brush and then go outside to see how far above the pot he’d gone. Then he counted the rods and counted them back up with the brush on.

I have no idea why that might have been.

Some times the brush goes up easy and you don't realise you're thru'. It's a way of making sure you go the full length but not too far, otherwise the rods and brush bend over the roof and can get caught on say, the TV ariel (done that), a gutter (done that too) or a nearby tree (nearly).
It also tells you which pot you are coming out of, sometimes (if that brick is missing) it's the wrong one or someone has terminated the chimney below the roof then sold it on. (Have had several like that, one was a real horror story - had to fail the entire building refurb works).
I'm sure it'll be fine, most are, but this is why insurance Co's prefer a pro sweep/certificate - so they have someone to blame/sue!

 

[RonW]

Seriously? Get a professional to do it.
I have been thinking many a time about doing it myself, but.... here one must be certified in order to insurance to cover, so there's a course and exam to pay for. Then it is equipment purchase.
Thirdly these guys know what they're doing, they do it fast and most without making a huge mess. Cleaning soot is a real PITA.
So we here have them come over twice a year, I still mutter about their bills, but in the end.... it is more then worth it.
We heat the house and water year round and had some good advice on what wood to use, how to do it (there's a complete "science" behind it!), what the most effective way to use our heating- and chimneysystem etc.

 

[Pattree]

Yep - fire, chimneys and sweeping them all have their own sciences but that doesn’t make the learning inaccessible - I just have to learn it!

 

[RonW]

Yep - fire, chimneys and sweeping them all have their own sciences but that doesn’t make the learning inaccessible - I just have to learn it!

Not inaccessible, by no means.
But is it practical costwise and/or experiencewise?

 

[Falstaff]

I think Pattree is doing it becasue he csannot get a sweep to come out to him. I would always normally recommend getting a professional, and don't normally disclose my few pearls of wisdom.
But then again, as such a professional, I would say that wouldn't I ?

 

[Pattree]

I’m very grateful for the advice that I’ve received.
I shall be able to report on outcome this weekend.

 

[Broch]

I wait with bated breath

 

[MrEd]

My local sweep charges me £40 - not helpful for the OP as I am in West Sussex (zachary sweeps and sons is the company) and the guy is great, meticulously clean and tidy, also gives the burner a proper deep clean aswell.

He also does repointing, flashing and lining and new chimney pots. Super guy, can’t imagine ever using someone else.
If anyone else is in West Sussex (particularly mid Sussex) check him out, no connection other than just being a satisfied customer who has found a decent honest tradesman

 

[Pattree]

That went well!

12 rods, just clear of the pot and it came back down without issue.

I completely forgot to measure the pressure but it’s drawing well.

I didn’t expect much mess after that owl came down a month ago.

The bin bag in the grate was a brilliant idea.
I don’t have a cctv but neither have sweeps for hundreds of years.

I did use my domestic vacuum cleaner and I shall use another one to clean the first one.

All in all - a simple job. I got off a lot lighter than I expected.

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice. I REALLY appreciate the professional advice to a rank amateur.

 

[Glow_worm]

Nice tile work!

And well done for getting on and doing it. I know a lot of people who heat with wood as their primary source of warmth and sweep their own chimneys, including two millionaires (one retired and one working), there's a satisfaction to being self reliant.

 

[Pattree]

This is a first but I hope that I can manage the basics. Drains, plumbing and electricity. (We don’t have gas) Of course electricity has to be certified. I haven’t done anything significant since the 2008 regulations.

I really ought to learn to fettle the oil boiler. There are very few heating engineers who want to get mucky these days.

 

[Falstaff]

Well done, glad it went well for you. Second vacuum to clean the first, LOL. Fettling oil burners has to be done with care or they produce a lot of bad fumes and badly soot up the boiler and flue with really nasty oil soot dust.

I used to sweep someone's, a retired engineer, who thought he could set the oil burner dish up properly (after my sweep). There was bad smell in the house, and he had really bad COPD - haven't heard from him for a couple of years, wouldn't be suprised if he's died.
I know an oil boiler engineer, there aren't many left. He has a huge travelling range (and charges accordingly).

 

[Pattree]

I’ve got a local guy but I think he’s got another main job or a big contract. I can leave a message and might hear from him within a month. If he goes then there will be no one. They are all gas fitters in smart overalls.