chimney flue sweep

[disco gazza]

Hi all,

Am wondering if anyone has had there flue swept and or if they could recommend someone in the Penrith - Blue mountains area.

Would like to get mine cleaned before the winter chill arrives.Yeah I know should have done it before..:p:D

Thanks

cheersa

[mike123]

Hi,

We've regularly used a guy (Glenn) from Kellyville and found him to be reasonably priced and will be there when he says he will. I'll PM you his contact number.

regards,
Mike

[Redback]

We just went through this ourselves, I say do it yourself if you can, it's easy, and quicker, we had to replace the bend in our flue as it collapsed, after numerous calls to chimney sweeps who were either too busy or wouldn't come out, we gave up.

So we decided to do it ourseleves, pulled the fire out, replaced the bend section, put the fire back in, then got up on the roof, took the top cap off the flue , poked the brush down the flue, up and down and turn the brush in a circular motion, 10min done, we used a cobweb brush on an extention pole, all up with taking the fire out from the open fireplace(I'm assuming your fire may be different), about an hour, our flue goes up an excisting chimney and why we need the two bends, it would be even easier if your flue went straight up.

Cost was $61 for the two stainless steel 45deg bends.

Baz.

[disco gazza]

Hi Redback,
I've got a combustion fireplace,had an open fireplace at my old place,prefer combustion tho,heats up better. :cool:

[Tank]

Be careful folks, that dust consists mainly of Formaldehyde and Creosote, both extreme Carcinogens, make sure you vacuum up all around the fireplace, Regards Frank.

[Redback]

Hi Redback,
I've got a combustion fireplace,had an open fireplace at my old place,prefer combustion tho,heats up better. :cool:

That's what we have too, a Conara combustion fire, the flue goes up inside of the chimney of the open (now dissused) fireplace.

Frank exactly what we did, vacuumed it all up with our Dyson;)

Baz.

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Be careful folks, that dust consists mainly of Formaldehyde and Creosote, both extreme Carcinogens, make sure you vacuum up all around the fireplace, Regards Frank.

If you go down the DIY path, in addition to the long term killers dangers that Frank pointed out, anything short of sealing the bottom of the chimney off with plastic and tape while cleaning will result in a certain and instant death inflicted by SWMBO when she sees the mess you have made... :eek:

You have been warned! :angel:

[BMKal]

If you go down the DIY path, in addition to the long term killers dangers that Frank pointed out, anything short of sealing the bottom of the chimney off with plastic and tape while cleaning will result in a certain and instant death inflicted by SWMBO when she sees the mess you have made... :eek:

You have been warned! :angel:

Wasn't exactly from cleaning the chimney .....................

but our place in Kalgoorlie originally had an open fire in the loungeroom with a brick arch at the top of the opening. I went out and purchased a rather large combustion heater to slot into the opening. I had measured the width and depth of the fireplace, and assumed that height would not be a problem, as it was a pretty high fireplace. Did not allow for the "arch" encroaching into the top of the opening as far as it did - and the new combustion heater wouldn't fit.

No problem - out to the shed to get the 9" angle grinder (as you do) and fitted a masonry disk into it. Marked up the two corners that I needed to cut out to fit the heater, and then cut through the bricks and masonry with the 9" grinder - took all of about 10 seconds per corner.

Hadn't considered where all the brick / masonry dust would end up, so no covers / vaccuum cleaner at the ready. Suffice to say that I would never consider cleaning out a chimney without drop sheets, a good seal around the fireplace and a decent vaccuum cleaner at the ready - I learnt my lesson the hard way. :p

[BMKal]

As for the best way to clean your chimney ......................

1. Fix long haired tabby in "tabby-tote" carrier (below).

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2041/yb5.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/yb5.png/)

2. Dip tabby in strong starch solution (to stiffen up "bristles").

3. Hang tabby, still in "tabby-tote" and allow to dry.

4. Once tabby is dry and all drop sheets / vaccuum cleaner etc in place, remove cap from top of chimney and feed tabby down the hole. :angel:

:wasntme:

[isuzurover]

Be careful folks, that dust consists mainly of Formaldehyde and Creosote, ...

Creosote yes, formaldehyde no (it is a gas, so not much will be able to adsorb onto the soot). However there are lots of other nasties, such as PAHs like benzo(a)pyrene, etc...

Chimney sweeps in England were one of the first links found between occupational exposures and cancer. However that was chimneys mainly burning coal. The most recent study was from sweden which found higher rates of lung cancer and heart disease in chimney sweeps.

[Tank]

Creosote yes, formaldehyde no (it is a gas, so not much will be able to adsorb onto the soot). However there are lots of other nasties, such as PAHs like benzo(a)pyrene, etc...

Chimney sweeps in England were one of the first links found between occupational exposures and cancer. However that was chimneys mainly burning coal. The most recent study was from sweden which found higher rates of lung cancer and heart disease in chimney sweeps.
Autopsy results shows Formaldahyde inside particles breathed into the lungs, esp. PM2.5 and smaller, Regards Frank.

[isuzurover]

Autopsy results shows Formaldahyde inside particles breathed into the lungs, esp. PM2.5 and smaller, Regards Frank.

Links???

I find it very hard to believe. We are not tralking about acute deaths here, so the particles won't usually be still there by autopsy time. And I am not sure what analysis method could identify formaldehyde "inside" particles...

[Tank]

Links???

I find it very hard to believe. We are not tralking about acute deaths here, so the particles won't usually be still there by autopsy time. And I am not sure what analysis method could identify formaldehyde "inside" particles...
Last time I went to the trouble of sending you info you didn't even respond, so if you don't believe do your own research, regards Frank.

[B.S.F.]

This is what I've been using for the last 20 years.An old wire wheel mounted on a length or two of dowel. I join them with a short piece of pipe and two split pins. .W.

[JamesB71]

I bought a round wire chimney sweeping brush from the hardware store in leura and it works like a rifle pull through. I use an old tomahawk head as the weight, drop it down the flue and pull it through from the firebox after I remove the fire bricks. Works a treat.

Either that, or drop a live chicken down the chimney. Apparently they do a good job as they flap all the way down.

[isuzurover]

Last time I went to the trouble of sending you info you didn't even respond, so if you don't believe do your own research, regards Frank.

I'm sorry Frank, which data did I not respond to???

As for doing my own search:


Your search found no records.

"autopsy AND formaldehyde AND pm2.5"

plus about 10 similar search strings. Which all reveal either no results of nothing remotely relevant


Could you be getting confused with formalin - which is commonly used as a tissue fixative (preservative).

[jimr1]

Hi , I know it's a bit off topic , but I would like to tell use about when I was a young Plumber in the UK. I used to install gas central heating . One house I worked on the boiler was to go in the old coal fireplace , so I blocked it up with the cardbord packing box , propped up . Then on to the double story roof to feed the 30ft stainless steel flue liner down the chimley . pushed it all the way down came off the roof , went into the lounge , and yes the carbord had fell over . There was soot every were , all over the lounge suite ,curtains wall every were . Thinking back I must have looked shocked /horiffied , at how I was going to explain this .Ah fond memorys ,jimr1:D:D

[Gillie]

Any comments on this product? Smart Burn: More Heat and Less Smoke From Your Wood Fire - Chimney Flue Cleaning | Wood Fire Glass Cleaning | Better Wood Fired Burning | Wood Smoke Reduction (http://www.smartburn.com.au/)
I don't think they make hiclones.

[Saitch]

We had our flue cleaned just before winter & the sweep said because of the timber we're burning we'll be good for 4-5 years without a clean. I also use a product called "Sootloose" which supposedly cleanses the flue. Oh, timber I burn is black wattle, ironbark & grey gum which we luckily have in varying stages of seasoning (i.e. dead) on the property.

[BMKal]

Any comments on this product? Smart Burn: More Heat and Less Smoke From Your Wood Fire - Chimney Flue Cleaning | Wood Fire Glass Cleaning | Better Wood Fired Burning | Wood Smoke Reduction (http://www.smartburn.com.au/)
I don't think they make hiclones.

Have tried it - works about as well as a hiclone. No noticeable difference in our fireplace at all. ;)

[Tank]

I'm sorry Frank, which data did I not respond to???

As for doing my own search:


Could you be getting confused with formalin - which is commonly used as a tissue fixative (preservative).
http://www.npi.gov.au/publications/pubs/factsheet-formaldehyde.pdf

[slug_burner]

I also advocate getting up on the roof and doing it yourself, particularly if you have a straight steel flue and a slow combustion heater. I got my flue brush from a shop that sold slow combustion heaters etc. It is like a big bottle brush, about 600 mm of bristles on a wire twisted stem that has interlocking loops at 1/2 the length so you can fold it in half, a wooden handle on the other end. All up about 4-5m long.

As previously mentioned if you burn good wood you will not have to do it very often.

I just clean the ash out of the firebox, remove the plate that stop the heat going straight up the flue, place a cardboard box inside the firebox, close the door to the firebox, run flue brush down the flue from the roof. Allow dust to settle, take cardboard box out of firebox, dispose of cardboard box and contents. I have never had a dusty/sooty deposit in the box. Early in my firewood burning days I got little deposits of a shinny brittle substance that was extending from the flue wall radially, as soon as I ran the brush it broke it all off and fell into the waiting box. I think this was creosote.

The main cause of build up in the flue I have found to be due to burning wood that has not been seasoned well enough. Wood with a high moisture content will not burn as hot as drier wood. A cool burn results in more creosote condensing in the flue. Don't be too stingy either, by closing the fire down too much this results in a poor burn with cooler smoke.

If you have a really hot fire on a regular basis any deposits will burn off the inside of the flue. If you let it go too long there will be a build up of creosote and carbon loaded soot substances that will burn out of control as a flue fire. If lucky you may choke it before it gets going otherwise the flue will glow, the top of the flue will spit sparks and you will s..t yourself and i8f really lucky the fire will eventually go out. If your not lucky, the flue will roar and glow and your roof timbers will catch fire and your house will burn down.

If your not confident enough to clean your flue or at least examine it, then make an annual appointment with a chimney sweep.

[isuzurover]

http://www.npi.gov.au/publications/pubs/factsheet-formaldehyde.pdf

Hi Frank, I cannot find anything in there that says:

Autopsy results shows Formaldahyde inside particles breathed into the lungs, esp. PM2.5 and smaller, Regards Frank.

I am not disagreeing that formaldehyde is a component of wood smoke.