Chimney brush stuck up after sweeping.

beertons

No laughing please.

Got a Typhoon chimney set a while ago, took it out tonight to use. All going good, till what seemed like the last rod came out. There was definitely more going in.

Any idea as to how to get them out? The chimney has a flue, if that makes any difference.

10-10-20

Send the rods back up till you hit the remaining one and try blind-screw them back together, or foul-hook it using a bent wire-hanger?

The Continental Op

I've nearly been there and had a few near misses with brushes that wouldn't come out and lost drain rods a few times.

First a few questions. How big was the brush compared to the flue and is there anything capping the flue (chimney).

What has happened to me before is that the brush bristles bent backwards as I pushed them up but were too stiff and too long to easily reverse direction when I pulled down.

If that is the reason the brush is stuck then its easier to push them out in the opposite direction to the way the brush bristles are bending. Use a set of drain rods with either a hook on the end to pull the brush down or a plunger (much smaller than the flue diameter to push it out). Which is why I asked about whats at the top of the chimney as some of the fixed rain caps can stop you pushing anything out the top and can also sometimes trap the brush.

Jim_Hodge

They usually have a snap/click connection so it would not be a matter of screwing it back on. Run the rods up a few times and try to dislodge it. Get old fashioned rods and run them through. You can also try pushing it down from above if you can safely access the chimney top. Do you know how far up its stuck?

beertons

I'd rather not go up on the roof. No idea how far up they are, I reckon there's 2/3 rods up there too. There's a cowel up on top too. No idea how they came apart, it's an operation in itself to remove them. Google says light a small fire, I don't know if I want the plastic melting in the flue.

beertons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119686991#Comment_119686991

I like that idea. Wire hanger, sent up with old rods. I'll be back Monday with results.

The Continental Op

If its plastic bristles on the brush then a fire will probably melt them first. Still that would be a last resort.

Can you look outside with a torch (this time of night) and see if the brush is stuck in the cowl?

I have managed to reconnect disconnected drain rods once but I think I was just having a lucky day chance in a million in my opinion.

The Continental Op

I did make a my own rod retrieval tool a couple of times which does work in drains and might work vertically in a flue liner?

Take what ever cleaning rods you have and attach of loop of material on the end of the first rod using say a jubilee clip. The idea is you have a loop to try and lassoo the end of the stuck rod sections. Working vertically you will need material that is stiff enough so the loop makes a right angle with the rods.

You just shuv it up and keep turning it until you catch something, when you do you will wrap the loop around the lost rod an it will tighten up, keep turning the rods clockwise (always keep turning clockwise with drain/chimney rods) and pull the lost rod back down. If it doesn't work first time keep trying.

The Continental Op

Well OP have you got it out yet?

beertons

Brush was stuck up at the top of the chimney. I bought a hook and tried to get it down myself, no joy. Rang a chimney cleaned, he got it down in 10 mins. 40 quid.

Give you a good one. I wasn't home when he called, the wife was. She popped into him mid job, and he said to her, I'm not your husband, I work alone. You don't need to watch me. Very chauvinist, but funny. Job done and fire lit every night since.

standardg60

Lol ouch🙂

Know how he feels though OP, there's only one thing worse than being watched, and that's being helped!

cheif kaiser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119742256#Comment_119742256

I'm having the same issue. Is the guy that got it down for you located in Dublin or elsewhere? Thanks.

beertons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119814375#Comment_119814375

I got a local lad in Naas to do it.

cheif kaiser

A local chimney sweep?

I tried a local roofer as the brush is sitting on top of the chimney with 5 rods dangling down the chimney. Roofer wants €200 to retrieve 😕

The Continental Op

You can easily make up a tool for retrieving the rods. It might take you all day at it but it can be done. This is the classic tool thats used https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bailey-Universal-Retrieving-Tool/dp/B00DIE7PWQ/. It can aggressively hook into things so not ideal if the chimney/drain is not 100%. Chimneys are wider than most drains so can take longer to hook onto the lost rods. However its probably worth saying someone who has lost rods already may not have the right technique to fish them out again.

/Shouting intentional

YOU HAVE TO KEEP TURNING THE RODS CLOCKWISE

There is no way you can loose a rod if you do that.

You screw on a rod - you turn the rod clockwise and keep turning the rods clockwise

Push the rods - you turn the rods clockwise

You pull the rods - you turn the rods clockwise

You remove a rod - don't let the rods up the chimney or down the drain turn anticlockwise. After removing a rod turn turn the rods clockwise.

Only add or remove one rod at a time.

Another solution I've heard of to retrieve lost rods is to tape a funnel to the top of the rods you hope to fish it out with, it will feed the loose end of the stuck rods towards the extra rods and allow you to reattach hopefully.

cheif kaiser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119814612#Comment_119814612

Thanks for the suggestion. I did fashion a rod retriever similar to those online but it failed to catch the end of the rod. In the end, I turned it into a hook, shoved it out of the chimney, twisted it to catch onto the brush, and managed to drag it down. I bought a cheap inspection camera from Amazon to assist and this was a great help. Sounds simple but it was actually quite tough and needed a few tries to actually succeed. €25 for the camera was way better than €200 for a roofer :)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119824120#Comment_119824120

I did try this but after viewing it on camera, I could see the rod was actually broken so no hope of this working but thanks for the suggestion!

The Continental Op

Well done! I have to ask how long was it stuck out the chimney and did people stop in the street and point at it?

cheif kaiser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119840012#Comment_119840012

😁 It was stuck for about 2 weeks but no, no one could see it. The brush was resting on top of the chimney and 5 rods dangling down the chimney. I could only see it myself through Binoculars. Although, one of the days I was working on trying to retrieve it, I got tired and left the retrieval rods with torch and camera taped on, sticking about 2ft out and it looked like a star was hovering over the chimney. I'd say that got a few looks alright 😁

Redbullking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058265555/chimney-brush-stuck-up-after-sweeping

where you based that dosnt sound great id recommend you try feel about and try screwing them back in

beertons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843699#Comment_119843699

They don't screw, they click.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843844#Comment_119843844

Picture of the joins please. Those type of rods are normally much safer and are used simply because they don't unscrew.

chooseusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844011#Comment_119844011

Just Google "typhoon chimney set"

The Continental Op

Thanks, I see Amazon have it https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chimney-Typhoon-Power-Sweeping-Metre/dp/B0792DDWQP/ but not available to Ireland.

A couple of the bad reviews

I didn’t notice at the time but one of the buttons was binding in the location hole so wasn’t fully home. Result was I’ve got 6m of flue brush stuck up my flue cos it parted company as I was pulling it back down. I checked the offending pin and it wouldn’t seat properly in any of the remaining sections. Check all the pins fully locate before you use it!

What a disaster this purchase has turned out to be. Despite following instructions to the letter, gently inserting the rods up the chimney a section at a time and gently and slowly rotating the rods first by hand and then using the drill on low speed in short bursts...when removing the rods I discovered I'd lost not only the brush but also a whole rod. On close examination it appears that the connectors can be easily disconnected under minor twisting movement even though they are locked into place. So now I have to buy a rod retrieval tool and/or have a pro sweep it and retrieve it. When you consider this costs as much as one sweep visit, it's now turned out to be a pointless and expensive exercise. I can't rate how well it performed as although a large amount of soot came down, this was afterwards while I attempted to wiggle the remaining rods with a coat hanger attached to try and find and pull down the rest of the gadget stuck up the chimney! I don't recommend this product one bit.

Seems you aren't alone

amandstu

Glad to hear all is well that ended well but I feel I must say that this really is a particularly useful thread that could be adapted to many and various other tricky circumstances.

I vote that it be made into a stucky.

Perhaps some of our trickier mods might accommodate this request.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846200#Comment_119846200

Perhaps we should have a frequently asked questions thread that is stickied and a link to it there?

Should also include links to some of the drill threads.