Old timer at the shop told me to skip the flex rod on a straight flue

I had a straight flue with heavy creosote buildup last week. A guy who's been sweeping for 30 years said just use your regular rods, a flex rod will just bind up and waste time. I went with it, but the rods kept catching on a slight lip about halfway down and I had to fight them for 20 extra minutes. A buddy who uses flex rods on the same type of flue says he's never had that problem. Has anyone else run into trouble taking advice from the old school crowd over newer gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellys781mo ago

Bet on the flex rods handling that lip way easier than the stiff ones did.

ninas671mo ago

30 years of sweeping and the guy still thinks flex rods are the devil, lol. I had a 1950s straight flue that looked like a chimney pipe but had a weird offset halfway down that my regular rods absolutely hated. Tried the old timer method and spent 45 minutes wrestling with them, scraping my knuckles on the cleanout door. Switched to a flex rod set and it was done in 10 minutes flat. Old school is great for stories and a good cup of coffee, but sometimes newer gear just works better. That lip you hit? Flex rods would have glided right over it.