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Tried a rotary brush on a heavy creosote job and it caught fire on me

Last winter I was cleaning a big wood stove flue in Rhode Island and my rotary brush started smoking halfway through the second pass. Turns out the heavy buildup was too much for it at full speed and I burned through the bristles in under 5 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with their brush overheating on thick creosote?
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2 Comments
milesbailey
Thing about heavy creosote is it literally bakes onto those hot spinning brushes and then you just make it worse.
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leo_fisher
leo_fisher1mo ago
That "literally bakes onto those hot spinning brushes" line hit me RIGHT in the gut. I tried cleaning my chimney once with one of those brush attachments on a drill and ended up with this STICKY black mess all over the walls. My brush looked like a tar monster from a horror movie after like 30 seconds. I just stood there with goo dripping down my arm thinking I was SO smart for skipping the pro and saving 80 bucks. Now I just call a guy every year and happily pay him to deal with it while I sit on the couch.
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