Expert: James Ball - 10/13/2008

Question
I have been heating with wood and cleaning my own chimney(8" round metal) for 30 years.  I am thinking of buying a Viper.  I hope this will keep me off the roof in the snowy part of winter.  I think I could use the Viper from inside the house and clean  from bottom to top instead of standing on the roof and using my old segmented rods to clean from the top to the bottom.  

I assume the Viper poly brush is the way to go and I should let the fire die out to let the chimney cool.  I am not sure how to handle the soot if the stove doors are open while I'm cleaning.  Maybe the shop vac rigged up near the door to capture loose ash/soot.  

Any thoughts?  They are quite spendy(about $500) and I don't want to buy one without asking a few questions.

Thanks for your time.
jh

Answer
Hello John, I have looked in to the Viper for my self but did not feel it would work well for me (other sweeps swear by them) I use "poly pro rods" They are very flexible, make sure you get the adapter to mate to your brush.
if you run a shop vac and wear a "organic vapor" dust mask and set up drop cloths you should be good.
if you can run the brush up with out removing the stove but through it should be easier.
assuming the stove and liner are both properly installed.
Hope this helped
James Ball