My new brush head snapped clean off inside a flue yesterday

It was a poly brush on a fiberglass rod, and the whole thing just gave way about 15 feet up a brick chimney in a 1920s house. I had to fish the pieces out with a magnet and a hook, which took almost an hour. What's the most reliable rod and brush combo you guys use for old, tight flues?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant_martinez512mo ago

My 1948 cottage flue ate a cheap poly brush just like that last fall. I switched to a steel brush on a solid steel rod and it's been bulletproof since. That extra weight makes all the difference.

xena6422mo ago

Actually, the weight isn't the main thing, it's the stiffness of the rod. A floppy plastic rod lets the brush fold over in a tight bend or offset. A solid steel rod pushes the bristles straight into the creosote. My buddy used a heavy brush on a fiberglass sectional rod and it still jammed up in his old chimney's elbow.

umab8622d ago

Can't believe it snapped 15 feet up, that's a nightmare scenario to fish out. @grant_martinez51 made the right call with steel on steel, that extra stiffness keeps the brush from crumpling in tight spots. Poly rods just can't handle the pressure in those old tight flues.