Old timer in Boise told me to trust the soot, not the schedule

Doing a routine annual sweep on a rental house near the river. Homeowner says they burn every weekend all winter. I get up top and the flue is barely dirty. I figured the guy was lying or burning kiln dried wood that was too clean. Then this retired sweep, must be 75, walks by and sees my truck. He comes over and asks why I'm scraping when there's nothing to scrape. I told him the schedule said sweep. He just points at the soot and says the flue tells you when it's ready, not the calendar. That stuck with me. We got to talking and he said he only swept when the buildup hit a quarter inch or more, and he never had a fire in 40 years. Now I'm second guessing how many clean-outs I've done that were pure waste. Anyone else run into old heads who work by feel instead of the book?

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seanlee23d ago

My grandpa changed oil by the dipstick, not the sticker. Same idea.