Old timer told me to use a shop vac on a cold chimney, best tip I ever got

I was up on a roof in January near Buffalo, frozen hands, trying to brush out a heavy creosote glaze. A retire named Al who's been sweeping since the 70s said 'just stick a shop vac hose up there and let it run for 10 minutes before you brush.' I thought he was messing with me. Tried it on the next job, and the cold air pulled the loose flakes right down before I even touched a brush. Cut my time on that flue from 45 minutes to maybe 20. Has anyone else used cold air vacuum tricks for heavy buildup?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugoh5529d ago

Old timer was right about the shop vac, but cold air alone won't break up real glaze.

rubyk8627d agoMost Upvoted

People make it sound like you're dealing with 50 year old caked on grime in a commercial kitchen. Half the time "real glaze" is just a little baked on grease that a good degreaser and some elbow grease will knock right out. Cold air might not melt it off by magic, but it sure makes the crud brittle enough to chip away without a ton of effort. I've hit stuff with cold air and a plastic scraper and it came clean faster than hot air did. Unless you're literally scraping off carbon buildup from a pizza oven, a shop vac and patience work fine.