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Nearly wrecked a client's flue with a rotary cleaning attachment I'd never tested
I tried that spiral chain whip I saw on a YouTube demo - you know, the one that promises to scrape creosote in half the time - and it practically chewed up the terracotta liner on a 1920s house near downtown. Has anyone else had a tool they trusted turn out way more aggressive than expected?
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joel2803mo ago
Yeah, "designed for metal flues, not old clay liners" - that hits home. I had a similar thing happen with a paddle brush I bought online. The guy in the video was whipping it around in a metal pipe like it was nothing, so I figured it'd be fine for the clay liner on this 1930s place outside of town. Took one spin and it started kicking up chunks of clay everywhere. I ended up having to pull it back out and just use a standard brush for the whole job, which took twice as long. I mean, maybe it's just me but it feels like some of these tool makers don't test their stuff on anything but brand new pipe.
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thomas_johnson355mo ago
That "spiral chain whip" thing... yeah, it's not really meant for terracotta at all. Those are designed for metal flues, not old clay liners.
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tyler8225mo ago
Hold up did you check the mfg specs before you ran it or just trust the demo video? A lot of those "pro" tools have fine print saying terracotta is a no go because it crumbles way easier than steel. Seems like the real issue is who made that tool and what did they actually test it on before selling it?
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