"Peace Of Mind" Chimney Sweep

"Peace Of Mind" Chimney Sweep BUILDINGS Houses 26-2-15 "My best buy is something I invented, patented and installed on my own house 16 years ago. After all those years of flawless performance, we recently checked it out and it was still in good condition," says C.F. Marley, Nokomis, Ill., about the "automatic" chimney sweep that mounts at the top of the flue pipe on his house. Marley "sweeps" his chimney every few weeks during the winter using a cable from the ground. A weight hangs below a stainless steel brush housed inside a housing about a foot above the chimney. The weight pulls the brush down through the chimney, sweeping away creosote buildup with just a few strokes. When he's done, he just pulls the brush back up to the top. "After I came up with the idea, we put the sweep on the market for a while in the 1980's but cut it short because of all the hassles of marketing. "One great thing about this system is that you can use it when a fire's burning. In fact, it seems to work better then." Anyone is welcome to build their own. Here's how you do it: • Cut a disk of stainless steel. • Bend flat stainless steel rods to use for legs and to hold the gooseneck pipe on top. • Gooseneck pipe, through which cable runs, is fastened to the top disc by stainless steel bolts. • Guy wires are installed opposite the pull as a precaution against pulling the device over as you pull on the cable. • Hang the brush and weight from the end of a piece of cable long enough to reach the ground. You can buy the brush at chimney sweep supply stores. Contact: C.F. Marley, DWV, Box 93, Nokomis, Ill. 62075 (ph 217 563-2588).

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