How do you clean a heatolator insert's chimney

[deanbrown3d]

Ok I have bought a house, and I want to know if the chimney guy's that just inspected me are giving me good advice or just BS. Here's my details:

Teracoter 13x13" flue in a brick chimney in the middle of my house. There's a heatalator insert, that has a 4.5x13" damper, and three 4" heat transfer pipes above it to make it more efficient. They say they cannot clean it, but want to put in a stainless insert for $1500-1800, which would also require them to cut out these three tubes so as to get the insert up there.

I asked them if I could just keep it they way it is, and clean the chimney, and they said 'maybe', but the whole insert would have to come out so as to vacuum the ashes from around the back, assuming I swept from above. Is this BS or sound advice, and if its ok, what's involved with taking out the insert?

Thanks a whole lot!

Dean

[tom]

I've cleaned inserts, but not an expert, and we had to pull them out. Some flyash could sometimes just not make it up the chimney, and fall down, building up around the insert, or on the smoke shelf.

One way you could possilly avoid this insert remove to clean issue, but to run a flue straight up your chimney, and a proply sized cap/cover to block off anything falling back down the chimney. Now you should be able to leave the insert inplace for sweeping.

Hope I made sense, and even so, make sure you talk to a good sweep, don't know why the installers couldn't help you more, sorry.

later,

tom @

[deanbrown3d]

Ok thanks for the info, I will consider all the options.

I got it lit last night and it was wonderful!

Dean

[deanbrown3d]

Ok thanks for the info, I will consider all the options.

I got it lit last night and it was wonderful!

Dean