Ruff for cleaning the chimney from a metal brush. Homemade brush for cleaning the chimney. Main materials of manufacture and characteristics

Owners of fireplaces, stoves and other structures of this type are probably satisfied with their position. This is not surprising. If a fireplace burns in the house, then the feeling of comfort and coziness immediately increases.

Near it, the whole family often gathers to relax, exchange news or just chat. In addition, the very sight of the fire is seriously calming.

But the presence of a fireplace or stove in the house also imposes some responsibility on the owner. For flue pipes or conventional chimneys it tends to get stuck from time to time. If you ignore the requirements for regular cleaning of chimney pipes, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise.

As for the direct cleaning, then, in fact, everything is very simple and clear. Professionals recommend that beginners use the brush in two ways:

Traditional, when the brush is manipulated with a cable.
As a punching element.

In the first case, we are talking about the process of cleaning by conventional methods, when the brush is lowered inside the pipe on the wire, then manipulating it, the insides of the pipes are cleaned.

In the second case, the main work is done by the kernel. It serves as a weighting agent. The brush is simply thrown several times into the pipe.

Let's consider each method in more detail.

Normal cleaning

The standard procedure is to use a brush along with a cable or tube.

Stages of work:

Preparing the instrument.
We are fixed on the roof. We close all exits.
We lower the brush inside the chimney.
We clean the entire pipe or specific sections.
If necessary, repeat the procedure.
We remove the remnants of layers from the fireplace (they will all fall down).

Nothing complicated or incomprehensible. However, there are several nuances.

It is very important to close all outlets from the fireplace or stove. Only the pipe itself should remain open. This requirement should not be ignored.

The cleaning process itself is quite simple. The brush is lowered to the desired depth, and then moved up and down several dozen times. If the blockage is broken, we move on. If not, then you need to work again.

The same method is used complete cleaning pipes. A brush to remove most of the layers along its entire length. And more is not required of him.

In the case of the formation of large layers, it is more convenient to use a brush with a rod base. It is already reasonable to apply force here and the blockage will surely succumb.

In some situations, a small weighting agent weighing several kilograms is hung on the ruff. It creates a counter force, which is often necessary when removing solid sediment.

Ruff with a weight for cleaning pipes (video)

Weighted cleaning

More interesting option. Here you need to use the ruff as a natural core. A weighting agent is hung on its lower hook. Its weight can be any, it is desirable to calculate the mass depending on the complexity of cleaning.

Then the ruff is lowered inside the chimney and thrown. In free fall, it cleans the edges of the pipe and breaks through the blockage.

If the tool does not work for the first time, it is lifted by the cable and try again. And so on, until the result is achieved.

This method is effective due to the greater application of force and the possibility of fairly fine control of the ruff, with minimal cost time and effort.

Living in a private home means having necessary tools, which should be at hand at any time to carry out repair work. Especially when it comes to such an issue as the removal of exhaust gases during stove or gas heating.

Causes of clogged chimneys

The main cause of clogging is the deposition of soot and soot on the inner walls of the pipe. Soot is formed from combustion products - waste flue gases. As a result, traction becomes weaker, exhaust ventilation starts to work poorly, combustion products are not removed to the street, but remain indoors, which can lead to poisoning of the body.

Untimely care of the chimney can lead not only to its complete clogging, but also to the failure of the home smoke exhaust system.

To avoid this, it is recommended to clean the chimney at least once every six months - and this applies not only furnace heating, but also country houses with a fireplace inside. Cleaning can be entrusted to professionals, or you can try to remove soot on your own. To do this, you need the most ordinary brush for cleaning chimneys, which you can make yourself.

How is ruff used

Its function is to scrape off soot build-up from the walls of the chimney. The principle of operation of any brush is quite simple: the scraper is pushed into the chimney, then deposits are scraped off with it - combustion products are swept down to the hatch to collect pollution.

At cleaning works on the roof you need to use insurance

The simplest stove brush is a construction of a cable (or rod), brushes and a suspension (or load). The suspension is required only in cases where vertical cleaning of pipes is implied - to adjust the gravity of the cleaning element. For work in a horizontal position, the suspension sinker can not be used.

A long rod with bristles at the end is simplest design brush

The technology for using a brush in general terms is as follows:

As weights, you can use ordinary weights that have compact dimensions and sufficient weight for cleaning.

Ruff materials

Cleaning brushes can be made of steel or plastic, and you can make both of them with your own hands.

Table: advantages and disadvantages of metal and plastic brushes

None of the materials can be used simultaneously for vertical and horizontal way sediment cleaning. Therefore, experts recommend using both metal and plastic brushes for both methods, respectively.

Making your own chimney brush

Two options are being considered: from metal ( metal bar) and plastic, each of which has its own nuances.

Made of plastic

The set of necessary tools and materials includes:

steel cable (the length of which must be greater than the length of the chimney);
pair plastic bottles with lids from 1 to 2 l;
steel wire with a cross section of 1–2 mm;
load - it is recommended to pick up a load of such a mass that would easily pass into the chimney hole, being suspended from the cable.

Manufacturing technology

Remove the bottom from plastic bottles.
Cut the walls of the bottles vertically to the neck from the bottom into strips like Chinese lanterns. The width of one strip is 3–5 mm.
Punch a hole in the covers, the size is the same as the diameter of the cable.
String the resulting caps with holes on the cable, screw the bottles cut into slices to them. The cut bottles are inserted into one another with caps in one direction, blossoming in the manner of a hedgehog. For reliable fastening of a homemade brush, the lid is fixed with a bottom with a self-tapping screw.
The free end of the cable can be attached to a large handle - one that will be convenient to operate in the chimney.

Step-by-step images will help you make a light brush for cleaning the chimney yourself; the brush is attached not to the covers, but to the wire

The tool is ready, now you can start the cleaning procedure.

metal

Some owners of private houses use disc brushes for grinders as a cleaning tool. This method is much simpler - you do not need to make the brush itself, you only need to secure the load well on the cable.

However, this option is not suitable for those who use the grinder constantly. In this case, you can try to make a metal ruff yourself.

For him you will need:

coil of steel wire;
a large bolt for the rod and a washer for fixing the brush;
pliers.

Manufacturing technology

Making a metal brush is even easier than a plastic one, and is as follows:

First, a coil of wire is taken, unwound (or unclenched) into separate threads.
The coiled wire is cut into equal pieces
Steel threads are cut into equal segments. The length of one segment should be such that the future brush crawls into the chimney hole.
For good cleaning, it is required that the brush occupies at least 80% of the internal volume of the chimney
The wire is wound onto a bolt, fixed with washers. Wire segments are wound almost along the entire length of the bolt.
The open end of the bolt is designed to secure the cable of the required length to it.

When manufacturing, it is desirable to take into account the following points:

It will be better if several brushes are used to clean the chimney. So, the average diameter should be 80-120% of the inner diameter of the chimney. In the first case, it will be convenient to use a brush to break through thick layers of growths and deposits, in the second case, to scrape off small contaminants.
The size of the load can lie in the range of 0.3 - 0.35 of the diameter of the chimney. This value is average, loads with such a diameter are well suited for both punching and cleaning operations.
The length of the cable should be 10-15% longer than the length of the chimney. This is necessary so that in case of penetration of solid deposits on the pipe walls, the cable passes to the hatch, collecting all the pollution in its path.

Video: how to quickly make a chimney brush with your own hands

A chimney brush is an essential tool in every home. With its help, the condition of the walls of the chimney pipe is significantly improved, and this automatically increases the draft for the removal of exhaust gases. Do-it-yourself brushes are in no way inferior to store-bought ones - it is important to follow the recommendations in manufacturing technology in order to get a solid material that will last for many years.

When raw firewood and household waste are burned in the oven, a large amount of soot is released, which. Because of this, traction decreases and the intensity of fuel combustion decreases. The result of this phenomenon can be poisoning of people carbon monoxide, which ceases to be removed from the premises. A chimney brush can solve the draft problem. This device is considered the most effective means to eliminate such problems. Consider what it is, device, varieties, advantages and disadvantages.

Boilers and stoves are installed in almost all private houses and cottages, baths and garages. As a rule, firewood or coal is used for their firebox. But, quite often, foci are used to dispose of old tires, household items and construction debris. These items emit thick smoke, which settles in the form of solid particles on the inner walls. exhaust pipe. Gradually thickening, soot completely blocks the exhaust channel.

In addition, chimneys become clogged for the following reasons:

falling branches, leaves, small animals and bird nests;
partial or complete destruction channel due to wear or improper assembly;
, which, upon contact with combustion products, forms a viscous and sticky substance.

Signs of clogging of the chimney are the fallout of soot fragments into the furnace during boiler cleaning, poor combustion of fuel with an open blower, bad traction and strong soot when burning fuel.

How to clean a chimney

In order to clean the pipe coming from the boiler, stove and fireplace, there are many ways and means.

They fall into the following categories:

Thermal. The essence of this method is to eliminate the blockage high temperature. An object is placed in the furnace or directly into the chimney that emits intense heat during combustion. Good results are given by termite checkers, anthracite and aspen firewood. Manually carbon deposits are burned out with a gas burner.
Chemical. They are available in the form of tablets, granules and powders. Means are stacked on smoldering coals. Under the influence of heat, ingredients are released that turn soot into dust, which completely crumbles into the firebox within a few days.
Mechanical. Scrapers, brooms and brushes are used to remove blockages. Foreign objects are removed with a hook or crowbar. As an auxiliary tool, flexible garden hoses, choppers, logs and weights on a rope, poles and telescopic fishing rods, and other improvised means are used.

There are also folk remedies for cleaning chimneys. Carbon deposits are removed by burning in a firebox potato peelings, watering it with water, immersing compacted snow in a heated pipe.

Advantages and disadvantages of a brush

The most difficult thing is to remove soot, which filled almost the entire volume of the channel. In addition, the length of the chimney also plays a role. In some buildings, it can be ten meters or more. It is simply impossible to work with poles of this length.

The wire brush has the following advantages:

light and compact, easy to carry and transport;
no restrictions on the height of the pipe, the shape and size of the section;
the ability to adjust the weight of the load and, accordingly, the applied force.

The disadvantages of this device include its inability to break through solid blockages, remove condensate and remove foreign objects.

How the ruff works

The brush for cleaning chimney pipes consists of the following parts:

Head. It is a rigid pile fixed at the base, made of metal or plastic.
Weighting agent. It is made in the form of a ball or cylinder, from iron or lead.
Cable. It is the basis for fastening all parts. Made from iron or synthetic fiber.
Hook. Located on a cable between the head and the load.
Tubes. They are mounted on a cable, designed to create a dynamic force when pushing the ruff down.
Replaceable nozzles. Performed in the form of peaks or gaffs. Designed for breaking through obstacles and extracting dense objects.

To clean pipes of certain shapes, ruffs with different parameters are used.

Types of ruffs

The choice of these devices is made according to the following criteria:

Diameter. It can be small (up to 100 mm), medium (100-250 mm) and large (more than 250 mm).
Manufacturing material. They make heads from copper, iron and polymer plastic.
The form. Round, polygonal, oval, square.
Rope type. The working part is attached to a rope, plug-in tubes or a cable located inside the tubes.

You should also pay attention to the weight of the sinker. It varies between 5-20 kg.

Make your own or buy

This question invariably arises before the owners of real estate heated by coal or wood. If you have the skills to handle household tools making a brush will not be difficult.

But, for this you will need to spend time, which everyone is sorely lacking. It is much easier to purchase a finished product of factory production. Fortunately, today retail a wide range of similar products is presented, and their price is quite loyal.

When buying appliances for cleaning the chimney, you should not focus on their cost. A cheap purchase may not be effective and will lie in the pantry for years.

The following factors need to be taken into account:

can be processed with any material;
for cleaning ceramic pipes, only a plastic ruff is allowed;
steel chimneys can be cleaned with copper or brass bristle heads;

It is better to purchase a load with two eyes so that you can tie a rope to it and pull it down in case of a jam.

The most popular are ruffs from such manufacturers:

PCC (Poland) - plastic and metal, 120-400 mm in diameter;
Hansa (Lithuania) - universal 150-400 mm;
Chimney sweep (Russia) - set with replaceable nozzles.

Making a ruff with your own hands

This is a creative and interesting event that you can do in your free time on personal plot time or during the off-season. Before you start work, you need to prepare everything that is needed for this.

Necessary materials and tools

To make a chimney brush with your own hands, you will need:

hacksaw or grinder;
pliers;
wrench;
steel washers;
hard wire;
hairpins;
bolts and nuts;

If there is a cleaning ceramic pipe, you will need scissors to cut plastic bottles.

Drawing and diagrams

To make the brush comfortable, durable and functional, its design must be well thought out. The plan should be based on a scale drawing of the chimney. Based on the available data, diagrams of individual ruff nodes and the entire product as a whole are drawn up.

On paper, the following details are displayed in detail:

the shape and size of the cargo;
carabiner for its fastening;
head device;
loop for carabiner;
rope configuration.

After checking the schemes, final calculations are carried out.

Size calculation

Help for the manufacture of the project ruff for cleaning furnace chimney table will be:

How to make a ruff

Let us dwell on how a ruff is made from plastic bottles.

We take 5-6 containers of the same size, remove the lids from them and cut off the bottom at the same distance.
We cut with scissors strips 4-5 mm wide from the lower parts to the necks.
We join together the resulting blanks. We fix them with wide washers, a nut and a bolt with a hat made in the form of a loop.
We make a weighting agent from an iron can, lead and a thick steel pond. Attach a strong carabiner to the ring.
We string thin steel or aluminum tubes 80-100 cm long. Cable with an adapter with internal thread screw on the head.

The chimney brush is ready.

Making video

Common mistakes and problems when making a brush

The main difficulty in the manufacture of ruff is the search for suitable material. The most difficult thing is to make the head of the fixture. At this stage, precision and considerable effort are required.

Most masters make the following mistakes:

Short cable length. As a result, the ruff does not reach the end of the pipe. As a result, the most inaccessible area near the firebox remains clogged.
Weak wire tightening between washers. This leads to the destruction of the homemade ruff in the process of cleaning the chimney.
Pole or plugs of insufficient strength. When loaded, these parts bend, not providing brush advancement. In the worst case, the handle breaks, and its fragments get stuck in the pipe.
Selecting a cleaning material that does not match the inside of the chimney. So, a metal-worker can hopelessly ruin ceramics.
The head width does not match the channel parameters. The head either does not pass into it, or does not reach the walls.

Rules for cleaning the chimney with a ruff

Since access to the pipe is possible only from the roof, it is necessary to pay Special attention security measures. The worker must use a safety line, it is advisable to set up a temporary barrier.

Close the firebox and blower tightly before cleaning.
Check tool for correct operation. Test all details for durability.
After passing each meter of the pipe, remove the crumbling soot from the furnace.
At the end of the passage of the pipe with a hard brush, change it to a soft one for the final polishing of its walls.

Professional chimney sweepers know the secrets of fast and high-quality removal of blockages of any complexity.

A chimney brush is a tool with a long handle, a working element with metal or polymer bristles and an addition in the form of a load. For manufacturing, a minimum of time and physical investments is required, as a result, a universal design is obtained for high-quality maintenance of the chimney system.

The clogging of the chimney duct is caused by a number of reasons:

Soot accumulates due to the deposition of solid particles of combustion products on the inner surface of the mine.
Condensation is formed, the cause of which is the lack of proper thermal insulation of the chimney, and therefore the effect of soot and soot sticking is enhanced.
Low quality fuel is used. For example, prolonged burning of damp firewood leads to intense clogging of the chimney system.
Resinous fuel resources are used - firewood, lumber and briquettes from spruce, fir, pine.
Waste is burned in the furnace high content hydrocarbons in the form of household waste from polymers - plastic bottles, polyethylene, rubber products.
The heat generator is operated in an incorrect mode, fuel loading is carried out in violation of the rules, the ash pan is rarely cleaned.

Another one possible reason chimney clogging is hidden in the design of the heater, the essence of which is errors in the construction or installation of the heat generator, or the wrong structure of the chimney.

Clogging the smoke line is fraught with negative consequences:

the run is clogged to remove the gas-containing flow, traction deteriorates;
the energy efficiency of the heat generator is reduced, which is associated with insufficient traction force;
the presence of significant accumulations of soot contributes to the formation reverse thrust and carbon monoxide can seep into the room.

The most dangerous situation is when the soot in the chimney ignites with the formation of a large number of sparks, this can provoke a fire in the roof or neighboring buildings. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to remove carbon deposits and soot in the gas outlet channel in a timely manner using chemical compositions or homemade devices for mechanical cleaning chimney.

Features of mechanical cleaning of the chimney from soot using a ruff

Before starting work, perform the preparatory stage:

close the blower, the firebox door, cleaning hatches;
all the above points are equipped with an elementary filter in the form of a dense wet cloth;
fully open all valves and views of the furnace.

The vertical part of the chimney is treated with a ruff with a core to weight the tool. The structure is equipped with a long cable or a rope, rope or strong cord is used. It is recommended to choose a rope option 2-3 m longer than the height of the pipe in order to secure the outer end to the base of the shaft, otherwise there is a risk of dropping the device into the channel due to the gravity of the core.

To clean the vertical section of the chimney, the device is lowered down the channel, pushing and rotating the rope in different directions. After the structure with the load and the brush is at the bottom of the shaft, they lift it back, making the same movements with the help of a rope. If the tool does not pass due to dense deposits of soot in a certain area, the cable is lifted and sharply lowered into the pipe to break through the blockage.

Cleaning of the horizontal channels of the flue is carried out using a brush with a rigid handle. Most often, the device is equipped with a solid or type-setting rod, the length of which is selected in accordance with the parameters of the processed plane. Since the rotary chimney units provide for special doors, moving along them, it is easy to clean all horizontal sections. In the absence of rotary openings, a brush with a cable is used. Performing circular-rotational movements, the structure is pushed into the depth of the channel and back.

How to make a ruff yourself

Although a chimney brush is not a scarce product in Moscow and other regions of the country, most owners of private houses prefer to make this device with their own hands.

A homemade ruff for cleaning chimney pipes is performed taking into account the specifics of the application. For maintenance of metal and asbestos-cement smoke channels, a brush with a polymer brush should be made. To clean a brick chimney shaft clogged with years of soot, you need to make a solid device from metal raw materials.

Steel wire options

To make a do-it-yourself chimney brush, you need the following materials and tools:

a coil of spring steel wire with a cross section of 1-2 mm or a piece steel cable diameter up to 10 mm;
threaded stud - 60-80 mm long, 1 pc.;
washers for the bolt - d50 mm, 2 pcs.;
nuts - 2 pcs. ordinary, 2 pcs. cap with a ring;
a hammer;
pliers;
chisel;
wrench 14.

Sequence of work:

Cut the wire taking into account the cross section of the chimney. In the case of a cable, blanks are made 10% less than the diameter of the pipe.
At the center point of each element, the fibers are pulled apart to make a hole and placed on a hairpin. The wire is simply wrapped around the rod.
The stud is equipped with steel nuts with washers, clamping the structural elements.

For greater strength, flexible elements can be fixed by welding.

When deciding how to make a chimney brush with your own hands, you can choose another version of the product in the form of a spiral brush. In this case, you will need a lathe or a homemade rigid structure to tension the rod. For the manufacture of bristles, steel wire d1-2 mm or a cable is suitable, and a twisted rod is made of steel wire with a cross section of 6 mm.

Steps for making a spiral brush:

The required number of blanks of the required length are made from the cable.
Steel wire d6 mm is folded in half, one end of which is welded, and a loop is twisted on the other.
The design is fixed in the machine. It is necessary to pull the rod well between the chuck and the tailstock and give correct position his veins.
Next, workpieces are placed in the gap between the veins, evenly distributing them along the entire length of the stretched rod, and fixed with hot glue.

When the spindle rotates, the rod twists into a spiral, firmly clamping the wire bristles between the wires.

How to make a homemade ruff from a plastic broom

This will require the following materials and tools:

kapron broom, cord;
hairpin - up to 10 mm;
washers - d5 cm 2 pcs.;
nuts - 2 pcs., one of them with a ring.

They remove the broom from the handle, unbend the bristles on the sides, fix the position of the product, heating it with a hairdryer. Make a hole in the center of the broom holder with a drill or a red-hot nail, thread a hairpin, fix it on both sides with nuts and washers.

Plastic bottle brush

It is necessary to prepare:

plastic bottles with a volume of 1.5-3 liters;
cable, metal wire d2 mm;
knife, scissors.

Cut off the top of one bottle, this will be the base of the polymer brush. Remove from several containers bottom part, the body is cut into strips vertically to the neck. The blanks are placed on the base, the strips are fixed in several bundles with a wire. The base is fixed to the cable.

The nuances of using ruffs

To clean the horizontal cavities of the chimney, the ruff is equipped with a long rod. A device with metal bristles is recommended to be used to remove soot and soot in vertical pipes. If you have to work on the processing of horizontal or inclined channels, you should take into service a brush with a polymer brush.

Working for solid fuel Stoves and fireplaces are just as popular heat sources as they were hundreds of years ago. Someone likes a live fire and the crackling of burning logs, others are tempted by the use of cheap fuel, and still others are simply forced to heat the house with wood due to the lack of alternatives. Unfortunately, smoke channels even the most technologically advanced furnaces and boilers are quickly overgrown with soot, due to which traction disappears and there is a danger of suffocation with carbon monoxide. For the category of people who do everything with their own hands, we offer to make a chimney brush. With it, you can easily and quickly remove soot from all internal channels of the furnace.

Why stove channels get clogged and how they can be cleaned

The need for cleaning chimneys and internal solid fuel gas ducts heating units(boilers, fireplaces, stoves and various bourgeois) has both objective and subjective reasons. The first ones are connected with the fact that any smoke consists of a gaseous part and the smallest particles of carbon that did not have time to oxidize during the combustion process. Most of them leave the chimney, flying out into the atmosphere, but the part that has the largest weight and electric charge settles in the chimney channels. The situation is further aggravated due to water vapor and creosote, which moisten the walls of the flue and thereby contribute to the adherence of soot. These deposits reduce the cross section of the chimney, due to which the draft decreases, which means that the efficiency of the furnace decreases and fuel consumption increases. But the main danger lies in the fact that the further use of the heater becomes unsafe.

The accumulation of soot in the chimney not only impairs draft, but can also cause a fire.

Subjective reasons include:

burning low-quality coal and raw firewood;
furnace firebox with high carbon waste (plastic, rubber, etc.);
incorrectly selected operating mode of the heater;
mistakes made during the construction of the furnace or chimney.

After analyzing the factors that cause soot to build up in the chimney, you will see that the situation can only be partially improved by reducing the amount of particulate matter in the smoke. Nevertheless, the chimney will have to be cleaned sooner or later.

You can do this in two ways:

mechanical,
chemical.

The first involves the removal of soot and soot using various devices- scrapers, spatulas, brushes, etc. Using such tools in the chimney and gas ducts, one can very successfully scrape soot from the walls, rake it in heaps and dispose of it.

For cleaning the chimney mechanically A variety of hard-bristled brushes work best.

Chemical soot removal consists in the fact that a product with a complex chemical composition is burned in the furnace of the furnace. The substances released during its combustion interact with the most persistent deposits, due to which they soften, exfoliate from the walls of the channels and burn out. As practice shows, chemical compounds are a fairly effective tool in the fight against soot, but due to the relatively high cost, they are used much less frequently than scrapers, brooms and brooms.

Special chemistries make it easy to remove soot, but really effective products are too expensive.

Features of mechanical cleaning of the chimney from soot using a ruff

A metal or plastic brush is recognized leader among the tools of any homegrown chimney sweep. Simultaneously playing the role of a scraper and a brush, the ruff not only destroys the hardest layers, but also in literally words sweep them from the walls of the chimney.

A chimney brush is a brush made of metal or nylon bristles wound around a twisted wire rod. The fixture most often has a round shape, but you can also find rectangular samples designed for Maintenance brick chimneys.

Depending on which channels you want to clean, the ruff is equipped with a long cable (you can use a strong cord) or a rigid handle. In the first case, a core weighing 2–3 kg is used to weight the device. With it, you can not only lower a stiff brush into the chimney, but also break through the strongest blockage. To clean horizontal gas ducts, a rod is attached to the ruff. It must correspond to the size of the longest channel and can be type-setting or solid.

Before you start cleaning the chimney, it is necessary not only to close the blower, furnace and cleaning doors, but also to curtain them with a simple filter made of dense, damp cloth. Soot has an extremely fine fraction and can easily penetrate into the smallest cracks. It is possible that without protective measures, all things in the house will be under a layer of soot and soot. Furnace valves and views, on the contrary, should be fully opened.

For cleaning the vertical part of the chimney, a ruff with a weighting agent attached to the cable is best suited. The tool is inserted into the pipe and pushed down while simultaneously rotating the cable in both directions. After the brush reaches the bottom, it is raised in exactly the same way. This is best done with a partner, instructing him to rotate the cable, while you make translational movements in the vertical direction with the tool.

Brush design with weighting agent for cleaning vertical channels

If in any place the cable does not pass due to a continuous blockage, then do not rush to throw a core equipped with a brush from a height. Be sure to find out if this is due to a bend in the gas duct or a slightly covered valve. And only after making sure that the load will not damage the structure, tie a nylon cord to it and sharply lower it into the pipe.

The cleaning procedure is repeated until the soot stops falling from the vertical channel. In order not to miss this moment, it is necessary to periodically open the cleaning door and remove the accumulated soot with a scoop and whisk.

Furnaces with flue complex configuration and horizontal sections of the chimney are cleaned with a ruff attached to a rigid handle. It is best to use a collapsible rod - this will allow you to change the length of the tool. Most often, the places where the gas duct turns 90 ° are equipped with special doors. Moving from one such opening to another, you can quickly clean the entire flue. If the furnace was built “anyhow” and such openings are not provided for by its design, then a cable will become your assistant here. Wielding them like plumbing tool, the ruff is advanced deep into the canal and back. After several such passages, it is necessary to remove the soot from the furnace and check the draft with a set fire to the newspaper.

In order to clean the oven from the inside, a long handle is attached to the ruff

Instructions for making a ruff with your own hands

Although a chimney brush is not some kind of scarce tool, it is much easier to make it yourself than to look in trading network. Moreover, in this case, the device can be made literally “for yourself”, taking into account the size and characteristics of a particular chimney. Another plus homemade device in that it will be completely free, because all the components for making a ruff are literally under your feet. Here is just a partial list of materials that can be used to make it:

plumbing cable, synthetic cord or metal chain;
steel wire;
nylon broom or lawn mower line;
plastic bottles;
long bolts and nuts;
springs.

When choosing a material for a brush, do not forget to consider the condition of the chimney. To remove persistent perennial soot deposits on the walls brick channels A brush with metal bristles is best. If you want to clean a metal chimney, then a synthetic broom or plastic bottles are used to make the tool.

Steel wire brushes

Craftsmen came up with several types of metal ruffs, differing in both design and manufacturing method. We offer you instructions for making the most interesting models.

Construction No. 1

For the manufacture of a metal ruff, you need a wire with a diameter of 1-2 mm from spring steel. If you didn’t find one, then you can use a piece of steel cable with a diameter of not more than 10 mm.

To make a metal ruff, you need a thin steel wire

You must also prepare:

hairpin 60–80 mm long with M8 thread;
two washers Ø50 mm for M8 bolt;
nuts - 2 ordinary M8 and 2 cap nuts with eyes.

None special tool will not need. It is enough to have a hammer, chisel, pliers and open-end wrenches "for 13" or "for 14".

Instructions for the progress of work:

Measure the section of the chimney and cut required amount wire bristles. Their length must exactly match the diameter of the chimney. If a steel cable will be used, then chop it into segments with a hammer and chisel, and then disassemble it into its individual components. In this case, the length of the bars should be 5–10% less than the inner diameter of the chimney.
The size of each piece of steel cable must correspond to the diameter of the chimney
Each flexible element has a center. In the marked place, the fibers are moved apart and a hole is made. After that, the segments of the cable are strung on a hairpin. If wire is used, each bristle is wrapped around a central shaft.
When assembling the brush, individual bristles are strung on a threaded rod
The flexible elements are evenly distributed around the circumference and clamped on the stud with steel nuts and washers - the ruff is ready.
Flexible elements are clamped between two nuts and additionally fixed by welding

The excess threaded part should be cut off, leaving room for the lug locknuts. If there were none, then metal rings can be welded to the ends of the central rod. They will be needed to secure the cable on one side and the load on the other.

As the author of this article, I want to recommend you the optimal proportions of the tool for cleaning vertical channels solid fuel stoves. Having made more than one device, I came to the conclusion that the size of the ruff should be chosen depending on the stiffness of the bristles. For brushes made of metal wire, it should not exceed 0.8 of the pipe diameter, while plastic fixtures performed best with a 10% margin in width. The diameter of the load must be no more than a third of the cross section of the chimney, and its weight must not exceed 3 kg. As for the size of the retaining cable or cord, I made it 2-3 m longer than the chimney. While working, your humble servant has repeatedly dropped the tool to the very bottom, but always got it from the depths by the end of the rope, which remained on top.

Construction No. 2

Another way to make a brush that cannot be distinguished from the factory one involves the use lathe. If there is none in your garage, then it is quite possible to do without it. True, in this case you have to use a rough male power and build a rigid structure for tensioning the central rod.

To make a spiral brush, we need two types of wire - steel Ø 1–2 mm for making bristles and steel Ø 6 mm - as a twisted rod. As in the previous case, flexible elements can be made from a thin cable.

To make the steel wire more pliable and prevent it from being damaged by twisting, the material should be annealed. The best way to do this is with a muffle furnace. In the absence of such equipment, you can use blowtorch. The wire must be wound into the most compact coil, heated red-hot and slowly cooled.

The work is carried out in stages:

The cable is cut into segments of the required length and separated, getting a lot of twisted bristles.
Flexible elements of the ruff are made from pieces of steel cable
A thick steel wire must be folded in half and an eye made on one side, and welded on the other.
The central rod of the future brush is a double-folded wire with a loop at one end.
Using a strong metal hook, the dual structure is rigidly fixed in the machine. Be sure to check that the rod is well stretched between the cartridge and the tailstock, and the gap between its cores is located in a vertical plane.
When fastening the rod in the machine, it is necessary to ensure good tension and correct orientation lived
The cut bristles must be laid out in the gap between the wires, evenly distributed along the entire length of the structure and fixed on the rod with hot glue.
After laying the bristles, do not forget to fix it with glue
Spindle rotation starts at the lowest speed. At the same time, the tension of the central wire and the degree of fastening of the flexible elements are controlled. Upon successful completion of the work, the bristles are evenly located around the circumference, and the wires are clamped as firmly as possible between the strands.
When rotating the spindle at minimum speed, the bristles will not fall out of their place

Do not rush to release the jaws of the cartridge - the voltages that have arisen in the wire can play a cruel joke on you. Be sure to loosen the tailstock mount. Only then can the manufactured device be removed from the machine and used for its intended purpose.

Homemade steel ruff is in no way inferior to the factory counterpart

Video: a simple metal brush for servicing chimneys

How to make a device for cleaning horizontal smoke channels

In order to clean the horizontal flue of the furnace, a long rod is attached to the steel ruff. You can build a similar handle from various materials:

steel bar with a diameter of 10 mm;
long shaft 30–50 mm thick;
polypropylene pipes.

The first and last options are also of interest because they allow you to make a typesetting handle of any length. For this on opposite ends steel bars are threaded. With its help, you can assemble a rod of any length - it is enough to use 5 cm threaded couplings. In case of plastic pipes it is convenient to use the fittings welded to them from the inside and external thread. According to the testimony of the craftsmen who built such a structure, it has the necessary rigidity and is light in weight. All this makes a polypropylene rod handy tool in the hands of a beginner chimney sweep.

Homemade dialing rod can be made from polypropylene pipes

The metal ruff copes well with the vertical section of the chimney, however, in horizontal and inclined channels, it has proven itself not with better side. It becomes problematic to advance the tool along the center of the gas duct, since it is pressed against its base under the action of gravity. The situation is aggravated by a rather stiff bristle that clings to any protrusion on the channel wall. For this reason, in horizontal sections, change metal tool more delicate plastic fixture.

Plastic broom brush

A brush for the internal channels of the oven can be made from a plastic broom or broom. You will need:

polypropylene or nylon panicle;
cable or synthetic cord;
hairpin up to 10 mm long;
2 washers with a diameter of at least 5 cm;
2 nuts, one of which has an eye.

The diameter of the stud must correspond to the cross section of the bar from which the rod will be made.. This will make the tool more versatile - it will be possible to attach not only the handle to it, but also the cable, cord and core.