Sweeping a Chimney That Has a Fireplace Insert

Two Chimneys Behind the Same Faceplate

From the living room, every insert looks the same: a faceplate, a glass door and a firebox. What decides how the chimney is cleaned is hidden behind that faceplate. Either a stainless liner runs from the insert's collar to the top of the chimney, or the insert breathes into the old masonry flue through a short stub or nothing at all.

With a full liner, the smoke has one round, smooth path, and that path can be brushed end to end. Without one, the smoke spreads into the old damper area, the smoke chamber and the clay flue, and those spaces sit behind and above the insert where no brush from the top can do a proper job. Our guide on liners for inserts explains the three set-ups.

The Baffle Is the Door to the Flue

Inside the top of a modern wood insert is a baffle, a plate that makes the smoke travel a longer, hotter path before it leaves. The Regency i2450-2 manual says plainly that its flue baffle system is removable to make cleaning the chimney system easier. With the baffles out, the flue collar is open from inside the firebox.

That same manual warns that the baffles must be back in place before the next fire, that smoke spillage and draft problems follow when they sit wrong, and that they can be knocked out of position when too much wood is forced in. Putting them back correctly is part of the sweep, not an afterthought.

• Baffle boards sit above the fire, under the secondary air tubes.
• Insulation glued to the top of the baffles faces up.
• Both baffles push tight against the back wall and lock in place.
• The flue collar opening sits directly above them.

Sweeping Through a Full Liner

A lined chimney is the easy case. The DuraLiner instructions say a liner must be installed so it can be reached for inspection and cleaning, and they tell the sweep how: take the cap off its base by unscrewing the four screws on its legs, then use a plastic, wood, flexible steel or wire brush that will not mar the stainless surface.

We brush the liner from the top or run rods up from the firebox with the baffle out, depending on the roof and the liner's height. Soot falls to the insert's floor and is vacuumed out through the door. The glass, gasket and baffles are checked before the insert is closed up again.

• Drop cloths at the hearth and the insert door opened.
• Baffles and any loose firebrick lifted out.
• Cap removed at the top of the liner.
• Liner brushed full length with a brush that suits stainless.
• Debris vacuumed from the firebox, baffles and cap refitted.

When the Insert Has to Come Out

A complete sweeping includes the flue and the smoke chamber, as one chimney safety organization's homeowner FAQ puts it. When an insert sits under a short stub or with no pipe at all, the smoke chamber and the bottom of the flue are behind the insert's top and its faceplate. The only way to reach them is to disconnect the insert and slide it forward or out.

Inserts are heavy, and the Regency manual says it takes two or more people to move one safely. Pulling an insert also means breaking and remaking its connection, so the job belongs to a crew that can set it back square and sealed. If your insert needs this every time, a full liner usually makes the next cleanings far simpler.

What You Can Do Between Sweeps

A homeowner can keep an insert clean inside and watch for the signs that the chimney needs a sweep. Leave the roof, the cap and the baffle removal to a crew; a fall or a misplaced baffle causes worse trouble than a dirty flue.

The Regency manual adds a habit worth keeping: run the insert with its draft control wide open for 10 to 15 minutes every morning in the burning season and after each new load, so the wood reaches the charcoal stage quickly and less unburned vapor is left to condense in the flue.

• Remove ash once the fire is out, into a metal container with a lid.
• Burn only dry, seasoned wood.
• Watch the glass: a fast black coating points to smoldering fires.
• Note any smoke smell in the room or puffing at the door.

Chemical Logs Are Not a Sweep

Cleaning logs and powders are sold for exactly this situation. The same chimney safety FAQ says they are not an adequate substitute for mechanical cleaning and inspection, and the DuraLiner instructions say chemical cleaners do not remove the need for mechanical cleaning and may be highly corrosive. The EPA advises having a wood-burning appliance checked every year by a chimney professional.

The NFPA 211 text quoted on that FAQ says chimneys, fireplaces and vents shall be inspected at least once a year for soundness, freedom from deposits and correct clearances. A brush in the liner and a look at the connection is how that happens with an insert.

Booking the Sweep

Our chimney sweep visit for an insert starts with finding out what is behind the faceplate, then cleaning the path the smoke actually takes. If the insert has no liner, we show you what we found and give you a written estimate before anything is moved. We are local and family-owned, our experienced crew does the work itself, and we are Proudly American.

To get on the calendar, call or ask for a free inspection online. A Proudly American crew from here in Spring Hill will come out, look first and explain the choices plainly.