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Paid $450 for a top-tier rotary brush and it wrecked my liner
Bought that expensive rotary cleaning system back in March. Thought I was investing in the good stuff. First two jobs went fine. Third job it grabbed a loose seam on the stainless liner. Tore a 12 inch gash right through it. Had to replace the whole liner for the customer out of my own pocket. Cost me $800 in materials and a whole Saturday. Anyone else had a power tool turn on you like that?
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grace_campbell12d ago
Yeah that sucks and I feel your pain man. I've had a similar thing happen with a different brand of rotary brush actually. It grabbed a little loose piece of gasket on an older liner and just ripped it wide open like butter. Thing is, those fancy brushes are designed for heavy duty buildup but they don't have a clutch or any give when they catch onto something. You think you're buying quality and really you're buying a disaster waiting to happen. I learned the hard way that any power tool that spins fast near a liner is a gamble, especially if the chimney has any age or unknown repairs. Now I only use manual brushes for stainless steel liners, no matter how long it takes. It's cheaper and way less risky, even if my arms hurt after.
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dixon.iris12d ago
My last rotary brush cost me $450 too and then proceeded to eat a 20 year old liner for breakfast... lunch and dinner honestly. I stood there watching it like a dummy thinking "this is fine" right up until the moment I heard that awful ripping sound. Now I'm the proud owner of a very expensive paperweight that I keep around to remind me that I'm not as smart as I think I am.
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Nobody's talking about the torque on those things. A rotary brush with that much power can actually warp a thin stainless liner before it even tears it. I measured the heat off mine once with a temp gun and it got hot enough to soften the metal where it was rubbing. That makes the liner way more likely to catch and rip. A manual brush might take twice as long but at least you can feel the resistance before something bad happens.
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