Rant: the shop vac method vs straight brushes for heavy creosote

Used to just run a shop vac with a brush attachment on every job but after a bad chimney fire cleanup last winter in a 1920s house with tar buildup I switched to a dual motor vacuum and a scraper. Took me 3 hours less on the last job and I didn't have to redo a single flue. Anyone else find a big difference swapping tools for heavy buildup?

3 comments

3 Comments

rosepark3d ago

Better tools usually beat better elbow grease" - same reason I finally bought a cordless leaf blower.

adam1863d ago

Makes sense. Better tools usually beat better elbow grease every time.

shane_wilson3d ago

I actually read a study a while back from some engineering journal that compared hand sanding vs using a random orbital sander on the same type of wood. The orbital sander finished the job in like 40% of the time and had way fewer scratch marks. @adam186 you're totally right - it's not even close when you stack up the numbers like that. The hand sanding took hours more and still left visible swirls under a bright light.