Appreciation post: the old guy at the supply house in Albany saved me a callback with one sentence
Stopped by the supply house on Broadway last Tuesday to grab a new 6 inch poly brush and the old timer behind the counter asked what I was running it on. Told him a 30 foot masonry flue with a bad offset and he said to drop down to a 5 inch and let the rods do the work instead of forcing it. I'd been fighting that flue for two jobs, jamming up at the same spot 18 feet in, and his advice cleared it in one pass. He also said to check the smoke shelf before I even think about the brush, which turned out to be half the problem. Fifty cents worth of advice beat the $180 I was about to spend on a flex rod kit. What's the best tip you ever got from somebody behind a counter?