I was sure a sectional sweeping rod was a gimmick until I used one on a 3-story flue in Denver

First time I saw one of those sectional rods at the supply house I rolled my eyes hard. Thought it was just another overpriced gadget. But last month I had a job at this old Victorian in Denver with a flue that had like four offsets. My regular rods were just not getting the bend right. Borrowed a sectional setup from a buddy and honestly? It cut the job time in half. I'm still not fully sold on spending that much though. Has anyone else had one break on them after heavy use?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_hayes7127d ago

Nah, I gotta push back here. @irisg57 if you're on a 3-story monster with multiple offsets, the time you save on the first job pays for the rods even if they start getting sticky later. A snapped single rod mid-flue costs way more in headache than a little oil on threads.

irisg572mo ago

The 3-story Denver flue with four offsets is exactly the kind of nightmare that makes sectional rods look tempting honestly. But I borrowed a friend's set for a similar job and had one of the joints start binding up after maybe the sixth use. It didn't snap but it got sticky enough that I was cussing it out. For that kind of money I'd rather just work around the bends with a more flexible single rod and save the cash.

keith2642mo ago

Same damn thing happened to me with a set of sectional rods my buddy loaned me, the threads started galling after maybe the fourth flue and I had to oil them every other joint. Single rod is slower but at least you don't have to deal with that binding nonsense on a roof.