Wasted $300 on a cheap fiberglass rod kit that snapped on my second job

Bought a budget rod set off Amazon thinking it would save money, but it broke halfway through a flue in Portland and I had to buy a proper steel one anyway. Has anyone else had bad luck with those lower cost kits?

2 comments

2 Comments

adam_robinson1mo ago

budget rod set off Amazon" - yeah those fiberglass ones are a trap. They flex way too much in a hot flue, the resin gets soft and then youve got a handle doing the worm. I stripped one down and the fiberglass layers were all air bubbles, no real structure. For $300 you coulda got a decent used steel sectional from a local guy on craigslist, those amazon kits cut corners on the weave pattern that actually matters.

adam_hernandez1mo ago

Stopped me dead when you said air bubbles in the fiberglass layers. I mean that's wild, like how does that even pass a basic quality check? I've messed with a few cheap handles over the years and always figured they were just a little flimsy, but never took one apart to see the actual construction. Hearing the resin gets soft in a hot flue makes me want to check my own gear now, maybe I got lucky with the used stuff I picked up. Just seems like a hidden time bomb if you're cleaning a chimney that's actually been used regularly.