fire side flue brush

[tcross]

i'm having a hard time finding a fire side flue brush for my raised flue. the flues are 1 1/4" spaced... all i can find for flue brushes are 1 3/4" - 2" min... and that doesn't fit up in my flues. i've bought 2 of the white triangle shaped ones that you can screw into a fitting. I've taken scissors and trimmed them to fit, which is fine... but both of them broke. one on the first use... the second on the second use. what do you folks use or recommend for a fire side flue brush.

[fisheatingbagel]

I have a drop flue so I'm not sure if this will work with raised flues, but I made one from a grill cleaning brush I bought at Lowes. Cut the handle off and welded a rod to it to use as a handle.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Weber-Grill-Brush/50330231?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-google-_-lia-_-119-_-grillaccessories-_-50330231-_-0&store_code=474&placeholder=null&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryrRjqca3SrxLf5ocG0v ZOhB_tGA-YWFItK11lzKNU7s4gX8nV3R7XMaArFXEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[MapleMark753]

We use two bottle brushes from Tractor Supply duct taped together, one after the other, then the handle duct taped to a broom stick. They are very flexible, and get the ash and loose black soot (which is a lot) off pretty well. They do not get the pan bottom clean though (but cleaned enough to boil much better).
I've also broken a few maple manufactured fire side brushes and cut down one that didn't fit our fire side flues and that one broke too.

[maple flats]

I'll have to get some measurements of both my flue width and my brush. Once I do I'll let you know. At any rate I bought my raised flue brush from Leader, but my pans are by Thor. I've used the same brush a few years, still does a good job but not quite as tight to push thru as it used to be.

[tcross]

Maple Flats... my pans are also Thor... i guess i'll have to check out what leader has. i'm not sure of the brand i bought previously. please do let me know what they measure up to. thanks!!

[maple flats]

I forgot to measure the flues, sorry, I will be boiling tomorrow again, didn't have enough sap to start up today. I like to boil only when I have at least 3 hrs worth, short boils are only done if the sap is too warm and won't keep a second day. While my Thor pans were custom built I suspect the flue width is the same. I just had my flues made 10" tall rather than their standard of 7.5" and I had 4 extra inchest above the flues also added to help minimize sap jumping out when boiling hard.

[tcross]

No worries Dave. i picked up another brush and have trimmed it down to fit. i can use what i got... it would be nice to find one i don't have to alter... but shooting from the hip seems to be a thing that happens a lot in the maple world. If you don't mind me asking, what do you get for a evaporation rate out of your rig with the tall flues? mine is a 30" x 8' with a 5 1/2' flue pan. i'm getting a consistent 60-65 gph evaporation rate without any add-ons... just natural draft. i'm pretty impressed by their work and the function of the rig! i have 550 taps available on my land and was thinking if i tapped them all i'd be interested in a custom flue pan like yours to gain some gph.

[maple flats]

When I push it I get 80 gph, my flue pan is 3x5 and the syrup pan is 3x3.