My rotary brush seized mid-job on a 3-story flue in Portland

Last Tuesday I was running a routine sweep on a big rental house in Portland, third floor access and everything, when the rotary brush just locked up about halfway down the flue. The cable kept spinning in the drill but the head wasn't moving, so I pulled it up and found the bearing housing had basically fused from all the creosote and moisture. I had to drive 20 miles back to my truck for the spare head, and the homeowner was watching me the whole time with this look that said 'you know what you're doing, right?' Took me another hour to finish the job, but the real lesson was I should've packed an extra set of bearings in the van after the last service. Has anyone else had a brush seize like that and is there a better way to keep the housing greased in wet chimneys?

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taylor_young19d ago

You ever try marine grease on the hub before each season?