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Chatted with a 30 year sweep last week and it hit me different
I was swapping stories with this older guy at a supply shop in Portland. He said he still uses the same manual brush his dad handed down in 92. Told me he watched three shops close in the last 5 years because new guys buy all the fancy gear but skip the basic training. Made me think about how I've been leaning on my rotary kit way too much and forgetting the feel of a good hand rod. He asked me flat out when was the last time I actually looked at the flue before running a tool through it. Stung a bit because I couldn't remember. Any of you old timers still doing it the slow way?
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tarajenkins4mo ago
That line about "look at the flue before running a tool through it" really got me. I'm not gonna lie, I've definitely been that guy showing up with the fancy rotary setup thinking I'm hot stuff. Last time I got down on my hands and knees and actually craned my neck to eyeball a flue was probably... uh, last election? Ouch. I guess the old timer was right, I've been skipping the basics for the flashy stuff. Time to dig out my hand rod and eat some humble pie.
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chen.fiona4mo ago
That's a good wake up call though. The hand rod trick is humbling but it saves your bacon. One time I thought I was slick with my camera snake and missed a whole bird's nest tucked way back in a offset. Had to pull everything out and start over with the basic tools anyway. Now I always make myself do a mirror and light check first, even if I feel dumb doing it. Saves time in the long run, trust me.
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victor_carr254mo ago
You ever have one of those moments where you read something and just kinda wince because you know it's about you? Yeah, that was me reading your post. I used to think all the high tech stuff was the only way to go, like using a camera snake made you some kind of pro. But you're right, skipping the basic look-see is just lazy and can cost you big time. That bird nest story from chen.fiona hits home too, I've definitely had to backtrack after trusting a gadget too much. Now I'm thinking I gotta start fresh with the hand rod and a good old mirror check before anything else. What's the worst mistake you've caught by just looking first?
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