What should I pay for a chimney sweep?

[Prepube]

I would do it myself, but my back is messed up and I don't think I should try it this year.   Age  conflicts with DIY sometimes.  What should I pay for a chimney sweep?  It's a straight 25 foot pipe that connects to a pellet stove in the converted fireplace.

[falcondisruptor]

I can't help you out because the only time I called one out, he wouldn't take my money.  We wanted to remove the old gas insert that came with the house and go back to wood.  The guy pulled out the liner, inspected the chimney for safety, told me where I needed to fill the gas line hole with heat resistent mortar and recommended I call him back for a cleaning later, when it was nicer out.  Funny story, a guy came out and capped the gas line for free too.  It was strange.

My guess?  $150? 

[lizzzi]

I don't know if my posting really relates--we had a masonry wood-burning fireplace in a two-story house. We usually only made a fire once or twice a week. The sweep charged $200 the first time, because he had more to do--the top of the chimney needed a new cap, I think, and some kind of mesh on top to keep birds and squirrels out. After that, he said to call him every two years…and it ran around $100 every two years. We sold the house last year, so don't know what the new owners are doing.

[Monkey Uncle]

I'm currently paying about $150 bucks for annual cleaning of a two-story chimney that serves a wood-burning stove.  The stove is our primary heat source, and we run about 5-6 cords of wood through it every winter.  We're in east-central WV, which is generally a low-cost area.  But it appears that there isn't much competition in the chimney sweep business, so they could probably get away with charging whatever they want.  If it gets much more expensive, I might consider doing it myself.  But I always worry that I'll miss some safety defect that a professional would notice.

[Prepube]

Thanks! I live in the foothills above Denver and everyone has a chimney that needs cleaning eventually.  I burn two to three tons of pellets in my two pellet stoves every year.  Good thing about pellets is there's not much creosote.  Bad thing is that there's lots of ash that finds its way into the chimneys.  I love these stoves, by the way.  The house has nothing but electricity (no gas/propane like my neighbors all have). The pellets burn efficiently and don't cost that much, and unlike a wood stove, the pellets can keep the house warm when I am not home. 

Which leads to a second question for those of you in Colorado with pellet stoves... Other than Home Depot, where do you buy your pellets?  I pick mine up at a local place in Conifer a ton at a time, but he has increased his price per bag this year and I'm looking for a new supplier (other than HD). 

[Papa bear]

I payed 100 in ohio.  I would do it myself the next time.  They basically take a flexible fiberglass rod with extensions, attach a stiff nylon brush on one end, plug the other end into a drill and shove it up from below.  Catch the dust with a shop vac.  Took him about an hour to clean the whole thing.