A local contractor's remark about creosote testing threw me for a loop

Last Tuesday I was on a double sweep over in Hillsboro and the homeowner, who runs a contracting crew, watched me scrape a thin layer and said 'you're wasting time if you ain't testing each flue with a meter.' I always just eyeballed it and used my judgment from the last 11 years. He showed me a cheap flue probe he carries, and it picked up moisture levels I'd have sworn were dry. Now I'm wondering if I've been missing hidden condensation on masonry liners that leads to spalling later. Has anyone else switched to electronic testing on regular residential jobs, or is that overkill for most of the work you see? What's your call between a basic meter and just trusting the look and feel of the brush? I'm leaning toward picking one up, but I want to hear if it's actually saved any of you from a callback before I drop $80 on it.

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dakota_rivera1mo ago

Damn, read about this on a chimney forum. Meters catch stuff your eyes miss, worth the $80.

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