How to clean debris from the vertical flue
Thread Content
It causes a lot of headaches – debris often accumulates at the bottom of the flue, which affects heating. We use steel pipes to clean it from the top of the furnace, and it’s a lot of work. I wonder how other sailors manage to clean it
First, cover the grid bricks with iron plates on top of the heat storage chamber; use a stick to loosen them first and then exit through the sloped passage. Finally, pull the sloped passage with a chain – and it’s basically cleaned up
Clean from the top of the furnace downward, then purge with compressed air through the coal brick air passages
First, remove the large bricks covering the surface of the corresponding regenerator (i.e., the temperature measurement holes at the bottom of the inclined channel area and the large bricks on both sides), and insert a long enough piece of metal sheet to prevent debris from falling and blocking the grid bricks. Then, using steel pipes or rebar (usually two pieces of rebar connected by a ring in the middle), the debris inside the vertical flue is removed, causing it to fall onto the metal sheet placed in the inclined channel area; finally, the metal sheet is withdrawn and the opened regenerator is rebuilt with mud. When removing the regenerator, it may be difficult the first time; generally, one starts by opening the opening of the temperature-measuring element, inserts a steel rod into it, and shakes it back and forth until it loosens and falls out, after which the large bricks on both sides are removed. Be careful as the temperature of the bricks and iron parts can be extremely high; watch out for burns.
This situation is really troublesome, but the main issue isn’t so much cleaning as it is the purification and preheating of the gas; perhaps you can find a way around it.
If the flame channel is blocked, the temperature is naturally affected. Solution: Take a look below first. Is there a blockage in the riser? First, use rebar to stir things around inside the vertical pipe. Find a chain long enough (mainly for convenience), attach a metal block to one end of the chain, or make that end of the chain bulgy, and then go to the blocked flue to deal with it, pulling it back and forth several times until the chute is unblocked. Be careful not to damage the ramp when pulling, otherwise it will cause more trouble.