Each owner of a private home, before putting a solid fuel boiler into operation, should familiarize himself with how to clean the device and how often such a procedure becomes necessary. Cleaning solid fuel boilers is a labor-intensive process, however, if you comply with the operating conditions of the boiler and fuel requirements, you can avoid frequent repetition of such a process.

Let's consider the reasons that contribute to the contamination of the heating unit, the consequences of clogging, what cleaning of a solid fuel boiler is, and which parts of the boiler need to be cleaned.

Almost any unit that is associated with the combustion process, as a result of its operation, emits not only thermal energy and carbon monoxide, but also a mass of combustion products. During long-term operation of the unit on solid fuel in operating mode on the walls of the furnace, in smoke ducts soot and volatile ash particles accumulate in large quantities. A similar situation is typical for all types of solid fuel equipment, with the exception of pyrolysis devices, where dry firewood and briquettes burn out completely, turning into combustible gas.

Accumulation of combustion products in work area the unit and in the chimney occurs gradually and if the mechanism is not cleaned regularly, soot deposits can become significant. The thickness of the soot layer on the heat exchanger body, just a couple of millimeters, significantly affects the performance of the heating device. Heating of the coolant takes much longer. The power of the main equipment drops by 20-30%, and fuel consumption increases accordingly.

In addition to soot, combustion products also include resins released organic compounds, regardless of type. Resin accumulated on the inner walls of the combustion chamber contributes to the development of corrosion processes that destroy the main parts of the solid fuel unit.

From rich and long-term experience it has been established that the most common reasons accumulations of soot and tar in the firebox and chimney are:

• low quality fuel;
• high humidity of fuel raw materials;
• the heating mechanism often works on low temperatures;
• defects and miscalculations in the boiler piping.

On a note: the intensity of combustion product deposits depends on the type of fuel and its physical properties. To operate the unit on coal or wood, today the most available materials. Fossil coal and wood. Any organic fuel leaves ash and ash when burned. The drier the fuel mass, the smaller the volume of residual products during the combustion process. The intensity of combustion largely depends on the type solid fuel boiler. Low humidity raw materials, additional oxygen supply and operating principle contribute to increased combustion intensity.

Older equipment uses the simplest method of direct combustion, which results in a significant amount of ash, ash and soot. All this settles on the walls of the combustion chamber, is deposited on the heat exchanger and in the chimney. New models are high-tech devices, the combustion process has been brought to optimal parameters, therefore, less ash remains in the ash pan; in most cases, soot evaporates along with carbon monoxide through the chimney. Cleaning the chimney from soot is one of the main conditions for the safe operation of a heating unit in a private home.

Important! The accumulation of soot on the walls of the chimney can lead to a dangerous situation. Soot is tiny, microscopic particles charcoal, which can ignite at high temperatures and intense air supply. There are frequent cases when soot, heated as a result of combustion, chimney causes the roof to catch fire, attic floors. It is characteristic that this problem characteristic solid fuel boilers with forced draft.

How to clean a solid fuel boiler. Cleaning methods

You can clean a solid fuel boiler with scrapers and wire brushes. Typically, such devices come complete with basic equipment. In each individual case, a cleaning method is used that corresponds design features boiler The following places are required:

• combustion chamber walls;
• heat exchanger surfaces;
• internal walls of the chimney.

All the places listed for cleaning are those elements of the boiler design where heat exchange occurs and the water jacket is located.

There are three ways to clean the boiler:

• mechanical;
• steam method;
• using chemical reagents.

Each of the proposed methods has its own characteristics and key points. For mechanical cleaning, a special set of tools is used. Poker, spatula, pipe cleaners, scrapers and metal brushes.

Important! The unit must be cool before you begin to remove it.

Soot and ash are removed from the combustion chamber manually through simple manipulations. Volatile and solid fragments of burnt fuel are removed quite simply. The situation is more complicated with hardened resin and tar. How to clean your own heating device from these components? The solution is to warm up the device for this purpose. Resin and tar become soft and are easier to remove from the surface with brushes and scrapers. Upon completion, it is necessary to warm up the unit to optimal temperature so that the remaining resin and tar burn out completely.

Using a steam generator, the boiler is steam cleaned of tar, tar and microscopic soot particles. Chemical method designed for the use of various chemical compounds and acid-based reagents. Inner surface fireboxes, and the surface of the heat exchanger is processed chemicals, which eat away deposits. Typically, dissolved chalk and soda ash are used to clean wood-burning pyrolysis units.

The cleaning agent is chosen based on financial considerations and the degree of contamination of the boiler. In each case, if the requirements are met, a positive result can be achieved.

How often should heating appliances be cleaned?

To ensure that your unit is constantly working at optimal modes, issued required power, boiler cleaning should become regular. Using normal and high-quality fuel, you can do this activity once a month.

On a note: When using low quality fuel raw materials, the boiler should be cleaned more often, once every two or three weeks. If operating parameters deteriorate, unscheduled cleaning of the equipment can be carried out.

To prevent severe blockage, it is necessary to regularly inspect the solid fuel boiler. When to use different kinds fuel, the device operates at low temperatures, the unit will have to be cleaned once a week.

Cleaning a solid fuel boiler - how to reduce pollution, methods, chemistry

Cleaning a solid fuel boiler - how to reduce pollution, methods, chemistry

A wood-burning boiler can become so dirty that it stops heating the house properly. Even fuel combustion may be disrupted due to a decrease in cross-sections in the boiler. Worse, this condition can be repeated after cleaning the heat exchanger and boiler strokes. as soon as possible, if all the unfavorable factors that contribute to coking conspire and begin to offend the user who has not yet figured out this situation...

Why do we allow soot, soot, tar and tar to form in the boiler and chimney?

In the boiler, on the jacket of the heat exchanger, on the passages of boiler gases, soot, resin, carbon deposits will always settle, because they are formed during the combustion of fuel. But in some cases, the size of the deposits will become simply gigantic compared to normal combustion conditions, and will grow at lightning speed.

Conditions under which large deposits occur (contaminants soot, tar, tar, coke...) in a solid fuel boiler.

• In the boiler, the heat exchanger will be cold, below the dew point (recommended not lower than +65 degrees C), i.e. there will be on the return cold water(below +55 degrees). Dew, including all boiler products and acids, will wet the internal cold surfaces of the boiler and can even flow into the ash pan, simulating damage to the circuit.
• Too much enters the boiler wet air, for example, from the bathroom, which will increase the dew point temperature significantly, water can flow back from the walls of the chimney.
• The firebox is fired with wet wood, which increases the humidity of the gases and lowers the combustion temperature, with consequences similar to those above.
• Combustion is carried out in smoldering mode without complete afterburning of everything that comes out of the fuel, which leads to the formation of unburned fuel particles, as well as dew.
• Firewood is used that releases a lot of resinous volatile substances at a temperature lower than their combustion occurs (for the reasons given above), which significantly increases coking.

How to prevent large boiler contamination

• With a solid fuel boiler, it is necessary to use a three-way valve with a 55 degree thermal head (thermostat) to ensure that the return temperature is always above +55 degrees. C. This also protects the boiler from corrosion by poisonous mildew.

• It is necessary to heat with the maximum amount of oxygen, which ensures the most complete combustion of fuel, while the wood and coal boiler operates with maximum efficiency. The excess energy released must be absorbed by a heat accumulator in the heating system. In addition to ensuring optimal combustion, this is also the main condition for comfort with a solid fuel boiler.
• Use firewood with a moisture content of 20% or lower. In addition, only such firewood provides the required (normative) amount of energy, which will not be spent on evaporation of excess internal moisture.
• In some cases (unsuccessful boiler models long burning, pyrolysis units, the need to burn on smoldering, if it is impossible to regulate the secondary air...), you need to abandon resinous firewood - coniferous, birch.

How to clean tar and carbon deposits, impurities in the boiler - by temperature

Cleaning the boiler is a bit of a problem, since sooty deposits are chemically inert and are far from easily amenable to chemicals. It is best to remove them using heat.

A good heating of the boiler with anthracite (half a bucket is enough) or completely dry, non-resinous firewood, 15 kg, results in burning out fatty resinous deposits. The firebox is operated with maximum supply of secondary air to the flame.

Expert recommends: Be careful with big amount soot in the chimney. With a high-temperature furnace, it may ignite, which can lead to the most serious accident. When annealing boilers, soot is first removed from the chimney (see cleaning chimneys).

The effect of cleaning the boiler with flame and high temperature increases if you add (more) potato starch to the fuel, or add dry potato peelings.

Removing deposits on the heat exchanger

The heat exchanger is filled with coolant, so its surface is always relatively cold; complete burnout of deposits on the heat exchanger will not occur.

The specialist states: We cannot recommend heating the boiler without water in the heat exchanger. This removes deposits on surfaces, but can lead to damage to the heat exchanger or other elements, depending on the boiler model.

This is where you will need the steady hands of a chimney sweep (or someone who considers himself such), several metal cleaners, and a lot of various chemicals. Facilities personal protection required: mask, goggles, rubber gloves, apron (but preferably an OZK and a gas mask) - be careful with acid!

According to the statements of people who saw various types unclean boiler passages, the liquids “Antinagar”, “Chimney Sweep”, “Clean Stove”, as well as sewer “Mole”, “Silit”, “Auchan”, and the all-consuming Fauch 400 are suitable. The products are applied by spraying. Good luck with your work!

Every owner country house always strives to ensure that his home is warm and cozy, especially on cold winter evenings.

To maintain stable temperature regime In residential premises, as a rule, they are used heating systems, the main component of which, in particular, can be a solid fuel boiler. (Read about how to choose a solid fuel boiler).

Stable and uninterrupted operation of the boiler unit largely depends on proper care of it. One type of maintenance is boiler cleaning.

In this article we will talk in detail about what combustion products exist, what causes them to appear, and how to effectively remove them from a solid fuel boiler.

Raw materials for combustion

For firing a solid fuel boiler they use the following types raw materials:

• firewood from different types of wood;
• coal of various types;
• peat;
• pellets.

When these raw materials are burned, as a rule, ash and ash remain, as well as other combustion products that settle on the working surfaces of the combustion chamber, which subsequently negatively affects the efficiency of the boiler.

Combustion products and the cause of their occurrence

By-products that appear during the combustion process are:

• soot;
• resin;
• tar.

The reasons for the appearance of these substances are the following important points:

1. Causes of soot:
   • there is not enough oxygen for the combustion process;
   • Fuel combustion temperature is too low.
2. Factors influencing the appearance of resin:
   • low-quality fuel is used;
   • the fuel material has a high degree of humidity;
   • the boiler operates at low temperature;
   • Too much fuel is loaded into the firebox.
3. Tar appears in the following cases:
   • weak air flow into the combustion chamber of the pyrolysis boiler;
   • incorrect design of the unit;
   • low height chimney.

As we can see, the main reasons for the appearance harmful substances is poor fuel and technical aspects of organizing the combustion process.

Experts advise: use fuel only High Quality- otherwise, wear and tear on the boiler will rapidly increase.

Information about flushing the heating boiler can be found at this link:

Negative consequences of hoarding

An excess of harmful substances in a solid fuel boiler leads to the following consequences:

Specialist's note: Timely cleaning of a solid fuel boiler contributes to its efficient functioning.

Regularity of cleaning procedures

The interval between cleaning of wood-burning or pyrolysis boilers depends, first of all, on the quality of the fuel material:

• if high-quality fuel is used, the boiler unit must be cleaned once a month;
• in the case of using fuel of low quality and with a high degree of humidity, cleaning should be carried out once every 15–20 days.

Despite the specified deadlines, you must always monitor the operation of the solid fuel boiler, and if the working rhythm is disrupted, you can perform extraordinary cleaning.

Cleaning methods

Probably every boiler owner thinks about how to clean the unit and how to do it correctly. There are four main ways to clean a boiler from soot, tar and tar. Their features include the following important points.

Mechanical cleaning. It involves cleaning a solid fuel boiler from combustion products using a special set of tools, which includes the following elements:

• poker;
• scrapers of different sizes;
• blades of different widths;
• metal brushes;
• ruffs various configurations, you can purchase them in any store, for example, here: https://pelletshome.com.ua/.

It is worth understanding that cleaning the boiler from soot using these tools is carried out only when the unit has cooled completely.

Important point: When cleaning a solid fuel boiler, the damper must be fully open.

As for cleaning the wood-burning boiler from tar and tar, the stages of work will be as follows:

• Initially, the unit is heated, since the resin and tar have a solid structure, which softens when heated;
• using blades and scrapers, substances are removed from the walls;
• After finishing cleaning, increase the boiler temperature for a while in order to burn out the remaining tar and resin.

Thus, we see that cleaning a solid fuel boiler from soot, tar and tar can be done with your own hands.

1. The product is poured directly onto the burning fuel (such substances contain a set of crystals that react with soot and resin, crumble them, and then come out along with the smoke).
2. Using special chemicals, boiler working surfaces that are contaminated with tar and tar are treated (as a rule, the main components of these products are solvents and acid-based reagents).

Specialist's note: when cleaning the boiler chemicals Safety precautions must be observed!

"Soft blasting." This method is considered an American technology for cleaning a pyrolysis or wood-burning boiler from combustion products.

Its essence lies in the fact that, using a special device, water is supplied to the contaminated surfaces of the boiler. special solution, which contains chalk and baking soda.

Steam cleaning of the boiler. The essence of the method is that the walls of the boiler are processed using a steam generator, while the boiler unit also undergoes disinfection.

Cleaning a solid fuel boiler from soot, tar and tar can be done in a way that suits your financial capabilities and labor costs. And in conclusion, I would like to dwell on one more aspect of cleaning the boiler from combustion products. There are also several traditional methods cleaning the boiler from soot and tar.

For example, salt is poured onto burning wood, which helps remove soot along with smoke. Also, dried potato peelings are placed on the burning fuel, which, releasing starch, significantly soften the contaminated surfaces for subsequent cleaning. We hope our information will help you to ensure that your home is always warm and cozy.

Watch the video in which an experienced user explains in detail how to properly clean a solid fuel boiler from tar:

Often in country houses closed heating systems are used. When it is possible to connect a heating unit to a gas main, then solid fuel boilers are used.

It is necessary to periodically clean it from resins, soot and tar. Proper care the product will extend its service life.

Fuel and consequences of combustion

Heating devices can operate on several types solid fuel depending on design:

• firewood;
• peat.

When burning any type of solid fuel, residues appear - soot deposits, resin, tar. They need to be removed from the system regularly. Ash, ash and other combustion products accumulate on the surfaces of the combustion chamber. This may interfere with the stability of the device and cause malfunctions.

Causes of solid fuel combustion products:

Appearance of soot:

• there is not enough oxygen in the system and the combustion process is unstable;
• not high enough.

Appearance of resin:

• low quality fuel;
• crude fuel;
• the temperature in the boiler is not high enough;
• Too much fuel loaded.

Appearance of tar:

• weak air flow entering the combustion chamber;
• the unit is not designed correctly;

Unwanted waste occurs as a result of improper operation. These factors also increase equipment wear.

The benefits of regular brushing

Cleaning a solid fuel boiler with your own hands is quite simple, especially with the help of special tools and funds. There are only four methods for cleaning solid fuel boilers at home.

You can clean the boiler using:

• pokers;
• various special scrapers;
• blades of different widths;
• metal brushes;
• ruffs;
• special means for cleaning boilers.

Safety rules for cleaning:

1. Do-it-yourself cleaning using tools and products is carried out only after complete shutdown of the boiler.
2. In no case Do not clean a running or hot boiler.
3. When servicing the boiler, the damper must be fully open.

Read also: Sawdust boiler

Cleaning process solid fuel device from soot, tar and tar:

1. The only process for cleaning a boiler is when it first needs to be heated and then cooled a little.
2. Use spatulas and scrapers to remove substances from the walls of the device.
3. After cleaning, heat the boiler again so that the residues burn out completely.

Dry cleaning

The dream of every home owner is the smooth operation of everyone engineering systems, and especially heating. Of course, it is advisable that care gas equipment minimal required. But in order to ensure a calm and warm life under the roof own home Still, it will be necessary to strictly observe some simple conditions, namely, carrying out a preventive inspection of the gas unit and carrying out minor repairs, if necessary. The most important tasks that will help add life to the boiler will be: cleaning the heat exchangers and removing soot.

What is a gas heating boiler?

By design, a gas boiler is a combination of several diverse devices:

• heat generator, in which, by burning fuel, it produces thermal energy consisting of a combustion chamber and burner,
• a heat exchanger in which thermal energy is transferred to a coolant, which is usually water, antifreeze or air,
• housing in which the above-mentioned parts are enclosed,
• a special regulating device with the help of which the fuel supply activity is controlled,
• chimney.

To provide high efficiency The boiler will need to be cleaned systematically:

• fireboxes and chimneys from soot,
• heat exchanger - from scale.

Each type of cleaning must be carried out according to certain rules, the question of how gas boilers are cleaned should be considered in more detail.

How to clean a gas boiler - wash the heat exchanger

The heat exchanger is a system of pipes designed to move the coolant during the heating stage. Since the water that is used as a coolant is usually not sufficiently purified from impurities of various salts, scale settles on the inner walls of the pipes over time, the diameter of the tubes as a result decreases, and the speed of movement of the coolant becomes lower. In addition, scale becomes a kind of barrier that reduces the thermal conductivity of metal fragments. All these negative aspects lead to serious consequences - a sharp decrease in the temperature of the coolant in the system.

If the system is not flushed in a timely manner, preconditions for a serious accident may arise, including:

• boiler overheating, because scale will prevent proper cooling of the coolant, which should reduce the temperature during the reverse movement internal parts heating elements,
• failure of parts that may occur as a result of increased loads on circulation pump(which may be caused by constriction of contaminated pipes),
• increase in fuel consumption.

Scale can be combated using several methods:

• water pumped into the system under high pressure,
• using chemical reagents,
• mechanically.

The first method, due to its complexity (you will need a special compressor that allows you to create a pressure of tens of atmospheres), is acceptable if the work is carried out by a team of specialists. It is quite possible to produce the second and third ones yourself.

The difficulty of mechanical and chemical cleaning will be the need to completely dismantle the heat exchanger; this work will require certain knowledge and skills.

How to mechanically clean a heat exchanger

First of all, you should remember that the heat exchanger has a fairly large volume and is located directly above the combustion chamber; some difficulties may arise when trying to get to it.

1. First, disconnect the electrical wiring (if any) and gas supply pipes from the boiler.
2. Disconnect the heat exchanger from the heating system.
3. Remove the heat exchanger fasteners.
4. Remove the heat exchanger from the boiler and begin cleaning it.

Once the heat exchanger is removed, you can see how thick the deposits are on its walls; pins, scrapers, etc. can be used to remove them. tools. Care must be taken when performing work - otherwise the walls of the heat exchanger may be damaged.

Produce more efficiently mechanical cleaning after pre-soaking the part in a weak acid solution, this will soften the scale and make it much easier to remove.

Upon completion of the process, it is advisable to connect the heat exchanger to a source of running water - as liquid passes through its internal cavities, it will be washed out a large number of mud. Flushing can be completed when the flowing water becomes clear. Tapping the walls of the heat exchanger with a rubber or wooden hammer will speed up the washing process.

Cleaning heat exchangers with chemical reagents

To execute chemical cleaning heat exchanger will be required special device- booster. Although the process itself dry cleaning This is not a complex task; before starting work, it is advisable to read the recommendations of specialists.

There is no need to completely remove the heat exchanger; you should disconnect the two pipes, connect a hose to one of them, and the cleaning solution will be supplied through it. The supplied liquid will exit through another pipe and be supplied to the booster through a hose connected to it. Such a connection will ensure the movement of the reagent in a circle.

Experts recommend choosing a booster equipped with an electric heating element. It will allow heating chemical composition, increasing the temperature of the reagent will increase the efficiency of washing and accelerate the process of destruction of deposited salts.

Chemical reagents can be various solutions sold in hardware stores. However, the choice of product should be made taking into account the degree of contamination and the composition of the deposits, and recommendations regarding what materials this product can be used for cleaning should not be ignored.

Cleaning products most often contain acids:

• sulfuric or salt,
• less often - phosphorus or nitrogen.

Such reagents can easily remove dense deposits of large thickness, including layers of trivalent iron. To remove small contaminants, you can use solutions of weaker acids: sulfamic or adipic. If desired, you can use special gels; before use, they are diluted with water.

Cleaning boilers from soot

Natural gas, which is used to heat residential premises, is a relatively clean product. However, during its combustion, heavy components of petroleum products are released, which contribute to the formation of a black layered film on the surface of the heat exchanger and combustion chamber. such a film significantly reduces thermal conductivity metal parts boiler i.e. contributes to a decrease in its effectiveness.

Since only the outer parts of the components will require cleaning, cleaning the boiler with your own hands will not be such a difficult process. First you need to determine the thickness of the soot layer:
if it does not exceed 2 mm, then you can use a scraper or a damp sponge to remove it,
if the layer is thicker, then the use of chemicals will be required, best option- acid-containing compounds.

Chimney cleaning

No less important event is the removal of soot from the chimney. There are many ways to solve this problem - after all, our ancestors, who used to heat their houses stove heating, I had to do this for many centuries in a row.

Modern chimneys, in accordance with the rules, must be made of stainless steel capable of withstanding high temperature and acid precipitation that is formed during the combustion process natural gas. Sometimes they resort to installing ceramic chimney, but at its high quality characteristics Ceramic models are not yet worthy competition for metal ones. Regardless of the type and material of manufacture, chimneys are designed to improve draft. The accumulation of soot on the inner walls of the chimney pipes reduces draft, therefore worsening the operating condition of the boiler.

The amount of accumulated soot can be determined by analyzing the frequency of operation of the boiler: its constant use will contribute to its rapid accumulation. In this case, cleaning gas boiler from soot, as well as from the chimney, must be carried out at least twice a year.

The intensity of acid condensate accumulation is influenced by temperature environment- the lower it is, the more active the formation of sediment, which is destructive for pipes.

Severe soot contamination threatens:

• thinning the smoke opening, reducing draft and smoke emissions can create conditions in the house that are hazardous to human health (suffocation from carbon monoxide poisoning may occur),
• Since soot is a flammable material, the possibility of a fire will be quite real.

If you don’t know how to clean a gas boiler and remove soot from the chimney, then it’s best to turn to professionals - they will do the job efficiently and in a short time.

Mechanical soot removal

If you decide to do everything yourself, then you will need to purchase the appropriate tools for cleaning chimneys:

• hard brushes,
• scrapers and other rigid devices for mechanical cleaning.

The most effective method today is cleaning with a special vacuum cleaner. Accumulated in any quantity, dirt is quite easily removed through a special pocket. The switched on device, drawing in air, removes all accumulations on the walls of the pipe, leaving it undamaged and clean.

Experts consider a special vacuum unit to be an ideal cleaning unit; it is capable of removing dirt of any composition in any quantity, but it is usually used by professionals - the cost of such an installation is within 100 thousand rubles.

When doing the work with your own hands, you can use all kinds of pipe cleaners or brushes, but you should not forget that their diameter should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe. Very thick layer soot can be removed using a scraper, then carefully treat the pipe with brushes or a pipe cleaner. Of course, you can carry out such activities yourself. Nevertheless, at least once every few years it is advisable to call a specialist who can realistically assess the condition of the pipe and determine the presence of flaws in it, if any.

The chimney can also be cleaned from the outside by lowering a brush inside it on a transforming handle; the structure should be weighted with a plumb line. Under its action, the brush will move downwards more actively, cleaning the pipe walls will speed up. The crumbled soot is removed from the chimney through a special pocket using a small scoop or vacuum cleaner.

Chemical cleaning of chimneys for gas boilers is rarely used; this method is more acceptable for wood stoves and fireplaces. If gas is used as fuel, then most likely you will need to pay attention to the fight against condensation.

Why install condensate collectors?

As we have already mentioned, the soot coma during the combustion of gaseous fuel forms acid-containing precipitation, which can have harmful effects on the material from which chimneys are made.

Installation special devices- outlets and condensate collectors allow you to get rid of acid-containing vapors and completely protect chimney pipes from destruction. Today, technologists are actively developing more effective methods removal of acid condensate, which will allow uninterrupted operation and extend the service life of chimney pipes.