arch cleaning

[parsissn]

How often do you clean the fire side of your pans? We run steam engines in the summer and if you don't clean the flues the soot build up really changes your heat transfer. So I'm wondering, how often do others clean the soot of the fire side of the pans? When you clean them, how do you get the soot off?

On locomotives they would pour a small stream of sand into the firebox while they were running and the draft from the fire / engine would blast the sand through the tubes and scrub them that way. I wonder if we could do a similar thing by just cracking the firedoor open and pouring in some sand at the top. Might not get up to the syrup pan but I would think it might do a reasonable job on the flue pan (for drop flues - don't think it would work well for raised).

Mark

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Yup! If you don't clean them, you lose efficiency. Mine are not cleaned often enough. Every time you have a long boil they should be cleaned. Every day ideally. I usually manage a so so job a couple times a week and the difference in boil is very noticeable. There is a special "flue brush" made that slides up between my raised flues. Between seasons, I turn the pan over and try to get the flues looking like new again. Burning soft wood usually leaves more soot accumulation than hard wood.

[maple maniac65]

I brush my flues everyday before I start up. It only takes a few minutes with a flue brush. At the end of the season if you have time take your flue pan off the arch and take it outside and use a pressure washer. You can get alot more of the soot off without hurting the pans. I did this once and it is a messy job but they looked brand new.

[ennismaple]

Years ago we used to take our flue pan off to scrub the soot. Eventually the soldered seams started to leak and taking the pan off was blamed so we stopped. Our new flue pan is welded. Anyone know if breaking a seam can be an issue with welded flue pans? Oh.... I forgot to mention it's a 5'x10' flue pan that takes 4 men to remove from the arch. Is it worth the effort?

[Big maple]

When I started making sugar the guy who taught me ran the flue rush down each flue twice before every boil. The difference is definitly noticeable. We had a door that was the same width as our evaporator and the same heith as our flue door in the backof the shack so you could run the brush worked great. Now we have a 5x10 raised flue and I think we are going to have to pull the syrup pan off to brush them. It really does make a difference.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I brush every time before startup regardless of how long I boiled the prior boil.

[Big maple]

Amen brother!

[Haynes Forest Products]

I use Easy off oven cleaner. You can buy fireplace door cleaner that removes all the soot and creosote. Then I used Easy Off and its cheaper and works great.