Ready To Burn
Ready To Burn: Version 1.0 October 2015
Page
18
of
24
CLEANING THE BURNER & BOILER
Cleaning should be carried out as needed. There is a big difference depending on
the construction setup, adjustments and wood pellet quality on how often maintenance
should be performed.
The maintenance table is only indicative and applies only for RTB systems!
When
needed
7
days
14
days
30
days
6
months
12
months
x
x
Cleaning cinders out of burner head
x
Cleaning under the combustion grate
x
Cleaning photo sensor
x
Cleaning burner fan
x
x
Cleaning combustion chamber and flue ways
x
x
Empty the ash can, typically 1 to 2 tonnes of pellets burnt
x
x
Check and replace worn gaskets
x
x
Adjust the burner (weigh pellets)
x
x
Check O2 or CO2 levels
x
x
x
Fill the hopper
x
Empty and clean hopper (remove dust and fines)
x
Sweep chimney
Important note:
Personal Protective Equipment must be worn while cleaning the boiler
including dust masks, eye protection and gloves. Soot and ash can be hazardous to health.
Turn off the burner in connection with cleaning.
Turn off the controller and allow the boiler to cool for approx. 15 min. Once the boiler has
cooled sufficiently unplug the burner, remove the shield and drop shaft then remove the
burner from the boiler so work can be easily performed.
Boiler.
All surfaces inside the boiler must be brushed clean of any deposits and the ash can must be
emptied. Pay special attention to any build-up of ash in the rear smoke chamber and flue.
Any residual ash can be vacuumed out of the combustion chamber; special care should be
taken when emptying a vacuum cleaner full of ash and soot.
Access the combustion chamber as follows:
•
Remove the top casing of the boiler
•
Disconnect and remove the first section of chimney
•
Disconnect the air lines from the compressor clean
solenoids
•
Remove inner combustion chamber lid
Never dispose of hot ashes in the trash, let them cool in a metal bucket. Hot ashes
can reignite when exposed to oxygen (air)
.
Burner head.
Remove any ash or cinders from the grate. Remove any pellet remnants under the burner
grate. Wipe the photo sensor clean. When re-inserting the photo sensor, ensure that the
sensor points towards the combustion grate. Ensure that there is nothing lodged in the fan
and that it can rotate freely.
Hopper.
Since wood pellets naturally contain dust, you should periodically empty the hopper
completely. The more dust that is present in the hopper the less the auger will dispense.
This will cause an unstable pellet supply to the burner causing the boiler to go out of
adjustment with a greater risk of downtime. How often you should empty the hopper
depends greatly on the design and quality of the pellets you use but do it at least once a
year.
