Keeping firebox clean

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Post by **Dfmihm** » Wed. Feb. 19, 2025 4:31 am

Good morning everyone! Cold, arctic snap here in central PA. Keeping warm though.

Had a question for you folks, how do you keep the inside of your boiler clean? Now I’m not very smart, but I do know that a clean boiler is an efficient boiler. I tend to get a lot of scale and soot stuck inside the firebox, and I usually just try to scrape off what I can with a flat, dull piece of steel. Not big on reaching in there with a wire brush for obvious reasons. And good tricks out there or solutions?

Photo for reference of what I’m talking about.

I have noticed a good wood fire helps some, but I know it can be better. Plus, seems like the boiler doesn’t warm up very fast which could be a multitude of things. Cleanliness seems like an easy thing to help that.

Thank you folks!!!

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Post by **Rob R.** » Sun. Feb. 23, 2025 10:46 am

Look for a long handled BBQ cleaning brush at your local hardware store. I have one that is about 20” long and has a mostly metal handle. Other than that, making sure you bank the fire correctly and don’t make it burn real Smokey/sooty is about the best you can do.

If you can get anthracite, trying burning it for a few days and see if it dries out the deposits inside the boiler. I know anthracite is expensive but burning it a few times per season wouldn’t be bad if it helps keep the boiler clean.