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[coolidge]

I got the"L" shaped tool with mine, works good for getting behind.

[FrozenMongrel]

I got the"L" shaped tool with mine, works good for getting behind.

Same here. I clean mine out about once a month when I'm running. Vacuum it out in the spring when I shut down for the summer.

[Smokeless]

I'm not 100% sure where the creosote build up came from. Maybe when his damper stuck open the one time with the ash built up it may have happened then. This is also a g-400. With no bypass circ. and the furnace only has on circ installed on it, for some reason unknown. We talked about the internal flow requirements to prevent stratification. So he is having a local plummer install one in the other supply n return loop.
    He has a new house I believe the furnace is to big for his requirements. Yes he has a pool but that is a different time when the pool needs heat.
As we all know There are many factors that need to come together to make any gasser run correctly if one or two things go wrong in the shoulder months it can affect the performance all winter long.
Yes it is inside a beautiful wood shed. With lots of room. And by now lots of dry wood.

[Smokeless]

Why would he have smoke from the damper plate unless the hx tubes were plugged up? Sounds like on the surface that this is a simple mechanical problem where the shaft has loosened or bound up on something but smoke from the damper plate because of an obstruction?

The only way smoke would come out of the top of the damper
Plate is
   #1 the plate is stuck open and the furnace is off or not calling for heat.
The cold air goes into the bottom passage of the air box threw the ceramic holes up into the fire box into the upper air passage and out the top air hole in the disk.
   #2 is the disk stuck open furnace is off the bottom clean out door is open.
   #3 is the disk stuck open. Positive draft down the chimney pushing out the smoke on the top passage only. Bottom air passage would not be smoking.
  But I think his chimney is to tall for #3.
Any other ideas.

[Smokeless]

Pic of damper smoke.
 https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOIFFpHyVtyiNM9ReXjb3T0Eysb0CoPT6f4_H9fLbIaTQedKY-1V3RJdbi9IOQvXA?key=UHhoV21SWUhsYVFiY3Jjc2NvdUItTER4VFBQYlRR

[mlappin]

I remove ashes after each cord. I get about 3 gallons Of ash if I were to guess. The half moon tool that is for the reaction chamber horse shoe is all I was given. It doesn't get behind the refractory well. I have seen a tool that has a piece of steel bent in an L shape for getting behind the refractory. I don't know if I was suppose to get one of those or not. I just pull everything I can with the refractory tool. Mine doesn't seem to build up much ash directly behind the horseshoe. I vacuum this area out at the end of the season. I will get around to welding up a L tool one of these days.

The new ones have an upside down V behind the refractory so you don’t need the L shaped tool, I still recommend to pull the bottom refractory to make sure every thing is cleaned out at the end of the season. My personal favorite for this is a leaf blower, stand up wind and with one arm or the other straight out blast the bottom chamber out after scraping all the ash you can.

I believe you’ve had yours for several years now? It should have had a cleanout tool of some kind for behind the refractory.

[hondaracer2oo4]

I send my wet dry vac hose up in back there to suck everything out. Seems to work well. Yes I think mine probably came with the tool but slim forgot to give it to me. It was his show boiler after all. Mines a 2015.

[E Yoder]

I like the leaf blower idea too. Seen it done and it works great.

[Jon_E]

I can't imagine the cloud that would be created by directing a leaf blower inside my boiler.  It's bad enough just hand-cleaning it out.   

[mlappin]

I can't imagine the cloud that would be created by directing a leaf blower inside my boiler.  It's bad enough just hand-cleaning it out.   

Like I said, I don’t do that until I’ve scraped all the ashes out I can. Then wait till the wind is at your back, if its at your back and right side, run the leaf blower with the left hand (the correct one) if winds at your back and left side run leaf blower with right hand. But yah it’s messy, but she’s clean when done. Only thing worse is I had some help once that thought they were going to use a leaf blower in a grain bin to clean it out.

[E Yoder]

I'm not 100% sure where the creosote build up came from. Maybe when his damper stuck open the one time with the ash built up it may have happened then. This is also a g-400. With no bypass circ. and the furnace only has on circ installed on it, for some reason unknown. We talked about the internal flow requirements to prevent stratification. So he is having a local plummer install one in the other supply n return loop.
    He has a new house I believe the furnace is to big for his requirements. Yes he has a pool but that is a different time when the pool needs heat.
As we all know There are many factors that need to come together to make any gasser run correctly if one or two things go wrong in the shoulder months it can affect the performance all winter long.
Yes it is inside a beautiful wood shed. With lots of room. And by now lots of dry wood.

You're right- the pool load often doesn't  factor in if it gets shut down in the winter. If the unit is oversized and idling I could see it getting messy and the damper plate sticking open, then smoking out of it when it shuts off.