Okay. From start to finish, (when I opened the door to begin cleaning to filling fire box and closing door) it took all of 30 minutes for a really good cleaning. When I began the water temp was 185* when I finished cleaning but before rekindling it, the water temp was 182*. Before going outside I turned off the thermostats to each heat zone so there was no heat load. Being an old 1840's farmhouse, the house temp fell from 75* to 71* in that 30 minute period. Not too bad considering the age of the house. Did I mention it was 5* degrees outside at 7:00m this morning?
The following is what I did
1) turned off house thermostats
2) turned off power to to controls.
3) opened by-pass door
4) brought empty wheelbarrow from wood shed to OWB
5) removed any unburned firewood - placed on ground
6) removed red hot coals and placed in wheelbarrow - smile as they flame up in the clean air
7) clean air holes - this took a bit over 5 minutes to clean. I inspected them really good to be sure they are clear. Other than a bit of ash in a couple of them, they were very clean.
scrape creosote from walls and ceiling of firebox with hoe
9) remove end cap from end of chimney
10) amazed to find just fine powder/dust - no creosote anywhere.
11) removed the fine powder/dust
12) cleaned heat exchanger with homemade tool. just fine powder/dust stuck to it. Removes easily
13) opened by-pass clean out door. All of the fine powder/dust from the chimney and heat exchanger was removed from here. Cleared all ash and fine powder/dust. No evidence of creosote in reaction chamber.
14) Reinstalled by-pass clean out door.
15) reinstall chimney end cap.
16) put hot coals from wheelbarrow back in firebox.
17) reload the unburned fire wood to the firebox.
18) look in amazement as it fired up right away.
19) fill fire box with fresh firewood to desired level to last the rest of the day.
20) watch in amazement as reaction chamber temp goes from 120* to 500* in a matter of about a minute and a half.
21) watch water temp climb.
22) remember to turn on thermostats in house.
23) have second cup of coffee and raise coffee cup to toast the OWB.
After inspecting the chimney and heat exchange I believe I may be able to clean these systems once during the heating cycle, perhaps mid winter. The E-classic 1400 has been operating since late Oct until this morning and I didn't find that the buildup of fine powder/dust that bad. Granted it'll be completely cleaned this spring when it is no longer needed. I'll be sure to inspect all systems before firing her up again in the fall. I have a feeling that the more I do this, I'll learn some short cuts along the way. If I do, I'll share them with you.
One thing I'll have to keep in mind for next time. Wait until outdoor temps rise from 5* to something a bit more comfortable. It was cold out there! Although, if the work was only inside the firebox, well it was 185* degrees - can you say toasty? I was sweating for the few minutes I spent clearing the air holes.
I hope someone finds this useful. Roger
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Topic: Complete cleaning (Read 2818 times)