TPB-150 Maintenance

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Unit must be cleaned after aproximately 2 tons of fuel to ensure good efficiency. Monitor your boiler daily until experience shows how often cleaning is necessary. There are many factors that help you realize it is time for a cleaning. The strength of the fire is one good determining factor. Another, how much smoke if any comes into the room when the boiler door is opened. Yet another good method is your sense of smell. If you are smelling smokey odors eminating from your boiler, this is a very good indication it is time for a cleaning.

Cleaning a boiler is a messy process. Great amounts of dust and fly ash will be created. It is a good idea to wear a high quality dust mask to avoid breathing the fine particles which are created.

To clean the boiler:

1. Ensure the fire is out and the boler is sufficiently cooled to allow proper cleaning.
2. Switch the primary control feed system switch to off. Turn off the service switch.
3. Open the fire door and remove the firepot.
4. Remove the top cover of the boiler so you are looking down on the top of the baffled tubes.
5. Remove the baffles by lifting straight up. Sometimes baffles will stick in place if klinker has formed around the base of the baffles. A short crowbar hooked into the top of the baffle will allow them to be gently pried up. Generally it is only required that the baffle be "broken free" and then it should slide quite easily the rest of the way.
6. Clean the baffle tubes by running the supplied 3" diameter brush down thru the boiler tubes. Optionally, this brush can be mounted to an electric drill so that the twisting motion of the brush can provide extra cleaning action. It is advisable to wear eye protection such as safety glasses while doing this step because as you draw the brush up and out of the boiler small particles of hardened soot will spray from the tips of the brush. It is also a good idea to run a shopvac inside the smoke box to contain all the dust that is created from the cleaning process.
7. Use an approved Ash Vacuum (not a household vacuum) to clean the top of the heat exchanger. A shopvac can also work, if you have installed a drywall bag, to contain the fine particles. However, using a shop vac, you must be particularly certain the boiler is completely cooled. Sucking live ash into a shopvac will almost certainly create a fire.
8. Re-assemble the top of the boiler while examining smoke chamber lid gaskets to make sure they are in good condition.
9. Remove ash pan door and slide out ash pan. It is a good idea to transfer the ash pan directly out doors, because dumping it into any sort of transport container (bucket) will create great amounts of dust. However, if this is not possible; carefully dump the ashes into a fireproof transport container. This container will be where the ashes are stored pending final disposal by burial in soil or otherwise locally dispersed. They should be retained in the ash container until thoroughly cooled. Do not use the ash container to store other waste as this is a risk for fire. Take care not to scrape the sides of the firechamber as you remove and insert the ash pan, nor, as you clean out any remaining ashes in the bottom of the boiler. The side of the firechamber is lined with high temperature ceramic firebrick insulation. Damage to the insulation will cause heat loss and damage to the external surface of the boiler.
10. Inspect and clean chimney of soot, fly ash and possible creosote build up.
11. Replace fire pot
12. Inspect fire door, ash door gaskets, making sure they are in good repair and are seated correctly in the door to achieve a good seal.
13. Securely close all doors.
14. Restart the boiler as per Start Up Instructions.