Heating devices that use wood or other solid fuels require periodic cleaning. Deposits on the walls of the chimney are dangerous not only by narrowing the canals, collapsing and blocking the aisles, but also by igniting the plaque, which can cause a fire in the house. Hazard should be promptly eliminated. Do you agree?
We will tell you how to maintain the smoke channel so that it does not create threats to you and property. The article presented to the acquaintance describes in detail how the chimney is cleaned from soot, how often and when it needs to be performed. For zealous owners are effective preventive measures.
The content of the article:
- Chimney cleaning: chemical and mechanical
-
Mechanical cleaning of smoke channels
- Preparatory work before removing soot
- Cleaning sequence
- How to make a ruff with your own hands?
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Cleaning with chemicals
- Use of powder
- Chimney cleaning with chimney log
- Folk remedies to combat the accumulation of soot
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How to reduce chimney pollution?
- Choosing the best fuel
- Dependence on humidity and burning temperature
- Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Chimney cleaning: chemical and mechanical
Mechanical cleaning is a rather complicated and time-consuming process. Therefore, as a rule, it is carried out no more than 1-2 times a year. But with intensive use of heating devices, this is often not enough.
In addition, the more deposits are formed on the channel walls, the more the efficiency decreases - the efficiency of fuel use decreases.
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Chimney cleaning is necessary for the normal operation of the unit heating the house. This is a guarantee of a safe atmosphere in the house and the rapid achievement of the required temperature.
The carbon black formed as a result of burning is deposited on the walls by mechanical methods and chemical means.
Regular chimney cleaning is required to form stable traction that ensures rapid ignition of the furnace.
The chimneys of stoves and fireplaces need to be cleaned throughout the canals. To extract soot from the bottom and turns in the oven, cameras with doors are arranged.
The narrowing of the chimney duct due to soot buildup will significantly complicate the operation of the unit, may cause the spread of toxins dangerous for people and a drop in thrust.
Black growths on the walls of the chimney - a common cause of spontaneous ignition, often developing into a fire
Because of the peculiar roughness of the walls and the presence of seams in the masonry, brick smoke ducts more quickly overgrow with soot, therefore they often need to be cleaned.
Round metal chimneys, both single-walled and sandwich structures, are less polluted with soot because of the smooth inner surface. However, they also need regular cleaning, but much less frequently than brick.
Clean chimney - the key to normal operation
Mechanical way to remove soot
Stable thrust in the furnace firebox
Soot removal from the bottom of the chimney
Chimney constriction due to soot buildup
Spontaneous combustion of soot in the pipe
Soot build-ups in a brick pipe
Round in cross-section chimney gas boiler
Mechanical cleaning of smoke channels
The purpose of mechanical cleaning - getting rid of soot and soot, conducting routine inspection. Even if during the entire heating season, measures were taken to minimize accumulations on the walls of the chimney, all the same, the likelihood of violations in the operation of the chimney remains.
During the inspection it may turn out that soot collapsed in the canals, a brick fell out of the masonry, you can also find dead birds
Preparatory work before removing soot
If cleaning starts from the chimney section located above the roof covering, care must be taken to ensure safety. To do this, use a safety cable.
If there is none, then a rope is tied around the belt, the other end of which is fixed around a reliable support - a chimney or a tree growing on the side opposite to the chimney.
The use of insurance when working at height is a prerequisite, even if the house has only one floor. And in order not to damage the protective coating of the roof of metal, you need to use shoes with soft soles, for example, sneakers
In order to minimize the soot ingress into the house, and then it will be rather difficult to clean it off, the firebox and the sazette doors are tightly closed. Fireplace curtain wet cloth.
You can protect yourself from dirt when cleaning the fireplace in the following way: a ruff is slid into the chimney, the end of the cable is pulled out through a hole in the fabric. Cloth curtain the fireplace insert, securing with adhesive tape around the perimeter, and moisten. After that, you can read it without fear of spraying soot all over the room.
Cleaning sequence
Before you start work, you need to figure out how to clean the chimney from the bottom, without getting out on the roof. And only if there is no such possibility, proceed to cleaning. Begin with a portion of the pipe protruding above the roof, after removing spark arrester and / or deflector.
To clean the direct chimney of the fireplace, use a brush with a telescopic flexible handle. Brush get the bottom, from the side of the furnace and lead to the exit of the chimney
If cleaning starts from the roof, then the work is carried out in the following order:
- Putting all the accessories in a bucket, climb to the roof, secure the safety cable.
- Remove the fungus or deflector from the tube head, if any.
- They clean the smoke channel, trying to remove all deposits - holding the cable, lower and raise the ruff with a weight.
- After the channel is cleaned, put the tools in the bucket, set the deflector in place. Having unbuckled a safety cable, go down.
- In the house or in the attic, the doors are cleaned (sazhtruski) and the crumbled soot is removed.
Continuing to move from the upper channels to the lower ones, they carry out cleaning, after which they choose the sprinkled soot and close the doors.
To clean the chimney delivered a minimum of hassle, you can equip the ashpit and sazhentruski retractable drawers
All cleaning manipulations are carried out carefully. A newspaper, oilcloth or thick fabric is covered on the floor. Soot that has fallen to the floor, first collected with a vacuum cleaner or a dry broom, a rag. After all collected, wash the surface.
It is better to choose a vacuum cleaner with a plastic container, or to use industrial electrical equipment - they are easier to clean from contamination. There are also models specifically designed for collecting soot and ash.
How to make a ruff with your own hands?
In order not to buy a ruff, you can make yourself a device for cleaning the chimney from plastic bottles or a metal cable.
Plastic is more versatile and suitable for all types of chimneys. While a metal brush can damage the protective coating of galvanized steel chimneys or tear off the clay layer, which is applied to make the internal surfaces smooth.
For the manufacture of a ruff from a plastic bottle, you need a steel cable with a diameter of about 2 mm, a clamp, two plastic one and a half liter bottles. Bottles are cut in half (across), dissolved in strips, leaving the upper part intact.
In the bottoms make holes of small diameter with a hot metal object (wire, screwdriver). The same hole is made in the covers.
The halves are connected to each other, putting on a threaded hook in the following sequence: bottom, neck with lid, neck with lid, bottom. Fix the connection with two nuts and two washers.
Then a connector is put on the end of the hook and the threaded rod (rod) of the appropriate diameter is screwed onto it. You can also use plumbing cable for cleaning sewer pipes. The length of the cable may be about 2 m.
Ruff for cleaning the channels must conform to the shape of chimneys. They can be rectangular or square. The size of the bristles should be 1.3 times larger than the size of the pipe in cross section
To clean the blockage in the chimney, you can use a ruff mounted on a cable, to which a heavy object is attached to the bottom. A metal ball can be used as a weighting agent. Objects with a displaced center of gravity are not desirable, as they can roll over and get stuck in the chimney.
Cleaning with chemicals
Effectively prevent the accumulation of soot in the chimney will help special means. They are intended for prevention and are designed to ensure that their use is regular.
These additives are used during the combustion of firewood. As a result, soot is destroyed at the stage of burning. They are used before mechanically cleaning the chimney, as well as periodically, throughout the heating season.
It should be remembered that completely replace the mechanical cleaning chemical - is unacceptable, since this method can not provide 100% cleaning (+)
Use of powder
Powder chemical cleaner is designed to burn sediments formed on the walls of smoke channels, firebox. The product is combusted with solid fuels and prevents the deposition of soot and tar.
The use of chemicals greatly simplifies the cleaning of the chimney. But with heavy pollution and old sediments, they may be powerless. The best use for them is prophylactic use.
The use of a catalyst allows partial burning of soft deposits and loosening solid deposits. The systematic use of the tool allows you to maintain the efficiency of the use of heating systems and furnace devices.
The rate of addition of the powder is about 1-2 kg per ton of fuel or 1-2 tablespoons for every 10 kg. When using firewood from resinous wood, the catalyst is used every third load. The catalyst, which is applied correctly, should give white smoke of a yellowish tint.
The shape of the chemical for chimney cleaning can be any. However, it almost does not affect the effectiveness of the removal of deposits, the question of choice is only in ease of use
Chimney cleaning with chimney log
One of the effective means of combating creosote deposits is a special log. It is absolutely non-toxic tool that can be used to clean the stoves, fireplaces, wood-fired boilers, coal.
To use Log "Chimney Sweep" very simple. To do this, it must be set on fire and left to burn. As it burns, smoke enriched in salt mineral penetrates into creosote, dries out and makes it loose. Thus, it is possible to almost completely clean the walls of the channels from deposits.
Folk remedies to combat the accumulation of soot
The most famous old-fashioned way to combat blockage in chimneys - burning potato peelings. Using them most effectively during intense burning.
Under the action of high temperature, steam is formed with a high starch content, which loosens and softens deposits. Soot exfoliates and showered. This method is suitable for the prevention of channel blockage and how to prepare for mechanical cleaning.
To combat soot is used not only potato peel. Starch or rock salt is also used, sprinkling firewood on them.
Burning aspen wood in large quantities, as a method of cleaning soot from the chimney, although considered effective, can lead to bad consequences.
High temperatures that cause soot to ignite in the flue exhaust channels can cause a fire, if there are cracks or damage. In addition, not all metal sandwich chimneys can be operated at very high temperatures.
How to reduce chimney pollution?
For different types of heating devices, it is common to accumulate soot in smoke channels at different rates. So, the more protrusions, roughness and irregularities, the more soot settles on the walls. It prevents soot from escaping into the atmosphere and numerous turns or incorrectly laid out smoke channels.
But if the stove, fireplace, boiler is already installed, there is no possibility to change its design. But you can minimize the other negative factors that lead to severe pollution of the chimney.
Choosing the best fuel
During the combustion of any fuel in the chimney a deposit of soot and soot is formed. But one of its kind can form more sediments than the others. To reduce the intensity of pollution can be, if you use the "right" fuel.
Wood of different tree species has a different chemical composition. Different content of tar, oils, tar, creosote affect the degree of sediment formation on chimney pipes. The less these substances in the wood, the less soot will be formed in the combustion process. Other types of solid fuels also affect pollution to varying degrees.
What kind of fuel forms soot more than others?
- firewood from conifers - spruce, pine;
- birch firewood, which has a high content of tar;
- briquettes and pellet granules from the husk of sunflower seeds due to the high oil content give an intensive formation of soot.
It should also be noted that burning in the kiln of household waste, especially plastic, also contributes to the formation of plaque.
In contrast to these types of fuel, firewood from oak, hornbeam, beech, walnut, sycamore, pear, and apple trees can be noted. These hard rocks cause much less pollution of the smoke channels.
Aspen firewood forms little soot, and, in addition, is a preventive tool in the fight against its subsidence on the walls of the chimney
Burn well and leave some soot. sawdust briquettes, otherwise known as Eurodroves. When burning, they do not spark, weakly absorb moisture, so that they can be stored in kitchens near the stove.
Dependence on humidity and burning temperature
It is highly desirable to use dry firewood for space heating - the drier the better. The fact is that, when burning wet fuel, the ash under the influence of steam rises with it and sticks together in clumps. It becomes heavier and cannot leave the chimney. As a result, it accumulates inside the chimney in the form of soot.
Therefore, they need to be harvested in advance and stored under a canopy, in special indoor premises, sheds. In such conditions it will be possible to reach 15 - 20% humidity. At the same time, the degree of dryness will always fluctuate depending on the humidity of the air in the room, outside.
The more water vapor forms during the combustion of fuel, the faster the blockages in the chimney, furnace, stove, fireplace
The amount of soot formation is also affected by the burning temperature. The worse the firewood burns - the greater the degree of pollution, the more often it will have to be produced. chimney cleaning.
This is due to the fact that at low temperatures an excess of carbon particles is formed, which is deposited in the form of soot and soot. This phenomenon is especially characteristic of the initial burning, when the firewood only inflames.
Therefore, when kindling a stove or a fireplace, you need to strive to increase the temperature in the firebox as quickly as possible - melt the stove with dry wood, use more thin and dry wood chips.
In addition, after the attenuation of the fire must be kept warm. For this, as soon as all fuel burns in the stove, close the gate. And then at the next kindling the temperature inside the oven will be much higher than if it were not closed.
It is possible to determine the burning temperature using a special device - a burning indicator, which is attached to a metal chimney and measures the temperature of flue gases.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Video # 1. Use of chemicals:
Video # 2. Cleaning of smoke channels using potato peelings:
Video # 3. How to make a ruff from a plastic bottle and clean the chimney with it:
Check how you managed to clean up the soot from the chimney using a newspaper. It is set on fire and brought to the firebox and to the clean door.
If there is no thrust at any site, then, most likely, in the channels located above, the blockage could not be eliminated. In this case, it is better to invite a chimney sweep who will help to determine the exact cause and cope with a bad burden.
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