Q. How are boiler flues cleaned?
A. There are two ways of cleaning flues, viz: with a steam blower and
a scraper. The latter is more commonly used and when properly applied
does its work most efficiently.
The scraper is screwed on the end of a rod of sufficient length to
allow it to pass through the flue, and when cleaning, the scraper
should be passed forward and backward through the flue or least two or
three times, to insure all the soot and ashes being removed.
[Illustration: Wilson Pat. Flue Scraper.]
The cleaning of flues should be done systematically, as often as
required to keep them clean, as clean flues not only add greatly to the
steaming capacity of the boiler, but make a great difference in the
amount of fuel used.
If the flues are allowed to become covered inside with soot and ashes,
the formation of which becomes a non-conductor for heat, the product of
combustion passes through the flues without leaving more than one-half
as much heat as it would otherwise leave if the flues were clean.