How & how often do you clean your firebox?

[David]

We sweep our tubes every run but how often do people clean their firebox sides and crown and what do you use to do it?

[andyhigham]

Never ever cleaned a firebox.
I don't sweep tubes, I just blow them through with compressed air. The only time tubes get claggy is when using wood for lighting up, the resins and tars in the wood stick to the tubes and glue the soot in place

[mbrown]

I never used to clean my fireboxes. Any time I looked (I have a tiny light on a flexible stalk) the sides were very clean - no loose soot to speak of.

The Burma Mines loco has a combustion chamber and ash and unburnt coal tends to accumulate in it, so I sweep it out after each run with a toothbrush.

However I don't steam my locos very often so it may be more of an issue for those that do.

Malcolm

[don9f]

I’m with Andy and use an air line to blow the firebox, tubes & smokebox as clean as I can after every run. On the 9F for example, apart from the tubes it wouldn’t be easy to clean all the other areas, including its combustion chamber any other way! I brush the tubes occasionally but there’s never much in them.

Cheers Don

[terrier060]

I got told off for not cleaning mine last boiler steam test! So mine will get a proper clean once a year!
Ed

[David]

Jan 10, 2022 11:25:36 GMT andyhigham said:

The only time tubes get claggy is when using wood for lighting up, the resins and tars in the wood stick to the tubes and glue the soot in place

What do you all use for lighting up? Everyone I know uses wood soaked in kerosene.

I cleaned the firebox on the red loco before our Christmas run and I'm sure it steamed a lot better than it had any other time last year. It was steaming very dully all year.

I used a wire brush on a flexible drive, driven from an electric drill.

[flyingfox]

Greetings David, I used to use wood & kerosene as you described, but found it left a sticky deposit in the tubes, which baked into a hard, difficult to remove skin on the inside of the tube, so I switched to charcoal and white spirit, which burn much cleaner and no deposit.
Regards
Brian B

[Cro]

Jan 11, 2022 1:47:53 GMT David said:

Jan 10, 2022 11:25:36 GMT andyhigham said:

The only time tubes get claggy is when using wood for lighting up, the resins and tars in the wood stick to the tubes and glue the soot in place

What do you all use for lighting up? Everyone I know uses wood soaked in kerosene.

I cleaned the firebox on the red loco before our Christmas run and I'm sure it steamed a lot better than it had any other time last year. It was steaming very dully all year.

I used a wire brush on a flexible drive, driven from an electric drill.

Fine charcoal and paraffin or white spirit you get a much better bed to place the coal on and I have always found it makes it easier to light up - air line blowers make a big difference too compared to electric. 

As others have said wood leaves horrible deposits, I had to carefully clean the tubes out of grandads Maid once as the lower ones were very much smaller than the upper ones! 

But no I don't regularly clean the firebox but if I'm ever working on it and can get a brush around I might give it a quick once round. 

Adam

[stevep]

I always brush out my tubes after a run, especially when I was using wood soaked in paraffin, which left a horrible sticky mess behind.

I have changed to using domestic firelighters, which leaves everything much cleaner. I break the firelighters into several pieces, and after getting them lit, I start piling up plain charcoal. Once that's going, it's straight on to the coal.

[coniston]

Jan 11, 2022 10:08:14 GMT stevep said:

I always brush out my tubes after a run, especially when I was using wood soaked in paraffin, which left a horrible sticky mess behind.

I have changed to using domestic firelighters, which leaves everything much cleaner. I break the firelighters into several pieces, and after getting them lit, I start piling up plain charcoal. Once that's going, it's straight on to the coal.

I'm with you on that one Steve, no messy liquids to carry about and burns clean.

I brush the firebox once a year for the steam test and cold examination. I only use a stiff bristle brush to remove any loose char but find very little of any consequence. Personally I wouldn't use a wire brush as it has the potential for damage.


Chris 

[andyhigham]

Pushing anything down the tubes has the potential to be very VERY expensive.
After running, blow through with air and photograph the tubes. Then run some more and repeat. After a few running sessions compare the photos, there will be no difference.
There will be a thin black coating, black is good for heat transfer