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Tips & tricks • Tue, 10/11/2016
There are two types of tubular boilers - firetube and watertube. In the watertube boiler, water is
carried in the tubes and heated to the point that it becomes high pressure steam. In most areas,
watertube boiler plants must have licensed stationary engineers on hand at all times and
maintenance is usually performed by in-house personnel.
In the firetube boiler, water surrounds the tubes and hot gasses travel through the tubes. This results
in soot and scale deposits accumulating within the tubes. No matter what fuel is used (gas, oil, coal,
or wood) the tubes need to be cleaned. If the tubes are not cleaned regularly, boiler efficiency is
sacrificed and fuel is wasted. Soot actually has five times the insulating capacity of asbestos. For
example, 1/8 inch of soot can accumulate in just two weeks, resulting in a heat loss of 47 percent
and an increase in fuel consumption of 8 percent. As the layer of soot builds up, the stack
temperature rises. For every 40°F rise in stack temperature, boiler efficiency is reduced by 1 percent.
That's a pretty good argument for regular tube cleaning.
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buildings, shopping centers, hotels, factories, military bases and in some ships.
Another tube cleaning method practiced by some boiler tube technicians was washing out the
tubes using a fire hose. One can imagine the mess this left behind. Yes, the tubes were cleaned, but
the boiler room was left with a layer of black mud on the floor. It took longer to clean the floor than
the tubes. In addition, this was often done on boilers firing Bunker C #6 oil with a high sulfur
content, which presented a safety issue - sulfur mixed with water creates an acid.
Another tube cleaning device that has come and gone is a machine that is hung from a system, or
racks that could be remotely guided to the opening of each tube one-by-one. Once positioned, the
tube cleaning machine mechanically drove a cleaning brush down the tube and back using a cable.
It was a great idea, but it took a great deal of time to assemble and disassemble the racks on each
boiler.
In most cases, tube cleaning was strictly a manual operation that required a great deal of time,
labor, mess and inconvenience. Brushes fastened to long, heavy metal rods were manually pushed
and pulled through the soot laden boiler tubes, resulting in clouds of soot filling the air and settling
on every surface in the room. The backbreaking effort went on for hours, followed by the immense
task of individually vacuuming each tube and cleaning up the boiler room. Eventually, the issue of
worker health was raised with the discovery of Vanadium Poisoning in the 1970s. Vanadium
Poisoning is an influenza-like illness that can have permanent effects. Toxic effects were reported
from breathing air containing as little as 5 mg per cubic meter. No wonder nobody wanted to clean
firetube boilers!
Unfortunately, there are still many operators out there who think this is still the only way to do the
job.
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the heating surfaces. A well-managed water treatment program is essential to minimizing scale
deposits.
Early watertube cleaning devices employed the use of cylindrical air motors fitted with complicated
cutter heads, fastened to the end of a heavy compressed air hose. The entire motor/cutter assembly
was then fed manually through the tubes and cleaning was performed dry, followed by a flushing
with a water hose. Each air motor was good for only a narrow range of tube sizes, so if the user had
many tube sizes to clean, he had to have multiple air motors, which drove up the cost. Interestingly,
this technology got its start in the U.S. Navy for cleaning ship's boilers.
For firetubes with soot deposits, there are tube cleaning machines that mechanically drive brushes,
or scrapers through the tubes - requiring almost no human effort. These machines are, in turn,
connected to powerful vacuums that draw the loosened soot from the tubes, simultaneously,
leaving the tubes, boiler room and operator completely clean.
Some firetube boilers develop scale deposits. This is particularly true with waste heat boilers and
boilers fired on lesser quality fuels. Some of the worst waste heat boilers are found at hospitals
where medical waste is burned in incinerators and the boiler is used to capture the heat generated
by the incinerator. In many cases, a straight brushing action is not sufficient, and rotary tube
cleaning equipment must be used. Manually-fed rotary systems are available that incorporate
simultaneous vacuuming, as well. Many of these systems were based on designs originally intended
for condenser and chiller tube cleaning and they work extremely well on scaled boiler tubes.
Systems are now available that utilize more powerful air motors, which drive flexible shafts fitted
with any of a variety of boiler tube cleaning tools. The flexible shaft is sheathed in a water tight
casing, which transports water right to the cleaning tool. This feature allows for the tubes to be
cleaned and flushed in a single operation, saving time and labor.
Efficiency Testing
Every boiler maintenance program should include regular efficiency testing, to reveal certain trends
that indicate it is time to clean the boiler. For example, an increase in stack temperature frequently
signals soot, or scale build up. An electronic combustion efficiency tester should be considered
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standard for the maintenance program. They are absolutely essential for tuning the burner OK properly.
experience. By clicking any link on this page you are giving
Many models of testers are available today with capabilities to measure and/or calculate net stack
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temperature, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, excess air, combustion
efficiency and other values. There are models available to fit every need and budget. Comparing
data from test to test will help pinpoint maintenance requirements.
Regular boiler maintenance that includes thorough boiler tube cleaning, will result in lower
operating costs and fuel consumption, greater efficiency and longer heating system life.
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