Cleaning and Maintenance

When I first started this blog I posted videos showing how easy it was to clean a Kedel boiler.  Well, after using the Kedel for the first winter I can tell you that it is actually as easy as it looks in the videos. I found myself emptying the ash bin once a week just to get into a habit although it could have gone longer.  I burned 10 tons of pellets and the ash filled one 30 gallon trash can.  I know the amount of ash will vary somewhat depending on which brand of pellet, but I was pleased with the complete combustion of the Kedel.  The ash was the consistency of flour and there were so few "clinkers" that they don't even deserve a mention.
 
 I also looked at the photo sensor weekly but it never seemed to get dirty.  It was simple to do, just remove a cover and pull it out of the housing,  a simple wipe and push it back into place.
 
When it came to the heat exchanger it truly was a simple procedure.  The hardest part was probably waiting for it to cool off for 20 to 30 minutes to do the cleaning.  Then it was just removal of two wing nuts, lift off the cover and lift out the baffles.  The majority of the soot and ash on the baffles would come off with a light tap on the concrete floor.  I could have used the included brush, but there was little need.  I did find that an Ash Vacuum came in handy.  I received one as a gift during the holidays and it made cleanup that much simpler.
 
Removal and cleaning of the burner was even simpler.  Once again, two wing nuts  and the entire burner assembly was out.  The burn tray was nearly always empty due to the automatic air compressor cleaning, however on a couple occasions I did find a small amount of ash build up which quickly fell out with a slight tap.  Again, the vacuum came in handy sucking up a light coat of wood dust around the burner housing.

 Once the baffles and the burner assembly were removed it was easy to use the brush and scraper tools which came with the Kedel.  Scraping the sides of the chambers removed all ash with little residue remaining. And when I say scrape I should explain that this was effortless.  I'm not talking about a scrape like trying to scrape paint off the siding on your house, it was more like running your hand over a tabletop to remove the dust.  However it is a metal tool on a metal surface so it technically is scraping I guess.  I never noticed any large build ups which required the use of the included wire brush, but I did use it just to say I did.  Once the ash was removed from the inside walls it all fell into the ash bin in the base of the Kedel and it was removed like a file cabinet drawer.  Be careful when dumping or otherwise emptying this bin.  The ash is very fine and can create quite a cloud of dust.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

The only other maintenance worth mentioning was the replacing of the igniter.  I was told to expect the igniter life of approximately 1000 ignitions.  Mine quit at around 900.  The impressive thing was that I got an email from my boiler saying it had an ignition failure.  I've mentioned before but it bears mentioning again,  I love the internet connectivity of the Kedel.  The igniter was easy to replace and the Kedel came with a spare. If you can connect a stereo speaker you can replace the igniter.  Two wires, on two terminals and the ignitor just pulls out of the burner assembly.  It goes back in just as easy.  I had never done it before and it took me less than 10 minutes to figure it out and replace it.  I icontacted my installer, Daigle Oil Company, to order a spare. I expected the worst based on horror stories from owners of other pellet stoves/boilers. I was pleasantly surprised that not only were they kept in stock, they were only $25.

After it's first winter of use, the Kedel didn't disappoint with the ease of cleaning.  I would recommend the air compressor.  It kept the burn tray clean and clear of ash which made the operation of the unit so much more worry free.  I definitely saw the benefit.  I made the mistake of "temporarily" using the air compressor's electrical outlet for my tile saw.  After three days I noticed (online) the photo sensor was seeing less light.  After I plugged the compressor back in and cleaned the burn tray I never had another issue.  I think I'll find another place for my tile saw.

Next post:  Pellets and Consumption