When do you shut down and clean stoker?

Hello, Just wondering when you shut down and clean out stoker. I believe I heard after you run about 1000 #s of coal through?

End of season for me. If I can help it and don't have some sort of brain fart that lets my stoker go out, it's the end of season.
Not familiar with your stoker but the Harman has a slide lever under the grates that allows you to dump accumulated fly ash while running. There is also a fines tray to remove coal fines dropped out during the operation of the pusher block. I clean out the vent pipe about 4-5 times during the season but can also do that while operating. I run through 10,000# + or - of coal per season.

The big concern is the flue pipe because of the fly ash. That will eventually block it. How often to clean it?

Depends... Some coal produces more fly ash, different size flue pipes, etc. I know most manufacturers recommend once a month but most people get by with doing it yearly. Other options include using a T instead of elbow at the end or horizontal runs. This will give you easy access with vacuum cleaner.

Me personally, it never gets shut down but I can easily access all of the flue pipe to get the ash out and my pipe is so big it could probably go for 2 or 3 years.

Pretty much the same here. I'll occasionally do a quick vacuuming of the vent pipe and fan when we get a warmish day and the furnace is on idle, but it runs nonstop 'til the end of the season.

I have a koker and I shut her down and do a full cleaning (including all pipes and flue) every 6 weeks or my draft starts to fall.

I clean mine on a calm day sometime in January and at the end of the season.

What kind of stoker are you talking about? a stoker stove or a boiler?

mattcoalburner wrote:What kind of stoker are you talking about? a stoker stove or a boiler?

Looks like the original poster has an Alaska stoker stove. The stoves require much more frequent cleanings than a boiler...especially the larger units.

jrn8265 wrote:I have a koker and I shut her down and do a full cleaning (including all pipes and flue) every 6 weeks or my draft starts to fall.

If you replace your 90 degree elbows with T's you can clean the pipes at will without shutting down. I can't amagine a vertical flue would need to be cleaned much. The flyash falls to the bottom.


This pic doesn't show it but there is also a T at the bottom where the pipe comes out of the boiler. You can clean out all the flyash in a couple minutes without ever shutting down.

Thanks for your comments, Ill probably shut down (alaska) stoker about every 6 six weeks, clean, oil and blow out power venter.

It sounds like the Harman has a very nice system for cleaning under the pusher block etc. .
I open up the clean out door on top of the 110 every couple of weeks and vacuum out the ash build up ( takes only a couple minutes ) and check the flu pipe which is still fine after burning for 2 months now and this can be done without a shut down . I did take off the front access panel today and vacuumed that area of ash build up, again no shut down required .

If you replace your 90 degree elbows with T's you can clean the pipes at will without shutting down. I can't amagine a vertical flue would need to be cleaned much. The flyash falls to the bottom.

IShutting stove down tomorrow for complete cleaning. Burnt 3 ton so we'll see how dirty it might be.. Might even add T's too

I run year-round for DHW purposes but I shut down for cleaning typically once in late winter (a mild day) then again in the mid-fall.