Kitchen Gas Appliances - Heater Burner Cleaning

I have a gas boiler (radiator/hot water heat). I noticed tonight that I have a bunch of burners not lit. I assume they are clogged and just need cleaned. Someone shed some light on the subject for me please.

Also those that are lit do not show the correct color flame as I would think they should. The flame is blue in the middle but then it goes to orange and some even are yellow tipped. I'm 90% sure all of them should be burning a green in the middle and blue on the outside (most efficient for natural gas) How do I adjust the burners so they burn correctly?

Thanks, and you guys rock. I love DIY.com

For all burners to light evenly, they must be clean. A cross-over tube or other device assists all burners to light at nearly the same time. If there is a delay in any of the burners lighting, there may be a loud "whoosh" to a loud "boom." The burners and cross-overs are dirty or out of alignment.

It is very important that you have your furnace cleaned and serviced every year. The biproducts of gas can cause rust to collect in the burner, impede gas flow, cause moisture to collect in the burner and rust it out. If flames are not sharp and blue, you have dirt in the burner. Beware of carbon monoxide poisoning. If your furnace is not running at peak performance, have it serviced immediately.

Hello bigpoppax2. Welcome to my Gas Appliances topic.

Very true about clean burners and a clean firebox. To accomplish the cleaning job, most likely the burners will have to be removed. Take notes and be sure you know exactly how each burner comes out. Doing so will ensure proper reinstallment.

For the burners that do not light up, the orifices may be blocked or restricted. After the burner is removed, check the orifices for blockage or restrictions.

Checking the orifices can be a simple matter of using a pipe cleaner inserted into the orifice hole or as complex as removing it. Either way works but note how far out each orifice is threaded so it can be returned to it's original place.

On the burner clean out the venturi and the air shutter opening. Clean out all the burner ports. The ports are the places the flames come out of. The venturi is the burner tube and on it's opposite end from the burner head is the air shutter.

Clean everything you can, including inside the firebox if possible. Than reassemble as needed. If you do not have to remove the burners, depending on the heater design, don't remove anything.

Be sure the heater is not able to fire up while you are cleaning it. Turn off the electrical power to be sure.

If you need further assistance, use the REPLY button to add any additional information or ask additional questions after attempting the correctional method or methods offered.

Regards & Good Luck, Forum Host & Multiple Topic Moderator.
TCB4U2B2B Company Enterprises. Energy Conservation Consultant & Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technician.

Tom, I butted into this forum because I was attrracted by the mod posts re: information re: forum posters on this site. I am sorry that I am not an HVAC expert. Yet, manufacturers recommend that systems be annually inspected and cleaned. This info is posted in all homeowner manuals. Is this something that a DIYer can do?

This diy'er will try anything. I have only had to give up on one project that I tried to do myself. That was only because I didn't have the proper tools to finish the job and it was actually cheaper to have the professional do the job as opposed to buying the right tools to do it myself.

But a furnace cleaning, no problem. My only stink so far is I still have no advice as how to adjust the flame. I want to get the right color flame to get the best efficiency.

Thanks guys, and gals (just in case)

Very easy job here. I'm done with my cleaning. That made a huge difference. I'd say I have at least 3 times the flame I had before. Only problem is the burner ports (the part that the flame comes out of) is the adjuster for the correct flame. My furnace is ancient (my house was built in 1936). So you can imagine the burner ports that are supposed to be adjusted using the threads on top of the burner tube, are corroded very bad and the actual burner port is brittle. I tried to loosen three of them only to break three of them.

Where can I find some new burners? If need be I can take a picture of one and maybe someone could help me out here.

Proccess I took to clean, just FYI:

Turned the thermostat all the way down

Turned off the gas

Unhook the gas line to the manifold

Pull the manifold out of the firebox

Take all 80 of the burners out of the manifold (yeah 80)

Used the wire wheel on my bench grinder to clean the burner ports

Used a pipe cleaner to clean all the burner tubes

Blew everything out with compressed air (bunches of rust and gunk came out of the manifold, quite a bit of stuff came out of the burner tubes, more than I expected)

Reinstalled all of the burners

Reinstalled the manifold

Hooked the gas line back up

Lit the pilot

Fired up the furnace

Hi: twelvepole

I agree. Having a professional is by far the best choice. However, I also use instinct feelings and some minor ESP...:) to determine if a person can perform this type of task.

Doing so is based on my years in the field as a pro and how the question is explained, written and detailed, as to whether the person asking the question can infact perform the task.

I do this solely on an independant and individual basis and not as a general rule. Carefully reading of the question and looking for clues helps plenty. Through knowledge of the subject and the trade helps plenty.

As does reading into the question, exactly what isn't posted, helps too....:) Sometimes it does take reading the question more than once to determine how to reply...:) as you are well aware.

Excellent point and glad you brought it up too...:)

Regards,
Tom_B