Soot Build-Up on Poultry Man Scalder

A normal flame is all blue and just a couple inches tall. It burns hot and heats water the most efficiently. Gradually over the course of several months, especially outdoor processors, the flame on the burner changes from a hot, blue flame to a cooler orange/yellow flame that laps wildly at the bottom of the scald tank. Soot builds up on the bottom of the tank. The same problem happens with your propane gas grill.

The time to heat your scald water up to temperature at the beginning of your processing day will increasingly take longer. Temperature recovery time as you process also becomes longer as the flame struggles to provide enough heat.

Cause: The holes in the burner have become corroded due to the gas, moisture, and use. Airflow at the burner is restricted, creating an improper air/gas mixture. The result is a flame that doesn’t produce as much heat as it should.

The fix is to clean the burner holes.

Solution: This applies to the cast iron burners. You may be able to improve the quality of your flame by running a stiff wire brush over the top of the burner hole to remove some of the corrosion on the surface of the burner holes. This can often help, but it’s not a complete fix.

To properly restore the flame, you’ll need to drill out the holes in the burner.

Disconnect the copper gas line coming into the burner. The copper is soft, sob be careful not to kink and break the line. That would cause a gas leak and fire hazard. Then remove each bolts that attaches burner to the mounting bracket to remove the burner.

Drill out each burner hole with a 3/32” drill bit. Use caution. This bit is thin and will break off if you apply too much or uneven pressure. Be careful and don’t be a brute in a hurry, and you’ll be fine. If you do break a bit off in one of the burner holes, it will not adversely affect your burner operation.

Reattach the burner and the gas line. Use the scalder as normal.