soot blower

English

Noun

soot blower (plural soot blowers)

1. A device for directing a jet of steam on the boiler tubes of a steam boiler, so as to remove deposits of soot inside the tubes.
   • 1944 May and June, “The Why and the Wherefore: Locomotive Soot Blowers”, in Railway Magazine, page 194:

     In order to deal with deposits of soot on boiler-tubes while running, especially if poor coal is in use, locomotives are often now provided with blowers on the firebox back-plate which can be made to discharge a jet of high pressure steam towards the firebox tubeplates; this has the effect of loosening and blowing off the soot deposits.