Not trying to sound like an ass, but
Plan is to call him this afternoon.
Unless you have something specific in mind, there is no need to completely empty ashes and coals from the firebox.
You should have a long handled scraper for cleaning the interior of the firebox. I bought mine from my dealer when i got the boiler 8 years ago. Its all steel and the handle is about 7' long. With this tool you can scrape the walls/ceiling while the fire is burning.
Regarding the chimney, if using a chimney cleaning brush, I would let the fire burn down to coals only before going at it. However, I'd take a different approach (described below) unless you believe the chimney is plugged. If you think the chimney is plugged, then use a chimney tool or long rod to check for blockage.
To clean your boiler I would burn 1-2 creosote logs in a hot, stoked fire. Then tap on the chimney to shake anything remaining loose. Next, scrape the walls and ceiling with appropriate scraper tool. Next, shovel out ash/creosote, keeping coals. Finally, stoke the fire. Once you have cleaned the creosote and ashes you should be fine.
Now, back to the air flow issue. From your comments, it seems the boiler water temperature issue is burn-related and not caused by draw from the house system. It sounds like your fire smolders when the boiler door is closed and damper is open/fan is running, but when you open the boiler door the fire takes off burning strong.
I say this because there are only 2 ways your boiler water temp will drop to the 150's range you describe. First, cold water in the home loop dominating the hot water in the boiler loop, causing the boiler loop temp to drop ( as opposed to hot water in boiler loop dominating and causing home loop water temp to rise). Second, fire not burning strong enough to maintain 175-180 degree boiler water temp. Your descriptions/comments have suggested the latter as the cause.
So, you should check the chimney to be sure its not plugged. You should be able to contact a dealer to find out what tool to use to check/service the chimney. You also need to check your damper/fan airflow. Your comments suggest air intake is the root cause of the issue. The damper may not open completely or may be partially clogged, or the fan may be failing or compromised. I'm not familiar with your boiler design, but assume you will need to disassemble housing on the boiler door to check the damper/fan. Be safe! Kill the power before you do it. Disassemble the housing, check and clean the openings, parts and fan. The cause may be obvious. I would leave the housing off and turn on the power (be careful) so that i could observe the damper/fan cycle on and function. Diagnose/rule out based on your observations.
Finally, if you can afford it, and you cannot determine the cause of the issue yourself, have a dealer come and inspect your boiler. The dealer will probably immediately know what is wrong.
This afternoon I ran the temp up to 181 with the door open, closed the door, then went to open it a minute or two later to toss a piece of scrap in and literally the gases/smoke blew up out the door probably 4-5 feet out the door
think the stack could be partially blocked. This afternoon I ran the temp up to 181 with the door open, closed the door, then went to open it a minute or two later to toss a piece of scrap in and literally the gases/smoke blew up out the door probably 4-5 feet out the door easy, good thing I was low or it would have got me. Unfortunately, the smoke baffle is locked right up, I can only get it to move an inch or two so I think its gummed up good.
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