Cleaning fire tubes

[chrisg3103]

Evening all, i recently picked up a rather old oil fired air heater. After drilling out most of the screws i finaly got the heat exchanger tubes uncovered



After setting about the accessible bits with a chipping hammer i need to knock the crud off of the inside of the tubes, was quite a thick layer of encrusted carbon.
Any standard way of doing this? thinking something like welding bits of chain to a bar to flail it off with a drill

Also this thing was attached to the back of the tubes with a combination of pop rivets, tek screws and silicone!


thinking ill make something a bit better that actually bolts on, the gap between the end of the tubes and the flange is about 30mm, would there be draw/draught problems i i were to make a plate to fit flush or would there need to be more room behind the tubes? if that makes sense

 

[rtbcomp]

I made a flail out of a length of speedo cable, opened out at the end like a sweep's brush, to clean the waterways in a cylinder head. Worked a treat as long as the end didn't leave the workpiece whilst it was spinning.

 

[brightspark]

buy a flue- boiler brush http://www.schaeferbrush.com/FlueProducts.html

 

[chunkolini]

Brightspark, kindly leave this forum for use of bad language. I, no We are ashamed of you. Disgraceful use of language.
BUY? Sorry chaps I moderate myself.
Terrible word to use in public.
Make, bodge, fix, create, adapt, sort, but BUY?
Appalled.

 

[brightspark]

Brightspark, kindly leave this forum for use of bad language. I, no We are ashamed of you. Disgraceful use of language.
BUY? Sorry chaps I moderate myself.
Terrible word to use in public.
Make, bodge, fix, create, adapt, sort, but BUY?
Appalled.

pmsl u obviously dont go to autojumbles and pick stuff up for next to nowt as there not worth the time makin

 

[chunkolini]

Brightspark, you used bad language.
There is a point where it is not worth the effort.it usually comes after two days of farting about pointlessly to save three quid.

 

[brightspark]

Brightspark, you used bad language.
There is a point where it is not worth the effort.it usually comes after two days of farting about pointlessly to save three quid.

thats the joys of making something . i may spend a day making something that would cost 50 quid to buy . i can go do my job and make 300 a day sometimes and pay the 50 but wheres the fun in that or satisfaction of making it yourself . no point in having all the gear if u dont use it

 

[Robotstar5]

I made a flail out of a length of speedo cable, opened out at the end like a sweep's brush, to clean the waterways in a cylinder head. Worked a treat as long as the end didn't leave the workpiece whilst it was spinning.

I've used the same but doubled it back into the drill chuck so it's a flailing loop.