Drill Mounted Brush For Boiler Tubes

I think it was Barnartist that asked about a cleaning brush to really clean the boiler tubes. I went to the hardware store this morning and came up with this. Items: one 36" steel rod, one cable tie, and a 2 inch wire brush that fits on the end of a drill. I hooked them all together and it work really, really well. I thought I had cleaned the tubes pretty well before, but this takes everything off down to the metal. The only problem I had was that I hadn't cleaned for quite a while and the tubes were pretty bad. The brush would heat up and the creosote would coat the wires. I just let it cool a minute and then beat on the brushes to chip it all off. Someone that has a shop should come up with something like this with set screws so you wouldn't have the cable clamp. Could make some money. I have a total of under $7.00 into this (not including the drill!!).

Gooserider said:

A couple of thoughts based on the last couple of posts -

They make long flexible bit extensions - check over in the electrical department of Home Despot, etc... They use them for drilling retrofit holes in sheetrocked walls and the like - you can get either extensions or ones with the bit already on the rod. Not cheap, but...

As to Hydronics' idea about making a scraper type bit, What about using one of the "speedbit" style flat wood bits, ground to an appropriate size / shape? I would blunt or remove the point and put an angle on the corners, if it was about 1/16" smaller than the tube diameter it should work really well...

Gooserider

Click to expand...

Just pick one flexible extensions up this morning...1/4" by 36"s long and I will try it out next week when I tear down and clean the tubes. I'm still working on a "speedbit" but Menards only went up to 1 1/2 and I need a 2" one and then grind it down. I think between the bit and the steel brush it'll work real well. I guess this is one advantage to not having lever activated tabulators as I have the old style EKO and cleaning is pretty easy.