I took advantage of the extremely warm weather to give my ash pit a better-than-usual cleaning, and I discovered a good way to get the little hoe tool under the turbulators and firetubes at the very back of the boiler.
For the newer EKO models with turbulators, you can simply move the cleaning lever until it lifts the turbulators on one side, and the hoe cleaning tool will fit underneath, allowing you to rake out any accumulated ash. Move it to another position, and you can get under the tubes on the other side. This is relatively easy for me because I have a handle extender that allows me to "shake the handle" from the front of the boiler. But if you point a flashlight beam back there and get someone to help you, you can determine which handle position clears which side.
BTW, I use a short-handled flat shovel to scoop the ashes. Put the shovel head down below the part of the ash pit you're trying to clean, rake the ashes forward into it, dump and repeat. I tried other approaches/devices, but the shovel seems to work best.
For the newer EKO models with turbulators, you can simply move the cleaning lever until it lifts the turbulators on one side, and the hoe cleaning tool will fit underneath, allowing you to rake out any accumulated ash. Move it to another position, and you can get under the tubes on the other side. This is relatively easy for me because I have a handle extender that allows me to "shake the handle" from the front of the boiler. But if you point a flashlight beam back there and get someone to help you, you can determine which handle position clears which side.
BTW, I use a short-handled flat shovel to scoop the ashes. Put the shovel head down below the part of the ash pit you're trying to clean, rake the ashes forward into it, dump and repeat. I tried other approaches/devices, but the shovel seems to work best.
