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Posted by RTCROSSRW on October 05, 2006 at 11:12:59:
In Reply to: boiler tube removal posted by Paul on September 23, 2006 at 12:15:50:
: Just wanted to know if anyone had any tricks to remove stuborn boiler tubes. the boiler is an old kewanee fire tube low pres steam. the tubes are coated with thick scale causing them to bind up in the tube sheet. ive removed the top 50 tubes by cutting both ends off and taking them out the top front hand hole but because of the stay bolts all the rest need to come out the front. any help would be great
O.k. Been there and done that , you can cut the ends off each tube on the side they are easist to get to (part that was rolled) , then carefully split them on 3 sides but be sure not to have any dropping on the outside of the tube because they and the tube will not go thru the hole. now, here is the part most novice tube guys would pay money for, get a die grinder ,call your tube rep and ask for tube ferruls, thick and thin sent to you, open up a hole on each end where you need to get the tubes out, about the size of the large ferrul, no bigger. usally works best to split the other end in 2 places and make up a pipe with a notch cut on each side to hold the tube while you drive it out with a hammer. then when you retube put the metal ferrul in around that tube and roll it till it feels right, make sure you set your tube displacement at 10 to 15% tube wall diameter. do not use ferruls on high press. steam, inspectors do not like them too much.