Rayburn cooker blocked

[Alan m]

hi all
i have to unblock  the boiler on my grandmothers rayburn cooker.  there is a cover plate on the top at the back. this covers the boiler. it is a metal box with 4 pipes welded into it , the smoke travels through these pipes and heats the water in the boiler. these pipes are jam packed with sutt and it is like concrete. i have tried poking at it with a bar but no good.

my plan is  [scared] [eek] [scared] to get a sds masonery bit  in the drill and without the hammer action on drill out the sutt. ok i know im mad and insane  [big grin] [crying] but it might work maybe.
has any body got any other ways to clean it out . do you think  i will ruin the boiler

 

[Nigel]

       

      Hello Alan M,
                         
                        My own experience with Rayburns etc is that the boiler sits in the firebox and is heated directly by the fire.I don't know of pipes and smoke heating the boiler. I've only ever seen 2  pipes on the back or side for water.Maybe you could post pics?One thing I do know is that very old solid fuel cooker/boilers were packed in with asbestos....

 

[Alan m]

ok its probably not the primery boiler but one for taking out the last of the heat from the smoke. it is basically a box with 4 pipes going through it for the smoke. they are blocked solid. this boiler is designed for heating the rads and not the oven. the smoke can still go around the blockage but it wont heat the water as good as i would like.
basically  it doesnt matter that it is a rayburn in that all i have is a blocked pipe full of sutt and need to un block it . do you think the sds will damage the boiler

 

[waho6o9]

Ask a professional? Good luck.  [eek]

 

[Alan m]

i was hoping that there would be a pro fogger that could give some advice or some poor ejit like myself that has learnt the hard way.

 

[Nigel]

         

          I'd try to clean it out manually first with screwdriver.As mentioned above it might be an idea to call a pro for a bit of  info .Good luck.

 

[rxe]

Seeing as this thread was posted to in December....

I have a Rayburn 355, and have exactly the same problem - we burn wood, and after a while the tubes clog up.  While the stuff looks very solid, it is in fact quite brittle and you need a steel "bog brush":

http://www.thewakefieldbrush.com/008_product.html

Get the 1" diameter wire brush and bash it through the deposits in the tube.  Don't use the 2" - it gets stuck very firmly in the tube.  Scrub all the way to the bottom of the tube, the crud exits in the fire pit, and needs to be cleared away.  While you're at it, hoover out the top of the oven (take out the circular access hatch in the hot plate). 

You need to keep the tubes clear if you want hot water and no smoke when you open the fire place door. 

 

[Alan m]

hi .
thanks for the info.
this cooker is in my grandmothers house and wasnt cleaned in a long time so there is a lot of sutt build up. i have pocked at it with a steel bar and it is very solid. that is why i was asking about the sds drill.

i might try an old bit and brace to auger my way through it