Patent ID: 7610924

Claim:
An apparatus for removing coatings and deposits from the interior sidewall of a large diameter tube, comprising: a non-rotating circular brush plate adapted to fit within a lumen of said large diameter tube; said circular brush plate being positioned in a plane that is normal to a longitudinal axis of said large diameter tube; an aperture formed in said circular brush plate, centrally thereof; a fluid conduit mounted in said aperture so that an upper part of said fluid conduit is positioned above a plane of said circular brush plate and a lower part of said fluid conduit is positioned below said plane; a hub in fluid communication with said fluid conduit, said hub being in fluid communication with said fluid conduit and said hub being positioned below said plane; at least one tube having a longitudinal axis disposed in radial relation to said hub; a nozzle assembly secured to a radially outward end of said at least one tube, said nozzle assembly having a longitudinal axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of said at least one tube so that water emitted by said nozzle assembly water blasts said interior sidewall of said large diameter tube at a ninety degree angle below the plane of said circular brush plate; a remote source of water under pressure disposed in fluid communication with said upper part of said fluid conduit; insertion means for inserting said circular brush plate into said lumen at a top end of said tube and for gradually advancing said circular brush plate to a bottom end of said tube; rotation means for rotating said at least one tube about an axis defined by said hub as said circular brush plate is advanced from said top end to said bottom end of said tube; a brush secured to said circular brush plate about a periphery thereof; said brush having a radially outermost end disposed in abutting contact to said sidewall of said tube; whereby said brush inhibits dust and debris from traveling from a closed space below the plane of said circular brush plate to an open space above said circular brush plate; and whereby water under pressure removes coatings and deposits from said interior sidewall of said large diameter tube.