Hi,

For the past few days I have been trying to remove an old backboiler from my
fireplace. I have removed the fireplace, surrounds, hearth etc but I just
can't get anywhere with the backboiler !! I don't really want to knock holes
in the wall to get around the back of the boiler and would prefer just to
break it up and remove it that way. I suspect that there are at least 2
pipes going into the rear of the boiler, which are probably the main reason
why it wont move at the moment as they will be cemented in.

I don't need to keep the boiler, so I am happy to smash it up - although
this would appear easier said than done !!!! I have tried whacking it with a
sledge-hammer, pick, and cutting at it with an angle grinder. The grinder
does make some progress - although it is VERY slow, and so far I have gone
through 3 metal cutting wheels to make only 4 cuts of less than 20cms !!! I
thought this might have been enough to weaken it, so I tried whacking it
again with the hammer - but alas, it is still solid !!

I am not sure what make the boiler is - it is basically inserted inside the
fireplace, and a 'hollow' cast iron structure.

Any advice on an easy way to get this out would be much appreciated. Perhaps
I need a heavier hammer?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

"Gary" wrote in message
...
Hi,

For the past few days I have been trying to remove an old backboiler from
my fireplace. I have removed the fireplace, surrounds, hearth etc but I
just can't get anywhere with the backboiler !! I don't really want to
knock holes in the wall to get around the back of the boiler and would
prefer just to break it up and remove it that way. I suspect that there
are at least 2 pipes going into the rear of the boiler, which are probably
the main reason why it wont move at the moment as they will be cemented
in.

I don't need to keep the boiler, so I am happy to smash it up - although
this would appear easier said than done !!!! I have tried whacking it with
a sledge-hammer, pick, and cutting at it with an angle grinder. The
grinder does make some progress - although it is VERY slow, and so far I
have gone through 3 metal cutting wheels to make only 4 cuts of less than
20cms !!! I thought this might have been enough to weaken it, so I tried
whacking it again with the hammer - but alas, it is still solid !!

I am not sure what make the boiler is - it is basically inserted inside
the fireplace, and a 'hollow' cast iron structure.

Any advice on an easy way to get this out would be much appreciated.
Perhaps I need a heavier hammer?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

Are you sure it's cast iron, Hit with the sledge were you cut it if it's
cast it should break.

Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the areas
where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's or
60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for back-boilers
at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be acting
like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow I will try to
get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any progress.

Thanks for your quick reply



"Sacramento Dave" wrote in message
. com...

"Gary" wrote in message
...
Hi,

For the past few days I have been trying to remove an old backboiler from
my fireplace. I have removed the fireplace, surrounds, hearth etc but I
just can't get anywhere with the backboiler !! I don't really want to
knock holes in the wall to get around the back of the boiler and would
prefer just to break it up and remove it that way. I suspect that there
are at least 2 pipes going into the rear of the boiler, which are
probably the main reason why it wont move at the moment as they will be
cemented in.

I don't need to keep the boiler, so I am happy to smash it up - although
this would appear easier said than done !!!! I have tried whacking it
with a sledge-hammer, pick, and cutting at it with an angle grinder. The
grinder does make some progress - although it is VERY slow, and so far I
have gone through 3 metal cutting wheels to make only 4 cuts of less than
20cms !!! I thought this might have been enough to weaken it, so I tried
whacking it again with the hammer - but alas, it is still solid !!

I am not sure what make the boiler is - it is basically inserted inside
the fireplace, and a 'hollow' cast iron structure.

Any advice on an easy way to get this out would be much appreciated.
Perhaps I need a heavier hammer?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

Are you sure it's cast iron, Hit with the sledge were you cut it if it's
cast it should break.

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Hi,

Well, the problem is that I am doing away with the 'natural fire' and using
an electric fire. It won't fit in neatly with the backboiler still in place,
hence the reason for having to remove it.

I have just recently moved into the house, so unfortunately I can't find my
camera yet to take a pic of the boiler, which might allow you to see of it
was cast iron or not. I'm not really up on what cast iron would look like.
When I cut it with the grinder it is very shiny silver inside. This made me
think at first it might have been steel, but I wasn't sure if they make
steel back-boilers, so I opted for the cast iron guess


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Gary wrote:
Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron - based on the fact that the
areas where I cut cannot be bent with a crowbar.

I am in the UK and I think the boiler was installed in the late 50's
or 60's. From what I have read, cast iron was a popular choice for
back-boilers at these times.

I have tried hitting the places I made the cuts, but they seem to be
acting like a sort of 'spring' and the hammer bounces back. Tomorrow
I will try to get hold of a heavier hammer, and see if I can make any
progress.
Thanks for your quick reply

If it doesn't break, it's probably not cast iron. Cast iron is extremely
brittle.

Can you just paint over it?

Gary wrote:

Well, I'm guessing that it is cast iron...

Cold might help, eg a CO2 fire extinguisher, to reach the ductile-to-brittle
temperature. MIT students shatter Kryptonite bike locks with liquid nitrogen.
Titanic steel had too much sulphur and became brittle at 32 F.

Nick

I say we blast.

"And remember, dynamite always blows down." -- Moe

"Hey Moe, maybe I could just take my shoes off." -- Curly

If you can make any headway with a hacksaw, borrow or rent a Sawzall
(typical picture at http://tinyurl.com/8eb7r) and put metal cutting
blades on it.

Gary wrote:
Hi,

For the past few days I have been trying to remove an old backboiler from my
fireplace. I have removed the fireplace, surrounds, hearth etc but I just
can't get anywhere with the backboiler !! I don't really want to knock holes
in the wall to get around the back of the boiler and would prefer just to
break it up and remove it that way. I suspect that there are at least 2
pipes going into the rear of the boiler, which are probably the main reason
why it wont move at the moment as they will be cemented in.

I don't need to keep the boiler, so I am happy to smash it up - although
this would appear easier said than done !!!! I have tried whacking it with a
sledge-hammer, pick, and cutting at it with an angle grinder. The grinder
does make some progress - although it is VERY slow, and so far I have gone
through 3 metal cutting wheels to make only 4 cuts of less than 20cms !!! I
thought this might have been enough to weaken it, so I tried whacking it
again with the hammer - but alas, it is still solid !!

I am not sure what make the boiler is - it is basically inserted inside the
fireplace, and a 'hollow' cast iron structure.

Any advice on an easy way to get this out would be much appreciated. Perhaps
I need a heavier hammer?

Thanks in advance,

Gary