Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion pump question #2

Ok, I know I am not the only one that has run it to this. The electrical box on the pump has been filled with some hard black stuff. This is the first one I have seen were they filled the pipes full along with the box. How do you get it out of the pipes? This stuff chips pretty easy but the top light has a "s" curve and I can't get to it ... is there anyway of using something to loosen it up like thinner?

Drill, chip, drill, chip, drill, chip, take as many connections apart that you can to reach into the pippe. This stuff is like hard plastic and nothing I ever found will make it easy.

Heat it with a torch and let it run out in a can.

Good question and good tips. I've worked for weeks on cleaning an old conduit tube out of my Wayne. Glad on not the only one.

John, all the pumps that I found that was that way, I cut the pipe completely out and ran new wires, with a toogle switch. you can put new conduit in if you want .

[This message has been edited by Dwaine Buck (edited 09-09-2003).]

Once, I took some pieces of conduit and put them in my trash burn barrel out back. Left them there for a couple hours and drug them out when the fire had gone out. Presto,no more black hard material clogging up my conduit.

Morgan has got the best way. Just be careful near the light sockets. The pieces that the porcelain sockets are screwed to are made from pot metal or aluminum, and they will melt. Some light manifolds like the MS80 are made from aluminum and they will also melt.

Morgan had the best one... I did the first piece and had a quick lesson to do this out side and not in the barn as this stuff smokes and stinks. LOL The stuff just slid right out like nothing, only took about 4 min. to do all 3 pieces. I still need to do the pieces that the porcelain sockets are screwed to. I will watch that I don't get them to hot. I like using the original stuff! Thanks guys for the help.

i like that burn plan! thats what im gonna do next time. --- the first one i cleaned out i got a piece of cable & tightened it into a drill & chewed it out. it went pretty good, but fire sounds better!!!!!!

Guys:

I use a heat gun. Works well, no smoke and little chance of fire. Also not enough temperature to worry about melting anything nearby. The heat guns will remove the hair off your hands and arms though!

Just roll the tube around the tip of the gun (or vice-versa), and once the goop has had a chance to heat up, it should slide out with the wires. On the last M&S 80 I did, the wires ran through a cork stopper that was sealed with the tar. Once the tar was sufficiently melted - everything just slide out.

Later . . .

Jim

I hope you guys realize that that black stuff often has PCB's in it. If you value your health, use a resperator! Also the cement or calking used to seal many visible pump cylenders has some nasty compounds in them too...Like Sarge used to say on Hill Street Blues, "Lets be careful out there..."

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