Wood fired boiler equipment is common in the lumber processing industry. Many facilities will use wood waste boilers as an integral part of the production process. Steam or hot water is generated for lumber drying and process requirements. Wood burning boilers however, normally create considerable ash and soot build-up in the firetubes,resulting in inefficient heat transfer and a loss of steam pressure. Most wood-fired boilers require manual tube brushing. This means shutting down the boiler for hours while mill personnel brush theash build-up from the firetubes. The trade-off for not continually cleaning the firetubes is excessive fuel usage, loss of energy and boiler inefficiency. Frequent manual cleaning means a loss of time and productivity so that the dirty and time-consuming job of tube brushing can be done.