Tube cleaning article and apparatus and method for use with a tube in a well

Abstract

A tube cleaning article removes material from a tube in a well. A resilient member defines an encompassing path around a portion of the outer surface of the tube. The resilient member has a metallic inner surface biased toward the tube when the member is mounted on the tube such that the metallic inner surface scrapes material from the outer surface of the tube in response to reciprocating the tube relative to the resilient member. The metallic inner surface preferably presents more than two metallic edges along a longitudinal path of the outer surface of the tube. A particular implementation includes a split metallic ring. The split preferably extends at a transverse angle to the axial length of the ring. A spacer can be used with the ring. The spacer mounts on the tube such that the ring, when mounted on the tube, is between upper and lower portions of the spacer. A method of cleaning a tube in a well includes reciprocating the tube in the well and scraping the tube with a metal body, disposed around the outer perimeter of the tube, in response to reciprocating the tube. Scraping preferably includes engaging the tube with more than two scraping edges along every longitudinal path around the perimeter of the tube. Scraping also preferably includes housing the metal body within a spacer slidably mounted on the tube and engaged within the well outside the tube.