McKenzie’s Boiler Blog

We found a great site* that had some rather interesting photos of some boiler explosions and their results. None of them are pretty sights, as you can see from this photograph from a 1919 explosion in Mobile, Alabama, but, they do remind us to be careful with our boilers and that means proper maintenance.

According to the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, low water conditions are the cause for 50% of all boiler related accidents. Low water within a boiler means water that falls below a pre-set level recommended by the manufacturer for safe operation. This can result in catastrophic boiler explosions.

Perhaps one of the most important controls found on your boiler is the low water cut-off (LWCO). This device can either use a float or probes to sense the water level within the boiler. When the water level drops below a pre-set level, the LWCO will cause a switch to activate which, in turn, will cause the automatic fuel valves to close. No fuel - no flame - no opportunity for over pressurizing the boiler.

We will take a closer look at LWCOs in future posts. Also, if you have any interesting photos of boiler occurrences (the polite word for explosion) please send them to us along with, what you believe to be, the cause of the failure.

*  Wisconsin Boiler Inspector’s  Association
http://thewbia.com/index_files/Page2120.htm

Boiler Questions

Please ask your boiler questions here or contact us with any questions or comments you may have. If you don’t agree with our answers or advice, by all means, let us know!

Over the years, we have answered many questions related to boiler operation, maintenance and design sent to us via email.  Issues covered have included water quality, proper blowdown procedures, combustion settings and many more. Some of these questions and answers can be found at the following link –

http://www.mckenziecorp.com/boiler_questions.htm

We had also developed a boiler tips page to assist boiler owners in some of the more common questions and topics we are often asked about. These can be found on our boiler tips page located at the following link –

http://www.mckenziecorp.com/boiler_tips.htm

We offer these links to you so that you may get a better idea of how we can lend assistance. We don’t have all the answers, but will do our best to get them for you.

DON’T FORGET TO GIVE US THE BOILER MANUFACTURER.

http://www.mckenziecorp.com

Some would say that boilers, boiler room equipment, boiler parts and service are all very boring subjects but, we take issue with that. Just look around and you will find steam boilers and hot water boilers operating in most of the places you visit. They are used to heat office buildings, schools and hospitals. They provide steam for processes like steel production, the food industry and chemical plants.

For some, this is transparent technology; they don’t see it so they don’t really think about it. But just wait until the boiler goes out on a cold winter day or a factory goes off line because the steam boiler can not deliver. Then the importance of the boiler becomes very real, not transparent at all.

Our goal with this Boiler Blog is to discuss boilers in their entirety. We want questions and comments. We want to refer to your sites and your recommended links. So, please, join the discussion.