Neal Lewis Posted February 7, 2013 Report Posted February 7, 2013 So what the heck is the purpose of these pipes on the side of this steam boiler? Click to Enlarge 52.03 KB Click to Enlarge 43.73 KB
Stephen Lagueux Posted February 7, 2013 Report Posted February 7, 2013 I'd say old fire tubes that were once going to a smokesatck. Could be wrong but it looks like this boiler has been modified. ??
kurt Posted February 7, 2013 Report Posted February 7, 2013 My guess is it was designed that way to flush out the individual section heads. That's where a lot of the really old one's failed.
Rob Amaral Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 wow.. never seen that.. .. I see those 2 try-cocks... maybe this was a special 'process' unit that was running water for another process through that area?.. secondary steam.. ? Maybe the boiler was intended for another building and then was brought there.. ?
Joe Johnson Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 Possibly to have different zones for the heating of the building.
kurt Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 It's a single pipe steam system; zones would be problematic or impossible. How would you balance the system? I've never seen a setup like that, and so far, googling hasn't found anything. Kibbel?
Jim Morrison Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 Remember, the same boiler can be used for either steam or hot water. Maybe that bad boy had a different use in a previous incarnation.
troylandlord Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 That is a coal fired shaker grate style sectional boiler that was converted to oil, which was pretty common (grates removed, burner installed through ash door, stack limit installed through clean out door). Kurt has it: there are ports cast into the top of boiler sections for a variety of reasons (flushing, inspection, etc) but they're usually plugged and covered by the tin or asbestos shell, and not seen. Why these ports were stubbed out the side like that is another question, which you would likely have to ask the installer to know the answer to (who has probably been dead for 50 years). Here's a boiler casting with plugged, unused ports: Download Attachment: casting_side.jpg 9.08 KB
ghentjr Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 Jim may be on to something. It looks like there may have been a manifold attached at one time.
kurt Posted February 8, 2013 Report Posted February 8, 2013 One doesn't put a small pipe manifold on a steam system. That's not how they work.
ghentjr Posted February 9, 2013 Report Posted February 9, 2013 One doesn't put a small pipe manifold on a steam system. That's not how they work. I know how steam boilers work. In 30 years of inspecting I never saw one piped like that. I saw many steam boilers with hot water exchangers piped in different ways. I don't buy the flushing out theory but it's possible.
Rob Amaral Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Download Attachment: ODD STEAM BOILER.JPG 85.8 KB You can see that those take-off tubes are supposedly always below the water-line at the steam dome area... that must be a 'water' take-off for some other process.. red-line being the 'low-water' point, space between green and red the 'normal' area of water level operation... The try-cock at top-l is at the 'top' of the OK zone of steam-water... Probably some industrial custom process or something..
ghentjr Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Download Attachment: ODD STEAM BOILER.JPG 85.8?KB You can see that those take-off tubes are supposedly always below the water-line at the steam dome area... that must be a 'water' take-off for some other process.. red-line being the 'low-water' point, space between green and red the 'normal' area of water level operation... The try-cock at top-l is at the 'top' of the OK zone of steam-water... Probably some industrial custom process or something.. Like, maybe, a hot water manifold.
kurt Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Probably not. Obviously, I can't know, but I know how steam boilers are operated by the operating engineers throughout Chicago. Springtime....drain it all down, open up the inspection ports, flush them out, flush the sill cocks, get it ready for next year. Very simple standard operations. Why do you think the inspection ports were put there in the first place? One does not pull water off the steam boiler head to supply another system; it would totally screw up the balance, the operating temps and, how does water move by gravity through tiny pipes to someplace else without blowing (the previously mentioned) balance? Again, I'm open to ideas, but the ideas offered so far work against how steam system work, and how those ports are utilized by people that operate these systems.
Neal Lewis Posted February 10, 2013 Author Report Posted February 10, 2013 BTW, the pipes were only on the left side of the boiler...
Tom Raymond Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Looking at the pic of the naked boiler, those flush plugs would be an SOB to put back in. After I dropped the third plug behind the outer shell I would probably give it nipples too.
hausdok Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Maybe to put those pipes outside of an asbestos jacket that's been removed? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike
ghentjr Posted February 10, 2013 Report Posted February 10, 2013 Maybe to put those pipes outside of an asbestos jacket that's been removed? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike That type of sheet metal outer cover never had external asbestos. There was asbestos used on the interior in varying amounts.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now