HISTORY

Who Invented the Boiler?

The steam-generating boiler’s roots go back to the late 1700s and early 1800s with the development of
the kettle-type boiler, which simply boiled water into steam. The water was placed above a fire box and
then boiled into steam. It wasn’t until around 1867, with the development of the convection boiler, that
the steam-generating industry began.

It may be debated who developed the first steam-generating boiler; however, most will agree that
George Babcock and Steven Wilcox were two of the founding fathers of the steam-generating boiler.
They were the first to patent their boiler design, which used tubes inside a firebrick-walled structure to
generate steam, in 1867, and they formed Babcock & Wilcox Company in New York City in 1891. Their
first boilers were quite small, used lump coal, fired by hand, and operated at a very low rate of heat
input. The solid firebrick walls that formed the enclosure for the unit were necessary because they
helped the combustion process by reradiating heat back into the furnace area.

The Stirling Boiler Company, owned by O.C. Barber and named for the street (Stirling Avenue) the facility
was on in Barberton, Ohio, also began making boilers in 1891. Their eighth Stirling boiler design was
called the H-type boiler (“h” being the eighth letter in the alphabet) and had a brick setting design. The
Stirling boiler was much larger than the Babcock & Wilcox boiler and used three drums to help circulate
the water and steam flow throughout the boiler.

In 1907, the Stirling Boiler Company merged with the Babcock & Wilcox Company. They renamed their
boiler the H-type Stirling, and it became one of best-selling boilers of its time, probably because of its
ability to produce up to 50,000 pounds of steam per hour.

However, they were not the only boiler manufacturers during the late 1800s. The Grieve Grate Company
and the American Stoker Company were also making boilers of similar all-brick-wall design. They both
used a traveling or screw-type grate at the bottom of the boiler to transport the fuel (lump coal) across
the inside of the boiler. As the fuel traveled across the inside of the boiler, it was burned and the ash or
un-burned fuel would drop into a hopper. These two companies later formed the Combustion
Engineering

Company in 1912. The new Combustion Engineering Company offered their version of the Grieve and
American Stoker boilers and called it the Type E stoker boiler.
DESCRIPTION

What Is a Boiler?

A boiler is a box formed by tubes that uses fire inside that box to heat water into steam. Surrounding
those tubes and completely encasing the tube walls and the firebox area are the bril (brick, refractory,
insulation, and lagging) materials. The number and size of the tubes, the type of fuel, and the overall
physical dimensions of the boiler will all vary depending on what the boiler is designed to produce
(water, steam, or heat) and the industry it is intended to serve (e.g., utility, industrial, medical).

Many components make up or act as a support system for the boiler to meet its designed steam or heat
requirements. There are the tubes that carry the water and/or steam throughout the system; soot
blowers that keep the unit free of fly ash or dust by blowing steam water or air into the boiler; burners
that burn the fuel (oil, gas, coal, refuse); economizers that recover heat from the exit gas and pre-heat
the water used for making steam; and many more such systems, including brick, refractory, insulation,
and lagging, which help the steam-generating boiler be energy and thermally efficient.

Definition of Boiler:

The equipment used for producing steam is called Boiler or Steam Generator. Or it is also defined as “ A
closed vessel in which steam is produced from water by the combustion of fuel.”

The steam generated is used for:

*Power generation

*Heating

*Utilization in industries like chemical industries, sugar mills, etc

CLASSIFICATION AND ACCESSORIES

CLASSIFICATIONS
Boilers are classified into different types based on their working pressure and
temperature, fuel type, draft method, size and capacity, and whether they condense the
water vapor in the combustion gases. Boilers are also sometimes described by their key
components, such as heat exchanger materials or tube design.

WATER TUBE BOILERS

The main function of this boiler is that the water inside the tube will be heated to
generate the vapour. Water Tube Boilers are used in huge thermal power-stations. By
using a number of water tubes a big heating surface can be attained. The water
movement is much faster, so the heat transfer rate is very high which consequences to
high-efficiency. This type of boilers requires fresh water as well as water treatment
plants to maintain the necessary quality of water tube boiler.

FIRE TUBE BOILER

This type of boiler can be built with a number of tubes for supplying the hot gases. 
These tubes are absorbed into water in a closed container. Actually, this type of boiler
consists of a single closed container to pass the hot tubes. These tubes are heated up
the water to convert into vapour and the vapour remains in the similar container. When
both the water as well as vapour is in a similar container, then a fire-tube boiler cannot
generate vapour at high force. In general, it can generate the utmost 17.5 kg/cm2 & with
a 9 Metric Ton capacity of steam for each hour.

PACKAGE BOILER

This type of boiler can be built with a number of tubes for supplying the hot gases. 
These tubes are absorbed into water in a closed container. Actually, this type of boiler
consists of a single closed container to pass the hot tubes. These tubes are heated up
the water to convert into vapor and the vapor remains in the similar container. When
both the water as well as vapor is in a similar container, then a fire-tube boiler cannot
generate vapor at high force. In general, it can generate the utmost 17.5 kg/cm2 & with
a 9 Metric Ton capacity of steam for each hour.

STOKER FIRED BOILER

The stoker fired boiler is most capable in common range and cogeneration systems in
sugar factories. These boilers have membrane design and operate completely
automatic. These Boilers have intrinsic features for the operation of trouble-free and
high-thermal efficiency. These are classified based on the technique of supply fuel to
the boiler & with the grate type. The stoker-fired boilers are classified into two types
namely chain-gate or traveling grate stoker and spreader stoker
3. ACCESSORIES

There are different fittings and device which are necessary for the operation and safety
of a boiler. The various mountings used on the boiler
1. Water level indicators: The function of a water level indicator is to indicate the level of
water in the level constantly. It is also called water gauge.

2. Fusible plug: The function of a fusible plug is to prevent the boiler against damage
due to overheating for low water level.
3. Steam stop valve: A junction valve is a valve which is placed directly over a boiler
and connected to a steam pipe which carries steam to the engine. If a valve is placed in
the steam pipe leading steam to the engine and placed near the engine. It usually
termed as stop valve. The larger sizes are called Junction valve and smaller sizes Stop
valve.

4. Feed check valve: The function of a feed check valve is to control the supply of water
to the boiler and to prevent the exception of water from the boiler when the pump
pressure is less as pump is stopped.
5. Blow off cock: A blow off cock or valve performs the two functions. They are it may
discharge a portion of water when the boiler is in operation to blow out mud scale or
sediments periodically and It may empty the boiler when necessary for cleaning,
inspection and repair.

6. Safety valve: The function of a safety valve is to release the excess steam when the
pressure of steam inside the boiler exceeds the rated pressure. The various type of
safety valve is Dead weight safety valve, Spring loaded safety valve and High steam &
low water safety valve.

7. Pressure gauge: The function of a pressure gauge is to measure the pressure

exerted inside the vessels. It is usually constructed to indicate up to double the
maximum working pressure. Its dial is graduated to read pressure in kgf/cm2 gauge.
There are two type of pressure gauges, they are Bourdon tube type pressure gauge and
Diaphragm tube type pressure gauge
APPLICATION

The applications of this boiler include the following.

 These are used to generate power in steam turbines or engines.

 These are used for various processes in process industries
 These are used in houses or buildings in cool weather for generating a
hot water supply
OPERATION

A boiler is one of those machineries that gets the ship going. A boiler is something,
which though not required continuously in operating a ship, cannot be done away with.
Moreover, it’s a dangerous equipment which generates steam at extremely high
pressure, and it is for this reason that proper care should be taken while operating it.

In this article we have brought to you a step-by-step procedure for starting and stopping
a boiler on a ship. With this procedure you can never go wrong, as far as boilers are
concerned. Starting and stopping a boiler was never so easy.

Starting boiler

It is to note that the following steps may not apply to all types of boilers and each boiler
requires some additional steps to be followed as per its system design. However, the
basic steps remain the same:

1. Ensure that the vent valve on the boiler is open and check there is no pressure in
the boiler.
2. Check that the steam stop valve is closed.
3. Check that all the valves for fuel are open, and let the fuel circulate through the
system until it comes to the temperature required by the manufacturer
recommendation.
4. Check and open the feed water valves to the boiler and fill the water inside the
boiler drum to just above the low water level. This is done because it is not
possible to start the boiler below the low water level due to safety feature which
prevent boiler from starting. Also, the level is not filled much because if filled too
much, the water inside the boiler might expand and over pressurize the boiler.
5. Start the boiler in automatic mode. The burner fan will start the purging cycle
which will remove any gases present in the furnace by forcing it out through the
funnel.
6. After the pre-set purge time the pilot burner will ignite. The pilot burner consists
of two electrodes, through which a large current is passed, via the transformer,
producing the spark between the electrodes. The pilot burner is supplied with
diesel oil and when the oil passes over, the former ignites.
7. The main burner which is supplied by heavy oil catches fire with the help of pilot
burner.
8. Check the combustion chamber from the sight glass to ensure the burner has lit
and the flame is satisfactory.
9. Keep a close eye on the water level as the pressure increases and open the feed
water when the level of water inside the gauge glass is stable.
10. Close the vent valve after the steam starts coming outside.
11.  Open the steam stop valve.
12. Once the working steam pressure is reached, blow down the gauge glass and
float chambers to check for the alarms.
Stopping a boiler

1. If the boiler is needed to be stopped for longer duration for maintenance or

opened up for survey, change the fuel to distillate fuel.
2. If separate heating arrangement for heavy oil is present, then there’s is no need
to change over to distillate fuel and the oil is kept on circulation mode.
3. Stop the boiler automatic cycle.
4. Close the steam stop valves.
5. Close the boiler feed water valves.
6. When the boiler pressure is just reduced to over atmospheric pressure the vent
valve is kept open to prevent vacuum formation inside the boiler.
MAINTENANCE
INSTALLATION

1. Verify your local building codes

This part is really important, if you fail to follow those codes you’re risking to tear out all the installed
system and start again from scratch.

2. Choose the type of boiler that best fits your house

According to your house size and energy demands, not all the boilers will be adequate to deliver an
efficient amount of heat. That is why you need to carefully select the type of boiler that you think will be
the most suitable regarding your house characteristics.

The most famous ones on the market at the moment are combi boilers and biomass boilers. The type of
boiler mainly depends on what kind of fuel you want to use to heat your property.

3. Select a particular supplier

In the UK, you can have access to a wide range of boiler suppliers that are ranked as the best ones in
Europe. Therefore, we decided at Green Match to specify the main characteristics of those companies
and the products they are providing. Our goal is to show you their reliability and effectiveness. To be
able to review those brands, please follow the boiler brands link.

4. Fix a budget for the installation

After deciding on the type of boiler and the company that will provide you the boiler, you have to fix a
budget that encompasses the installation cost and the price of the boiler. Thus, you need to conduct an
inventory of all the materials required to perform the installation the best way possible.

5. Decide where you will locate your boiler

For this step, you need to find the place where water pipes, electrical outlet, flue for venting purposes
and gas lines are easily reachable. The ground also needs to be leveled so be sure to check it before
installing the boiler. Then, you can start unpacking the boiler and preparing it for the installation

6. Dress the boiler

This step implies that you have to add-on the pipes to the boiler. By using the wrench, attach the
circulator pump to the boiler and then add the riser nipple. The main purpose of this action is to connect
the different pipes of your house to the boiler. If you house has several pipes zones - the number of
zones depending on the size of your home - attach the adequate number of riser nipples to the pipes
from the different zones, still using the wrench to perform this action.
7. Attach the feed and return pipes to the boiler

You need to ensure that the circulator pumps are located on the boiler return side and the flow-check
on the feed side. To attach them, you have to tighten the nuts with the wrench. When this is done, you
also need to link the boiler to the hot water tank by using a copper pipe. If the pipe has to bended, you
can use a pipe bending tool.

8. Install the flue

Then, you need to use a sheet metal pipe of the appropriate size to connect the boiler to the smoke
pipe. Add elbows if necessary to make the connection and drill holes to attach the boiler and the smoke
pipe with sheet metal screws to allow a safer fit. This step will allow the boiler to be vented.

9. Attach the combustion fuel pipe to the boiler

This step needs to be done according to what is said inside the boiler installation manual. Be sure to pick
the appropriate combustion pipe according to the type of boiler you chose to install.

10. Start the boiler

To now check if the installation is successful and your boiler is operating normally, open the water line
to allow the boiler to fill, thanks to the automatic feed valve that will set the correct pressure during the
filling of the boiler.

References:

The information contained in this article was obtained primarily from public sources, without direct
input from any of the boiler manufacturers.

Combustion Fossil Power, Combustion Engineering, Inc., 4th Edition (1991).

Steam, its generation and use, Babcock & Wilcox Company,

40th Edition (1992).

Babcock & Wilcox a corporate history, Carlisle Printing Company,

N.W. Eft (1999)

Refractories in the Generation of Steam Power, McGraw-Hill Book

Company, F. H. Norton (1949).

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