Expansion Bellows.
From the photo`s you can see examples of a correctly fitted bellows and a bellows which is incorrectly fitted. It is obvious from the incorrectly fitted bellows that no allowance was provided for the expansion of the steam line, whereas with the other bellows enough allowance was made for the expansion. Remember when fitting the bellows, a steam line expands at approximately 2mm for every meter of piping. Sufficient anchor points should be provided so that the piping does not push the building or any brackets on which it is resting. The steam piping must be able to move on its supports either by means of hanging brackets or on rollers or as illustrated with slide brackets which allows the piping to expand along its length while preventing it from moving either up or towards the side.

View from Boiler House door

This is the view from the boiler house door that greets one after having worked a long night,it is enough to lift the spirits of even the most jaded person. The photo was taken at 05.19hrs on 09/01/09.

Boiler Pressure Gauge.

The boiler pressure gauge must have a Red line indicating the maximum working pressure, the line must be on the gauge face and not on the protective glass.
The pressure gauge must also have a siphon tube ( some times also called a pig`s tail ) between the boiler and the pressure gauge.
This Siphon tube fills up with water when the boiler is in operation, which prevents the hot steam from reaching the pressure gauge and possibly causing damage to the gauge.
The Gauge should also be properly calibrated by a competent company, who will issue a certificate for the gauge.

Boiler Feed Pumps.

On a coal fired boiler at least two (2 ) feed pumps are required.
Should one feed pump fail, there is a stand-by pump available to ensure a continuous supply of water.
Your stand-by pump should be tested at least once a day/shift or preferably the feed pumps should be rotated on a regularly basis, with each pump being put into service on a weekly basis.
Should a pump fail it must be either replaced or repaired immediately, in case the other pump should also fail. Should both pumps fail for any reason, your fires must be dumped immediately and the Main steam stop valve ( Crown Valve ) closed, to save any water remaining in the boiler.
The feed pumps should of course always be kept in peak condition.
The boiler feed pumps must deliver a pressure of at least one and a half times the boiler pressure, that is with a boiler pressure of 1000Kpa the feed pumps should deliver at least 1500Kpa.

Opening Valves.


The correct way to open a valve is to do so slowly, once the valve is fully open turn the handwheel back approximately a ¼ ( quarter ) turn..
This is done so that when the time comes to operate the valve again, strain is not applied to the valve, as it is then easy to see which way the valve handle should turn

Gauge Glasses.

Please take note of the red and white chevrons behind the Gauge glasses, in the photograph.These chevron plates are positioned behind the glasses to assist in making the water in the glass tube more visible, by refraction.
To explain, where the level of the water is in the glass the angle of the red and white stripes change, which makes it easier to see the level of the water.
Gauge glasses do not generally come out ready fitted with chevrons, but they are easy enough to make and fit.
The Gauge glasses should be illuminated to make them more visible.

Safety Valves.

From the photo`s the quick release handles are clearly visible.
Photo`s are of a double beat valve and a single safety valve.Each safety valve must be able to handle the full load of the boiler.In other words when the boiler is producing at maximum output each safety valve must be able to keep the boiler at the valves set blow off point without the boiler increasing in pressure.