OBJECTIVE:

To be familiarized with the different parts, functions and operation of a fire tube boiler.

PROCEDURES:

1. Switch on the power supply of the boiler.

2. Check that the boiler water is at normal level.
3. Put the auto/manual switch to “manual” position to allow the boiler to operate at low
firing rate only.
4. Switch on the burner switch to start the boiler. Observe that the blower/oil pump
motor starts while the modulating motor drives the air damper to full open. At the
same time, PURGE is displayed at the module. Then the modulating motor drives
back the air damper to close position.
5. Observe that the pilot components, such as the ignition transformer, pilot valve and
ignition electrodes, initiates while PILOT IGNITION is read. As the pilot and flame-
light emitting diodes lit up.
6. After the main ignition sequence, observe that the MAIN IGNITION is displayed
while the main valve opens. Also, the main and flame-light emitting diodes lit up.
7. After the main ignition sequence, RUN is displayed at the module.
8. When the steam pressure reaches your operating pressure, the auto/manual switch
maybe put to “auto” position or may remain to “manual” position. When set at “auto”
position, the modulating motor will increase or decrease the firing depending on the
operating set’s pressure.

LIST OF APPARATUS:

Boiler
FINAL SET UP OF APPARATUS:
THEORY AND DISCUSSION:

A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from the fire pass through one or
more tubes within the boiler. It is one of the two major types of boilers, the other being the water
tube boiler. A fire tube boiler can be either horizontal or vertical. A fire-tube boiler is sometimes
called a "smoke-tube boiler" or "shell boiler".

A steam boiler in which hot gaseous products of combustion pass through tubes
surrounded by boiler water. The water and steam in fire-tube boilers are contained within a large-
diameter drum or shell, and such units often are referred to as shell-type boilers. Heat from the
products of combustion is transferred to the boiler water by tubes or flues of relatively small
diameter through which the hot gases flow. The tubes are connected to tube sheets at each end of
the cylindrical shell and serve as structural reinforcements to support the flat tube sheets against
the force of the internal water and steam pressure. Braces or tension rods also are used in those
areas of the tube sheets not penetrated by the tubes

Fire-tube boilers may be designed for vertical, inclined, or horizontal positions. One of
the most generally used types is the horizontal-return-tube boiler. In the HRT boiler, part of the
heat from the combustion gases is transferred directly to the lower portion of the shell. The gases
then make a return pass through the horizontal tubes or flues before being passed into the stack.

This type of boiler was used on virtually all steam in the horizontal "locomotive" form. It
is also typical of early marine applications and small vessels, such as the small riverboat used in
the movie The African Queen. Marine units were often called "donkey boilers". Today, they find
extensive use in the stationary engineering field, typically for low pressure steam use such as
heating a building.

Types of fire-tube boiler:

1. Cornish boiler has a single large flue containing the fire

2. Lancashire boiler has two large flues containing the fires
3. Locomotive boiler has a double-walled firebox and a large number of small flue-
tubes. Larger flue-tubes carry the superheater elements, where present. Forced draught is
provided in the locomotive boiler by injecting exhausted steam back into the exhaust via
a blast pipe.
 Fire-tube boilers sometimes have water-tubes as well, to increase the heating surface. A
Cornish boiler may have several water-tubes across the diameter of the flue (this is common in
steam launches). A locomotive boiler with a wide firebox may have arch tubes or thermic
syphons. These both increase the heating surface and give additional support to the brick arch.
Not all shell boilers raise steam; some are designed specifically for heating pressurised water.

In the locomotive type boiler, fuel is burnt in a firebox to produce hot combustion gases.
The firebox is surrounded by a cooling jacket of water connected to the long, cylindrical boiler
tube. The hot gases are directed along a series of fire tubes, or flues, that penetrate the boiler and
heat the water thereby generating saturated steam. The steam rises to the highest point of the
boiler, the steam dome, where it is collected. The dome is the site of the regulator that controls the
exit of steam from the boiler.

In the locomotive boiler, the saturated steam is nearly always passed into a superheater,
back through the larger flues at the top of the boiler, to dry the steam and heat it to superheated
steam. The superheated steam is directed to the cylinders or a turbine to produce mechanical work
Exhaust gases are fed out through a chimney, and may be used to pre-heat the feed water to
increase the efficiency of the boiler.

Draught for firetube boilers, particularly in marine applications, is usually provided by a

tall smokestack. In all steam locomotives, since Stephenson's Rocket, additional draught was
supplied by directing exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokestack through a blastpipe,
to provide a partial vacuum. Modern industrial boilers use fans to provide forced draughting of
the boiler.

Another major advance in the Rocket was large numbers of small diameter firetubes
instead of a single large flue (a multi-tubular boiler). This greatly increased the surface area for
heat transfer, allowing steam to be produced at a much higher rate. Without this, steam
locomotives could never have developed effectively as powerful prime movers.
 Schematic diagram of a "locomotive" type fire-tube boiler
Safety considerations:

Because the fire-tube boiler itself is the pressure vessel, it requires a number of safety
features to prevent mechanical failure. Boiler explosion, which is a type of BLEVE (Boiling
Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion), can be devastating. Safety valves release steam before a
dangerous pressure can be built up. Fusible plugs over the firebox melt at a temperature lower
than that of the firebox, therefore melting and dousing the fire in water should it overheat. Stays,
or ties, physically link the firebox and boiler casing, preventing them warping

The fire-tube type boiler that was used in the Stanley Steamer automobile had several
hundred tubes which were weaker than the outer shell of the boiler, making an explosion virtually
impossible as the tubes would fail and leak long before the boiler exploded. In nearly 100 years
since the Stanleys were first produced, no Stanley boiler has ever exploded.

Maintenance:

An intensive schedule of maintenance is needed to keep a boiler in safe condition. A

typical regime will involve regular external inspections (including the inside of the firebox),
washouts (with an internal inspection), periodic detailed examination and a general overhaul.

The tube plates, the fusible plug and the heads of the firebox stays should be checked for
leaks. The correct operation of the boiler fittings, especially the water gauges and water feed
mechanisms, should be confirmed. Steam pressure should be raised to the level at which the
safety valves lift and compared with the indication of the pressure gauge.

The working life of a locomotive boiler is considerably extended if it is spared from a

constant cycle of cooling and heating. Historically, a locomotive would be kept “in steam”
continuously for a period of about eight to ten days, and then allowed to cool sufficiently for a
hot-water boiler washout. The schedule for express engines was based on mileage. [1] Today's
preserved locomotives are not usually kept continuously in steam and the recommended washout
interval is now fifteen to thirty days, but anything up to 180 days is possible.

The process starts with a “blowdown” while some pressure remains in the boiler, then the
draining away of all the boiler water through the “mudholes” at the base of the firebox and the
removal of all the “washout plugs”. Scale is then jetted or scraped from the interior surfaces using
a high pressure water jet and rods of soft metal, such as copper. Areas particularly susceptible to
scale buildup, such as the firebox crown and narrow water spaces around the firebox, are given
special attention. The inside of the boiler is inspected by sighting through the plug holes, with a
particular check paid to the integrity of the firetubes, firebox crown and stays and absence of
pitting or cracking of the boiler plates. The gauge glass cocks and tubes and fusible plug should
be cleared of scale; if the core of the fusible plug shows signs of calcination the item should be
replaced.

On reassembly care should be taken that the threaded plugs are replaced in their original
holes: the tapers can vary as a result of rethreading. The mudhole door gaskets, if of asbestos,
should be renewed but those made of lead may be reused; special instructions are in force for the
disposal of these harmful materials.[2] At large maintenance facilities the boiler would have been
both washed and refilled with very hot water from an external supply to bring the locomotive
back to service more quickly.