Boiler failure reported in old issue of ME

[Dennis WAParticipant @denniswa]

At our club day this morning one of the members mentioned a boiler joint failure which resulted in the boiler being pushed some distance up from the chassis. Apparently there were no injuries.

Unfortunately there was no idea of when this occurred – as the member concerned had read it in an old copy some years ago, it could be anytime in the past 60 years!

This was reported in the ME at the time – does anyone have an idea of which issue it appeared in?

Many thanks

Dennis

[Dennis WAParticipant @denniswa]

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Hi Dennis,

I have no idea about the ME report, but in a parody of Crocodile Dundee 'that's not a boiler failure,'

'This is a boiler failure:-'

Regards

Terry

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

P.S. try the ME article index here.

I must get out and get a life

Terry

[Dennis WAParticipant @denniswa]

Thanks Terry – some promising leads there. I'll need to check the old ME's at the Club Library.

Dennis

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

One of the club magazines that I receive reported a boiler failure in the mid 1960s. I don't recall which one at this distance, and no injuries were mentioned, but the boiler barrel was unravelled, and of course I metioned only recently a boiler in which a fire was lit whilst it was empty. When the problem was realised, water was pumped in, and flashed, forcing several firebox joints.

Regards

Geoff

[SpringbokParticipant @springbok]

Hi Terry

at 1544 postings have you time to do any workshop engineering.

bob .

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Members of the Reading (?) society tested several boilers to destruction in a series of controlled experiments in the 1960's . Reported in ME and quite informative .

Numerous model boiler failures have been heard of over the years .There was a whole spate of Doris type boiler failures at one time – mainly as a result of people taking LBSC's invariably dubious advice to Sifbronze main barrel joints . I seem to remember that one of these types of failure was reported in ME but a very long time ago .

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Hi Bob,

Have you asked the same question of John Stevenson (1222) or Jasonb (2339) to name but a few. My back injury and knee problem (awaiting a bionic one) often preclude me from being in a cold workshop. and I like to have a break on Sundays. Also I've been on this forum since early days and don't post on other forums, unlike many who post here. Don't forget I lost my workshop to the Fire God and was without any facilities for over a year by the time problems with builders, insurance companies and equipment suppliers was worked out. Oh and by the way I only watch TV for a very few hours a week.  I also type quickly.

Satisfied?

Oh yes and by the way, I get as many hours as I wish in the workshop as well as satisfying my other hobbies now that I'm retired. It is not my religion.

Best regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 07/10/2012 17:18:31

[dcostaParticipant @dcosta]

Hello Dennis, Good afternoo!

Using the free ME_Index application you can download from here **LINK** I found 24 articles where the combined words “boiler failure” are present.

 

Vol.:6–Issue:65–Year: 1901–date: 13-Jan–Page: 47–Category:Queries and RepliesVol.:16–Issue:304–Year: 1907–date: 21-Feb–Page: 191–Category:Queries and RepliesVol.:19–Issue:396–Year: 1908–date: 26-Nov–Page: 524–Category:Queries and RepliesVol.:20–Issue:406–Year: 1909–date: 4-Feb–Page: 117–Category:Queries and RepliesVol.:33–Issue:759–Year: 1915–date: 11-Nov–Page: 411–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:56–Issue:1353–Year: 1927–date: 14-Apr–Page: 346–Category:Boiler
Vol.:59–Issue:1425–Year: 1928–date: 30-Aug–Page: 211–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:59–Issue:1425–Year: 1928–date: 30-Aug–Page: 211–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1548–Year: 1931–date: 8-Jan–Page: 37–Category:Boiler
Vol.:64–Issue:1550–Year: 1931–date: 22-Jan–Page: 95–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1550–Year: 1931–date: 22-Jan–Page: 95–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1552–Year: 1931–date: 5-Feb–Page: 143–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1553–Year: 1931–date: 12-Feb–Page: 167–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1555–Year: 1931–date: 26-Feb–Page: 215–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1557–Year: 1931–date: 12-Mar–Page: 264–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1565–Year: 1931–date: 7-May–Page: 455–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:64–Issue:1568–Year: 1931–date: 28-May–Page: 527–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:66–Issue:1610–Year: 1932–date: 17-Mar–Page: 241–Category Smoke Rings
Vol.:66–Issue:1612–Year: 1932–date: 31-Mar–Page: 289–Category Smoke Rings
Vol.:66–Issue:1614–Year: 1932–date: 14-Apr–Page: 338–Category Smoke Rings
Vol.:66–Issue:1617–Year: 1932–date: 5-May–Page: 431–Category:Practical Letters from Our Readers
Vol.:148–Issue:3682–Year: 1982–date: 4-Jun–Page: 708–Category:Post Bag
Vol.:148–Issue:3682–Year: 1982–date: 4-Jun–Page: 708–Category:Post Bag
Vol.:175–Issue:3998–Year: 1995–date: 4-Aug–Page: 182–Category:General

It's a lot of data and I hope it's useful to you.

Best regards
Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 07/10/2012 17:38:25

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I'd be fascinated to know more about gtehose 'rests to destruction'.

Neil

[Dennis WAParticipant @denniswa]

Geoff and Michael…..Thank you for the feedback.

Dias…I checked out the the Vol 148 & Vol 175 data in my archive copies – they do not contain the boiler failure described to me.

I have access to the index that you and Terry mention, as well as some others, but I could not locate the boiler failure described.

Thank you for your efforts.

Dennis

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Hi Neil ,

Can't locate relevant ME but here's some of it from memory .

They tested at least three boilers .

Boiler no 1 was a specially made pot boiler with end discs soft soldered in .

Boiler no2 was exact same design as no 1 but silver soldered .

Boiler no 3 was a 'proper' model firetube boiler – possibly from a Chub or similar design and described as poorly made .

Modus operandi was to fill boiler with water , connect a high reading pressure gauge and to fire up with propane torch . Some safety precautions taken by having personal being well back from test point and improvise bunkering .

Boiler no 1 failed destructively in that the ends blew out at pressure – probably around 150 psi .

Boiler no2 never actually failed destructively . In several tests pressure was raised to over 500 psi with no problem . Ultimately the boiler was just fired continuously until it started leaking – probably due to pinholes blowing through . No record of final pressure reached but it must have been enormous and boiler described as having become balloon shaped .

Boiler no 3 never failed destructively either . At quite modest pressure leakage prevented pressure getting any higher .

Failure of boiler no 1 was apparently quite violent and end disc flew some distance before impacting on a tree .

There is much more information in the actual articles so I hope someone else can supply you with copies .

Regards ,

Michael Williams .

Edited By MICHAEL WILLIAMS on 07/10/2012 21:16:39

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Many thanks Michael,

I have heard all sorts of different views on the energy in relatively small boilers, and whether or not most of it disappears into latent heat of evaporation as the boiler fails.

Regards

Neil

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Its not just dodgy boilers but also dodgy fittings. I recently heard of someone haing a hand scalded by a backhead fitting blowing out + the hot water + steam. I understand that it was a commercial fitting with, would you believe, a tapered thread! If this is correct and if I had been the injured driver, I would have named and shamed the maker Lets hope the guilty are reading this and take it as a warning that if it happened to me I would sue.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

When a big one starts to get grumpy it makes a heck of a racket, like God bashing it with a huge sledgehammer and It takes a lot of guts to stand next to one and sort it out when it's got tummy trouble

None I ever sailed with blew up, saw the aftermath of a boiler blowback once though

 

4 engineers came up looking like the black and white minstrel show, covered from head to foot in carbon swearing like troopers and shaking like leaves

———

Another "pop" blew a donkey boiler hatch off

It was three inches thick, the size of a manhole cover and had bolts every couple of inches all the way round

Landed next to the 2nd engineer when he was in the funnel, made one hell of a bang as we were dropping the pilot off

 

Edited By Ady1 on 08/10/2012 01:52:19

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

When i was in my early twenties i worked in textiles. We had two Lancashire boilers. We used to take it in turns to light them on a Sunday evening so that they were ready to run on a Monday. My friend thought that he would speed the process up one Sunday, by using some methanol that was in the wagon garage.

Luckily we had hopper feeds on the front of them with only a small cast iron door which he shut before he put the lit taper in. He managed to get away with only light burns but the flue walls at the back of the boiler between the economiser collapsed with the blast wave. He never owned up for a long time and we only found the wall when the boilers were cleaned.

You can imagine what we thought!!!!

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Terry at 17:16:41

Good reply – well said

Chris

[modeng2000Participant @modeng2000]

I am not sure if this is relevent to this discussion but there were a series of boiler joint tests carried out by Paul Trevaskis to determine the relative strengths of various joint designs.

It makes for interesting reading. See :- **LINK**

John

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Springbok on 07/10/2012 15:42:55:

Hi Terry

at 1544 postings have you time to do any workshop engineering.

bob .

What has that got to do with it ?

As Terry has replied I have 1222 or something and get plenty done, in fact it's my job.

Some people like JasonB and myself are more helpful to others will less experience.

A lesson there ?

John S.

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Not lighting a boiler, so wandering off topic , but many aeons ago i lived in a tiny cottage in Welsh Wales. My mate Big Pete decided to light a fire with kindling, but it went out, so he poured some white spirit in the grate. Apparently it rapidly filled with white vapour, but he threw a match in any way.

I heard the bang and came downstairs to find him dishevelled against the opposite wall, and a large pile of dislodged soot in the grate.

He was also the guy who got so upset by his girlfriend leaving, he punched the wall. Delighted (and surprised) to discover a hole in the wall, he punched again. And found a joist – totally broken wrist

Neil

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Posted by John Stevenson on 09/10/2012 09:15:58:

Posted by Springbok on 07/10/2012 15:42:55:

Hi Terry

at 1544 postings have you time to do any workshop engineering.

bob .

What has that got to do with it ?

As Terry has replied I have 1222 or something and get plenty done, in fact it's my job.

Some people like JasonB and myself are more helpful to others will less experience.

A lesson there ?

John S.

Hi John,

actually 1229 and counting John (I'm not, but someone is), and thanks for the comment.,

Best regards

Terry 1553 and upwards.

PS JasonB also has more postings than mine here, on HMEM – how does he get time to make all those lovely engines???

T

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