The Home Machinist!

I was wondering if anyone can tell me the best way to dry a boiler out for winter storage and if there is anything I should put in the boiler or anything to help to preserve it I run lsb8000 all the time to try to help to take care of the boiler but I'm not sure if there is something else I should be using as treatment and if there is something I can do for dry storage I really want to make the boiler Last as long as I can after seeing all of these boiler failure pictures it's got me worried any help will be greatly appreciated

Best way I've seen is to remove a safety valve, open the blowdowns, and stick an incandescent bulb or small ceramic heating element in the firebox. Dries the boiler out nicely and keeps it that way

It is important to wash the boiler out thoroughly before you store it, both water side and fire side. The soot on the fire side is just as bad as scale on the water side. Remove all the plugs, and the dome top if it comes off. Let air circulate through it. Like Tristan said, leave an incandescent bulb or other heat source going. It's best to store it where the temperature and humidity are fairly constant. In this area a garage is about the worst place to store a boiler.

Marty_Knox wrote:...
In this area a garage is about the worst place to store a boiler.

I know one steamer who keeps engines in his living room. (But that might be part of the reason he's still single..... )

Good point!

I bought a computer fan on ebay for really cheap. I made a sheetmetal adaptor and put it on top of the dome after removing everything. It dries the boiler totally.

That's a slick idea! I might try that too.
Of course the air being drawn through needs to be relatively dry...
~RN

I keep mine stored in the trailer all year... It's not stored inside, thus it is subject to freezing temperatures. When I blow it down, I always hook up my compressor to it and open all the valves and blowdowns, and let a bunch of air go through everything while it cools down, probably about 30 to 40 minutes. I also blow out all of the lines and take the cones out of the injector and blow all the water out of it too. Once that is done, I close all the blowdowns, and I leave the other valves barely cracked. I then spray everything on the outside down with WD-40, and then oil the whole thing like I'm about to go run it. I roll it in the trailer, and I then roll it back out next spring. I've not had any problems at all.

I do like the idea of using a heat lamp to help dry everything out. Getting the inside of your boiler dry is the most important part of it, I believe. Now, some are going to say that I'm not doing it right, or I should do this or that... but this has worked for me for 15+ years and I've had no issues with it. For those who can't keep your stuff inside, just know that you've got to get all the water out of everything, then you'll be OK.

Greg_Lewis wrote:

Marty_Knox wrote:...
In this area a garage is about the worst place to store a boiler.

I know one steamer who keeps engines in his living room. (But that might be part of the reason he's still single..... )

When I was single I kept my Allen Ten-Wheeler in the kitchen.
My drill press and work bench were in the pantry,
but that was long ago and far away.

John Parker at one time had his Bridgeport in his family room. I asked how he got away with that and his short answer was 'it was there before she was'. There were a lot of things about him that I admired. Now I will stop with the hijack.

As another suggestion for drying the inside of the boiler (water spaces), I made up a simple manifold that attaches to the end of a cheap hair drier. The manifold is made from a copper pipe cap (3 inch, if I remember correctly), bored out to a push fit over the end of the hair drier. Two flexible 1/2" ID plastic pipes run from the manifold to temporary stubs screwed into washout holes at the base of the firebox legs.

At the end of each run I blow the boiler down and, with the boiler still hot, remove the washout plugs at the base of the firebox and a couple of other plugs at the top of the boiler to vent. I then hookup an air compressor and blow air through for an hour or so until the boiler is fairly cool. The plumes of vented air start off heavily moisture laden (they looks like steam) and end up feeling dry based on my back-of-the-hand moisture sensor. Once the boiler is just warm to the touch I disconnect the air compressor and hookup the hair drier. The drier is set to minimum temperature to keep it from tripping on thermal cutout due to the restricted airflow (it has a "cool shot" button which I have set permanently 'on' by taping with electrical tape). I let that run for another 12-24 hours or so - it's quiet and gently blows air through at a temperature which keeps the boiler warm and hopefully dries out any remaining damp spots in the hard-to-reach places in the boiler.

A bit unconventional I know, but it seems to work for me.
Best regards
Steve

Mine is stored in my dining room! It is big and gets allot of WOWs! My boiler will long out last me.