Is Good Boiler Care Enough?

[Donhost4449]

First off I should define what I mean by good boiler care:

1. keeping hose out of the dirt and screening the water flow into boiler and tender
2. slowly bringing up steam
3. regular and often blowdowns during operation of locomotive
4. allowing boiler to cool after dropping the fire before final blowdown
5. ensure all water has drained from boiler
6. using compressed air to push out any remaining water
7. leave valves open to promote air circulation
8. placing light bulb in firebox to promote complete drying of mud ring/crown sheet
9. Annual hydro and boiler wash

Note: The purpose of this thread isn’t to debate good boiler care! I only share the items above to provide a basis of how John’s boiler was cared for since it was built new 11 years ago.

Fast-forward to earlier this year when I shared with John Bailie that I purchased a scope off Amazon for a very reasonable price. Even after religiously practicing “good boiler care” that I learned from John, I was surprised to see a significant amount of scale since my 2015 boiler rebuild (see rebuild link below). My findings prompted John to buy a scope, as he wanted to see what was going on in his Chloe boiler that he first steamed about 11 years ago. Neither John nor I have used boiler treatment on our boilers.

When John scoped his boiler, he was also surprised at the amount of scale he found (see pictures 1& 2).

John is a locomotive builder/boiler maker, and only runs each of his locomotives maybe once or twice each calendar year; he currently has 4 operating locomotives that he built from the ground up. While I started experimenting with LSB boiler treatment in my boiler as a quick fix, John decided to research the subject. He found an article titled “Managing Corrosion in Steel Boilers” by Joseph D. Monty that was published in the September/October 2000 issue of Live Steam (pg 51-53). One thing is clear from this article; boiler deterioration has been the nemesis of the live steamer since the beginning of the hobby. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since it is a subject widely studied and managed in commercial boiler operations from early steam locomotives through today with ultra modern boiler technology.

In the article, Joseph states that boiler corrosion has “little to do with the lay-up procedures, or whether the boiler was stored wet or dry.” Instead, the real damage to the boiler is actually during the operation of the boiler. The article is a great read, and I would encourage every steam locomotive owner to check it out. Thankfully, Joseph breaks the cause down into laymen terms. Next, he provides several possible solutions for the individual locomotive owner, and for the club/track facility in dealing with water. Then Joseph addresses cleaning of the boiler. Here he suggests phosphoric acid (available at Home Depot). John thought it best to test some corroded metal before subjecting his boiler to the brew (see photo 3).

The results were impressive, so John went ahead and soaked his boiler for 15 hours. The results are self-evident (see photos 4-6). Check out that screen!

For those that no longer want to be the boy whistling in the dark, do consider purchasing a scope! They are cheap, and easy to use. It will be one of the most valuable tools you own, as it will provide accurate feedback to you concerning your boiler care and treatment methods. Here is the link to the scope that we purchased:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074K ... UTF8&psc=1

As for my boiler and the use of LSB, something is happening. I will pop the top to scope my boiler again later this week to see exactly what the LSB has done to the scale buildup. At the SVLS Spring Meet last weekend, I ran the product as recommended on Saturday. It was a long day of running: 29 miles in 12 hours. I shut down around Midnight, and in the morning opened the throat sheet blowdown to find a dirty-white water that looked like horchada. I suspect that color is likely from the LSB descaling the boiler. I tested the water with test strips, and found it to be a PH of 10, exactly what the experts say it needs to be. More to come on that later.

Chris Donhost
Vacaville, CA

2015 boiler rebuild video here:

[Brunswick Carshops]

Great write-up!!

There are three tools every boiler owner should have;

1) Decent Bore Scope
2) TDS meter
3) pH Test Strips.

Use #2 and 3 religiously when hot. Like Ice-Cube says "Check ya self before you wreck yo self."

[cbrew]

Good Write up Chris,
My thoughts on the matter, if the water is left in the boiler for extended amount of time, yes TDS and PH testing is highly suggested. but most of us only have water in the boiler up to 8 hours at a time. i learned a long time ago to blow down at the end of the day, regardless if i am firing up the next day, most of the tracks I run at have well water. I change out the boiler after every run. this came from one spring at Train mountain, after about 6 hours of running, the water looked like skim milk). my boiler as been in service since 2002 and other then a white flakes on all the surfaces. its in good shape. I am sure it could use descaling. just have not done it yet.

my normal boiler care and feeding is as follows.

1) at fill up, add 1 cap full of lsb to the water in the boiler.
2) add one more to the first tender fill. i do not add any more unless the water is bad enough to require blowing down during the operating session.
3) at shutdown, while rolling into the steaming bays, i fill the boiler all the way up,
4) kill the fire and let the boiler cool to between 50 and 40 psi before blowing down
5) roll the locomotive back and forth while blowing down to stir up any think lose.
6) open all valves and connect to the air supply to blow out any trapped steam.

when the boiler was swapped chassis's four years ago, I removed blocked plugs from the front of the mud ring, excepting to see build up, nothing. it was clear.

this year was the first time testing in Washington state, which required 2X mwp (300 psi in this case). the only issue had to fix in front on the inspector was a leak in the throttle packing. 1/4 turn and it dried up.

[Pontiacguy1]

You would not believe the amount of scale/corrosion in quite a number of boilers that I've torn down/cut apart. The pictures you are showing are very mild compared. Of course, if you treat the boiler like a tin can and never do anything to it, it's going to rust up and scale up really quick anyway. Sometimes I'm amazed that some new boilers will only last 8 or 9 years, and sometimes I'm amazed that they can last 30+ years.

[Harlock]

Periodic boiler washes are also important. Here's a now classic article from Jeff Badger. https://www.discoverlivesteam.com/magaz ... /index.htm

We boiler wash the Mesa Grande engines (3" scale) twice a year, and use LSB. After 55 years, #268's boiler just has a light coat of white on the inside, as is the case with boilers that use LSB. No built up rust or caking.

One thing to add to your list is opening up the boiler as much as you can when sitting - take the safeties, whistle or the dome cover off to let that remaining moisture escape, preferably while hot, right after you blow it out with air.

[NP317]

I basically use the same boiler maintenance as described by cbrew.
Description of the milky water at Train Mountain rings true. Daily complete blow downs and new water the next day work well.
I also use LSB in the same amounts described by cbrew, and the interior of my 15-year-old Ten Wheeler's boiler remains light grey with little scale evident.
And that's after >550 full-sized miles of operation and storage between.
Washouts produce only a finger-tip of sand-like scale.

I just took delivery on a nice micro-endoscope:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

It sports an internal USB-charged battery good for several hours of operation, Wi-Fi communication to my iPhone, free downloaded APP, and the probe end is only 5.5m wide, with 6 adjustable intensity LEDs. At $30, it is a steal! The cable is also semi-ridgid and can be bent into shapes to allow easy steering inside boilers.
It will be an excellent high-tech tool to improve my knowledge of the condition of my boilers.

I will bring it to share at our monthly meeting of the Columbia River Live Steamers. Not an official name, but a descriptive one.
We hope to form a group "official enough" to qualify to perform the annual boiler testing and certification (to 150 psi max) now allowed by Washington State laws.

Last thought:
It would be a good idea if the publisher of Live Steam and Outdoor Railroading would produce a small book on hobby boiler maintenance,
perhaps reprinting articles they have previously published.
~RN

[SteveM]

Here's a shot of Chuck Hackett's flues when the late Ray Pennell of Steam Age cut it open:



Steve

[NP317]

Ouch!
I've seen full-size logging locomotive boiler tubes looking like that. Ugly for sure.
When we retubed the steam traction engine boiler last year at the Western Aeronautic And Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon, the tubes were similarly trashed.
Makes me a believer in proper water treatment and boiler care.
~RN