Glenn Brooks wrote:
"As followup, it’s Interesting the keyboard warriors over on the RYPN thread were able to condemn the boiler without any one of them actually inspecting it."
Brilliant!
RussN
15" Gauge live steam 4-4-0 Boiler, piston castings, wheels & tender trucks
Moderators: gwrdriver, Harold_V
Re: 15" Gauge live steam 4-4-0 Boiler, piston castings, wheels & tender trucks
I mean those "keyboard warriors" (at least two I know personally) have been boiler inspectors, designers, and helped construct them for decades.
As for the firebox sidewalls, having a weld seam there does not prove or disprove there being internal support due to a "sub assembly". However the fact that there is no visible staying there raises major red flags. Why would they change the method of staying the sheets only in that area? Not saying I know better than who designed and built it, but these are questions that are raised without having access to the internal.
Furthermore, I would argue that the number of vessels allegedly build by this company prior is irrelevant. This very well could have been the first locomotive boiler built by them. It's actually surprisingly common the number of industrial boiler fabricators out there who have attempted a locomotive style boiler without having extensive knowledge of their construction or corresponding code and quite simply fudged them up something fierce (yeah, the ones in question passed ASME inspection too). We once built four new boilers to replace such hackjobs for a major corporation.
The point wasn't to condemn this boiler via a single photo, but to make aware of potential issues a buyer should be aware of when walking up to inspect this for purchase. If it could save someone a hell of a lot of heartache and capital, it's worth making note of these things. But as was clarified above, this boiler aparently is not being sold as operational- so it's really all a moot point unless the buyer has other intentions.
But what would us boiler industry professionals know, eh?
As for the firebox sidewalls, having a weld seam there does not prove or disprove there being internal support due to a "sub assembly". However the fact that there is no visible staying there raises major red flags. Why would they change the method of staying the sheets only in that area? Not saying I know better than who designed and built it, but these are questions that are raised without having access to the internal.
Furthermore, I would argue that the number of vessels allegedly build by this company prior is irrelevant. This very well could have been the first locomotive boiler built by them. It's actually surprisingly common the number of industrial boiler fabricators out there who have attempted a locomotive style boiler without having extensive knowledge of their construction or corresponding code and quite simply fudged them up something fierce (yeah, the ones in question passed ASME inspection too). We once built four new boilers to replace such hackjobs for a major corporation.
The point wasn't to condemn this boiler via a single photo, but to make aware of potential issues a buyer should be aware of when walking up to inspect this for purchase. If it could save someone a hell of a lot of heartache and capital, it's worth making note of these things. But as was clarified above, this boiler aparently is not being sold as operational- so it's really all a moot point unless the buyer has other intentions.
But what would us boiler industry professionals know, eh?
-Sam
Boilermaker, Pipefitter, former Railroader
"Preserving the Past and Ensuring Our Future"
Boilermaker, Pipefitter, former Railroader
"Preserving the Past and Ensuring Our Future"
Re: 15" Gauge live steam 4-4-0 Boiler, piston castings, wheels & tender trucks
RyPN has been known for years as a site for key board warriors with little current hands-on experience. The topic title was typical of RyPN which is why the site in general is seen as a joke today. That aside, I know from personal experience how useless a stamp can be, but in this case, the stamp and paperwork would provide an avenue for the boiler to be modified into something more conventional which, in many cases, would be cheaper than building a new boiler from scratch.