LWCO

Joe V_2

We have three high pressure boilers operating at 130psi and using Mcdonell miller 193a lwco. The sight gages are leaking and we suspect improper installation as the cause. Is it saft to close the gages' valves until new glass and seals arrive?

Kevinj_3

safety

Do you another means to monitor the water level??? Are these boilers attended full time??

Joe V_2

No. They are not manned full time whether the site glass is leak free or not. They are computer monitored to rotate firing or bring multiple boilers online to meet demand. We are presently testing lwco three times weekly and all three boilers have automatic water feed. I dont see a problem with this until monday when parts arrive. Does anyone see a problem? Cant have glass leaking continuosly .

Kevin Jahn

LWCO

If that were my plant the LWCO would be tested at least daily and preferably once per shift.

A boiler should never be in operation without means to check the water level.

You also should have spare gage glass and fittings on site. There is no reason for all 3 boilers to be leaking at once either.

I think the ASME requires 2 means to check water level on a power boiler but do not have a code book handy. All of them that we operate have 2 & 3 means to check water level.

Good luck with your decision.

Joe V_2

Thanks Kevin. What other means are there? We dont have spares because bldg is only three months old. Tooling up, building spare inventory etc takes time. All of them leak because they were installed improperly. Upper and lwr valves are not perfectly straight. If there are other ways to check water level, do tell. We turned off one of the two problem boilers. We are a one shift, m-f operation. We dont mo itor 24/7.

Kevin Jahn

water level

try cocks come to mind, level control via computer etc.