boiler firetube turbulators

Dan_2

considering installing turbulators in my steam boiler to help save energy. anybody have any experience with these? the good bad and ugly! thanks in advance dan.

bigugh_4

U did not say ?

If the turbulators were from the boiler manufacture or not. If do and made for your boiler,go for it If they are not made for your boiler, designed for your boiler, approved for you boiler, your walking into a could be nightmare! CO, a common discusion here on this wall, comes to mind real quick!
bigugh

flange

firetube boilers are generally pretty efficient. are these going to be supplied by the manufacturer? how much efficiency will they add? what is the payback? is your boiler now properly tuned? if not i'd spend the money there first.

Justin Gavin

Is it oil or gas

I concur with the rest of the guys on this but if it is an oil burner cleaning is going to be a pain.

Correct me if I am wrong but the turbulators are there to help create backpressure to keep more heat in the heat exchanger vs a damper on the vent stub. If you want better effy on a firetube, (depending how big it is) There might be a way for you to save some money. With out using the turbs.

Am I right in assuming it is low pressure steam? If so let me know what pressure you are set at.

Plus what kind of heat emitters are you using?

I'd be interested.

Thanks,

Justin

jweglarz@hotmail.com

turbulators

my main concern would be over fire draft and heat loss up the chimney you must keep it above 300-350 deg net or condensation in the chimney will occur this is also not knowing the type of boiler but scrubbing the tubes with heat will transfer more energy

Dan_2

more info

you guys are great. my boilers are 1963 northamerican atlas generators, full wet back. they are duel fuel gas/oil with input btu at 3.8 million btu/hr. they have had complete new controls and gas train installed last year. complete new fire tubes this year. we have restored our steam heat system to vapor vacuum operation. we are presently maintaining a constant 1 psi steam presure with our modulating gas burner. the system maintenance is excelent. I am an energy saving fanatic of sorts. that is why i am researching turbulators. thanks in advance for and new ideas.

Jim Davis

Turbulators

Recommended and used Brock turbulators for years, but normally in older equipment that was originally designed for coal. Turbulators to create more contact and scrubbing on the boiler tubes and prevent laminar flow(hot gases moving through the middle and cool gases to the outside) When you have high O2 and high flue temperature when firing at full input turbulators could have a purpose. Controlling chimney draft with a barometric is critical before and after you install them. Can save 10%-15% fuel!!

[Deleted User]

Use turbulators on most

of the 2 & 3 pass scotch marine boilers we service. Jim is correct. 10% plus possible reduction in fuel usage. Tell Brock or Western what you have, & they will lay it out for you.

A word of caution. Post at, or on the boiler, where what turbulator goes in the boiler & what angle the handles should be set at. It's a pain to open a boiler to check lengths, locations, & angles.

Full modulation will require some compromise. You will probably have to select turbulator lengths & locations based on your primary fuel.

Good luck.

Ken_8

Ron's right

Marine type boilers can pick up 10% but sizing and setting up the mod F/A ratio/curve is critical.

We installed some gypsy brand at a school as peran engineered "upgrade" spec and found they added 7% from the get go. Some years later we found no one removed them for cleaning and the turbs were "toast"!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Steamhead

Those are some nice boilers, Dan

and you do a nice job of keeping them up!

Anything you can do to slow the passage of the hot flue gases without compromising the over-fire draft or creating CO, chimney condensation or other nasty conditions will be worth it. I've done basically the same thing using bricks in older cast-iron boilers, and have been able to reduce firing rates by 20% (on an H.B. Smith "Mercer" return-flue sectional) to 30% (National Round 4-section where a Beckett replaced an older burner) and still provide plenty of heat.

Specifics vary, but in general your stack temp should not go below 300 degrees to avoid chimney condensation. Check your burner and boiler specs to see what the over-fire draft should be. And I know you know to check any modification with a digital combustion analyzer.

Let us know how you do!



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"