Drain or Fill Boiler for Winter Storage?

[Dhutch]

I must say I have never understood the reason for filling a boiler to.store it. Certainly not introducing a whole boiler full of new water. I would its best just left.

We only drain ours for winter.to prevent freezing, its been a really mild December as yet, so the boiler still just as I left it after the last steaming.


Daniel

[Mike Rometer]

My belief is that if leaving the boiler full, it must be filled with the injector, as far as possible, to get rid of the air in the water. Boiler treatment is supposed to get rid of the rest (top up).

My way of thinking is that if it isn't cold enough to freeze, then it's warm enough to keep on running!!

[barts]

I must say I have never understood the reason for filling a boiler to.store it. Certainly not introducing a whole boiler full of new water. I would its best just left.
Daniel

Here in CA, my last steamboat meet of the year is often in the SF Bay Delta; the water is of uncertain purity and obviously contains a fair amount of biological activity. Since we boil what we float in when on 'fresh' water, draining the results of several hours of steaming seems to be a good idea. When boilers cool down, they can easily suck air in through whistle valve stems, empty hotwells, etc; I'd rather purge the boiler of air as much as possible.

If I had a steel firetube boiler that was tolerant of gentle heating while empty, I'd prob. just dry it out empty w/ a small wood fire + some good air circulation... but w/ copper tubes silver-brazed into a steel drum, that's really not an option. So I fill the boiler with water. I could use an inert gas, I suppose, but it still wouldn't be dry.

If I lived in an area w/ freezing, I'd prob. just fill the boiler w/ propylene glycol + water, and store it in a plastic drum during the season.

- Bart

[fredrosse]

When I shutdown my boiler for a few weeks I first cook up a feed tank full of deaerated water. This is done by sparging steam into the tank until it is brought to a rolling boil, that drives out virtually all of the oxygen. Then I leave the path thru the feed pump to the boiler opened up, and drive the boat home on its trailer. As the boiler cools, a vacuum is formed, and the deaerated water is drawn into the boiler until it is chock-a-block full of water, with no oxygen.

When I startup a few days, or weeks , later, I drain water back to the feedwater tank until I have a decent level in the boiler, then I fire her up and cruise away.

For winter storage I put RV antifreeze thru the pumps and their piping, after isolating the firetube boiler. A high vacuum pump connected to the boiler will completely dry it out without the need for a fire. Valves must be tight however.

[DetroiTug]

My storage method non condensing firetube: Pull the fire and leave a handful of burning coals on the grate. Blow down hot when loading it on the trailer, pull it out of water while still blowing down to prevent sucking lake water back in on vacuum, then leave every valve open while stored. Haven't used any water treatment. 5 years and all is well (knock on wood).

-Ron

[fredrosse]

Ron, You use no TSP for Ph control? That is a well established method that is cheap and fairly forgiving (too much or too little still helps the boiler's life) to prevent boiler corrosion.

When laying up the boiler in dry winter storage, I disconnect the feedwater pipe union near the boiler to make sure no water can sneak into the boiler via that route. Then connect a hose to the feedwater line and circulate RV antifreeze thru the feed pump(s) and the piping, back to the tank that has a gallon of RV antifreeze on tap.

[DetroiTug]

Hi Fred,

I'm still a bit leery of TSP and it's effects long term lubrication inside the engine and how it may react with some metals like cast iron and aluminum. A buddy of mine was using TSP and he called me concerned one winter because he went out to kick the prop and the engine was stuck. The LP piston was frozen in the cylinder and he added oil to both cylinders at layup. He had to use a 2X4 and mallet to free it. I don't do anything but park mine in the winter and kick the prop occasionally, hasn't stuck yet. That tallow in the steam cylinder oil (Green Velvet Sapon 680) really inhibits the rust.

I'm going to pull the lagging off in a year or two and ultrasound the whole shell again, just to see where it's at. That will be a pretty good indicator if my maintenance system (what little there is of it) is effective or not.

Wouldn't bother me too much if I had to make another boiler. The one that is in there uses 1-3/4" ID tubes, If I used 1-1/4OD like yours, I could put several more in and potentially increase the boiler output by roughly ~20%.

-Ron

[Lopez Mike]

If he was getting TSP carryover into the boiler I think he may either really dumping in the TSP and/or running his water level so high that he's on the edge of getting water into the engine.

Wait! Is this one of those non-condensing setups I've heard of? (grin) I dunno anything about them. I float on salt water.

I use maybe a quart per hour of makeup water due to whistling, a few leaks and doltish boiler operation leading to the safety popping. At that rate, an additional tea spoon of TSP a week is more than enough. A little litmus paper from a pool supply or pet store is informative.