Boiler explosion

[PTsideshow]

This was posted on a welding forum, about a mishap in Ottawa
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/10/19/boiler-explodes.html 1st story
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/10/20/ottawa-heatin-plant-death.html 2nd one

 

[Cedge]

Hell of a way to go. Prayers for the family.

Steve

 

[ChooChooMike]

I'm curious as to the cause of the explosion - sound like this was quite an old boiler.

 

[rake60]

Steam is a deadly power.
When water turns to steam it's volume increases to 1600 times the volume
it was as liquid water. That turns out to be a very powerful dynamic force.
Or, it can be a very dangerous force in aged or misunderstood applications.


Rick

 

[PTsideshow]

It's currently under investigation!

 

[ChooChooMike]

Steam is a deadly power.
When water turns to steam it's volume increases to 1600 times the volume
it was as liquid water. That turns out to be a very powerful dynamic force.
Or, it can be a very dangerous force in aged or misunderstood applications.

You're quite correct ! I'm constantly in awe of the power of steam. I have a friend who works for the gas company and deals with a lot of commercial accounts using natural gas to fire their boilers. She feels that steam was/is a gift from God due to its versatility and since it has so much power and so many uses. It's an old, old technology and humans have pretty much mastered it. That doesn't mean it should be taken lightly at all, there are some seriously powerful forces in play when using steam, especially at the high temperatures and pressures used in modern steam plants and related.

Mike

 

[rake60]

On another view, it is an awesome site to watch a steam powered locomotive
pull a half mile long freight train up a 10% grade in a modern demonstration of
the power of yesteryear. When that engine passes by you see three men working
harder than any confined area blue collar worker would be expected to work today.

The machine does all the work???

One of the guys I work with was joking about the efforts of a team in our shop
one day. He said; "They look like a bunch of ants on a Popsicle stick."
That is pretty much what the 4 X 6 foot work area of a steam locomotive looks like.
Difference is, they all know their responsibilities and what could happen if they screw up.
They are pulling a train with a potential bomb.

And you thought your day was stressful?
:

Rick

 

[Krown Kustoms]

Has off to the people who do work like that.
I built a 2 x 12 test boiler a while back, I dont run it at more than 30 psi.
I was wondering of the destructive force if it were to explode one day.
I build high power model rockets and their motors. I was testing a motor one day (I have a stand that measures thrust) and like it some times happens it exploded. The size was 1 inch x 6.75 inches. The stand after I put it back together read over 100 lbs of thrust. Since it exploded I assume the thrust was expelled in a sphere.
Anyway, I was wondering if the explosions would be similar.
I have never seen a boiler explode but if it is like the engine I dont think I want it to happen in the shop.
The base was a piece of 16 guage sheet steel, after the CATO it would hold about a quart of water (dish shaped)
-B-

 

[steamer]

"....Steam is a deadly power"

Hmmm.

I take exception to that blanket statement. Let me explain.

Many things can be "deadly"......steam boiler operation is just one of them.

Steam is as safe as you would like it to be....or as dangerous.....you have a choice.

It can be a wondrous and awe inspiring thing to watch and participate in....however..

There is nothing so terrifying as ignorance in action....with steam...or a speeding car, or a knuckle head at the firing range with poor muzzle discipline...or a half a dozen other activities I can think of.......not to mention running a lathe.....

Now ALL of those can be deadly!.....

So what to do?

Lay in our beds....pull the covers up and think calming thoughts?

No.

The gray stuff between the ears needs to be engaged when using any of them!

Knowledge and discipline is the key to safety in any endeavor....steam included.

Get informed on how to do it right.

Carefully decending the soap box with the hand rail and man harness......

Dave (steamer)

 

[4wheels]

I whole heartedly agree Dave, just living is dangerous but most of us assess the risks of any particular venture then go for it if we are happy with the risk vs benefit numbers. With living this is usually done unconsciously but for steam and shop activities these decisions must be done consciously and with due consideration to possible outcomes if things go wrong. If all is done correctly the risk are usually so small that we just get on and do whatever is "dangerous".
Think then do. Don't not play with steam just because it has the capacity to blow up - play with consideration.
As LBSC said "Nuff said".
Cheers,

 

[kf2qd]

ANY pressure vessel can be dangerous if it explodes. Compressor Air tanks, Hot Water Heaters. My son told of one electric Water Heater that went through a roof out in Pheonix AZ. Its not the boiler i worry about, but those other pressure vessels that we have gotten used to.

How much energy is stored in the back of your car? And some park them in the house. Think about it.

 

[steamer]

Kf2qd,

Point taken. My gas fired Hot water heater is running now....makes nice hot water. It has a Watts valve on it and was competently installed. The risk of it exploding is ...say plausible....but very unlikely because proper procedures were followed during its installation and the proper equipment is on it for safety.
My kids have been taught to turn the cold on first....they do.

I would say that I am 100 times more likely ....maybe more like a 1000 times .....to be killed on my 50 mile drive to work in the morning by some yahoo in another car painting their face or reading the newspaper than by that hot water heater....
I see it every morning.

Assess the risk. Learn and apply knowledge to minimize the risk...it never goes to zero. Proceed with life and the pursuit happiness.... ;D

But Safety is always your responsibility.


Nuff said.

 

[ke7hr]

My son told of one electric Water Heater that went through a roof out in Phoenix AZ.

I live about 2 miles from the house that blew the water heater through the roof in Phoenix and knocked the house off of the foundation. The house was not saved, they had to tear down the whole thing and are nearly finished rebuilding.

Video of the aftermath from a local TV station:
http://www.kpho.com/video/17195284/index.html

The TV show "Mythbusters" had an episode on this type of event and what it took to get all of the safeties to fail.

 

[eskimobob]

I've often wondered about compressor cylinders - presumably they are tested when made but then they are used for years at 100+ PSI. I have one in my cramped workshop and it makes me think when I am stood next to it and the motor fires up!

 

[Krown Kustoms]

You should always drain the moisture from an air compressor.
They will rust from the inside and eventually fail, if the bottom rusts through you can guess which way the tank will go.
Some people dont even know what the petcock on the bottom of the compressor is for.
-B-

 

[eskimobob]

Hmmm - I have drained it - a few times in the years I've had it :-[
Now you have me worried ???

 

[Brian Rupnow]

When an air compresor tank "Lets go" from rust accumulation in the base, it generally doesn't fail catastrophically with an explosion. Instead they go out with a whimper. You will come to your garage some morning and find a big puddle of rusty brown water on the floor and hear a hissing. No, your shops not full of incontinent rattlesnakes---Its time for a new compressor tank. And DON'T TRY TO WELD UP THE HOLE!!!! I never bleed the pressure off my tank. I just unplug it when not in use, and drain the water from the base whenever I think of it (Which isn't often!!!) I think that there is less danger of an explosion by leaving the tank fully charged all the time. If a hole does rust though,ir will only be a pinhole, and the pressure will relieve itself gradually. On the other hand, if a tank is badly rusted and at zero pressure, then it is more likely to explode as the pressure buidls from 0 to 100 PSI., driven by a compressor.