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Water Level Gauges for Marine Boiler

The water level gauge provides a visible indication of the water level in a boiler in the region of the correct working level. If the water level were too high then water might pass out of the boiler and do serious damage to any equipment designed to accept steam. If the water level were too low then the heat transfer surfaces might become exposed to excessive temperatures and fail. Constant attention to the boiler water level is therefore essential. Due to the motion of the ship it is necessary to have a water level gauge at each end of the boiler to correctly observe the level.

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Depending upon the boiler operating pressure, one of two basically different types of water level gauge will be fitted.

For boiler pressures up to a maximum of 17 bar a round glass tube type of water level gauge is used. The glass tube is connected to the boiler shell by cocks and pipes, as shown in Figure . Packing rings are positioned at the tube ends to give a tight seal and prevent leaks. A guard is usually placed around the tube to protect it from accidental damage and to avoid injury to any personnel in the vicinity if the tube shatters. The water level gauge is usually connected directly to the boiler. Isolating cocks are fitted in the steam and water passages, and a drain cock is also present. A ball valve is fitted below the tube to shut off the water should the tube break and water attempt to rush out.



Boiler Water level gauges

Fig:Boiler Water level gauges


For boiler pressures above 17 bar a plate-glass-type water level gauge is used. The glass tube is replaced by an assembly made up of glass plates within a metal housing, as shown in Figure . The assembly is made up as a 'sandwich' of front and back metal plates with the glass plates and a centre metal plate between. Joints are placed between the glass and the metal plate and a mica sheet placed over the glass surface facing the water and steam. The mica sheet is an effective insulation to prevent the glass breaking at the very high temperature. When bolting up this assembly, care must be taken to ensure even all-round tightening of the bolts. Failure to do this will result in a leaking assembly and possibly shattered glass plates.

In addition to the direct-reading water level gauges, remote-reading level indicators are usually led to machinery control rooms. It is possible for the small water or steam passages to block with scale or dirt and the gauge will give an incorrect reading. To check that passages are dear a 'blowing through' procedure should be followed. close the water cock B and open drain cock C.

The boiler pressure should produce a strong jet of steam from the drain. Cock A is now closed and Cock B opened. A jet of water should now pass through the drain. The absence of a flow through the drain will indicate that the passage to the open cock is blocked.





Summarized below marine boiler detail Info pages:

  1. Requirement for various boiler types - water tube boilers and more
    2. The watertube boiler is employed for high-pressure, high-temperature, high-capacity steam applications, e.g. providing steam for main propulsion turbines or cargo pump turbines. Firetube boilers are used for auxiliary purposes to provide smaller quantities of low-pressure steam on diesel engine powered ships.....

  2. Fire tube boilers working principle and operational procedure
    3. The firetube boiler is usually chosen for low-pressure steam production on vessels requiring steam for auxiliary purposes. Operation is simple and feedwater of medium quality may be employed. The name 'tank boiler is sometimes used for firetube boilers because of their large water capacity. The terms 'smoke tube' and 'donkey boiler are also in use....

  3. Exhaust Gas Boilers And Economisers working procedure
    4. The use of exhaust gases from diesel main propulsion engines to generate steam is a means of heat energy recovery and improved plant efficiency.The auxiliary steam installation provided in modern diesel powered tankers usually uses an exhaust gas heat exchanger at the base of the funnel and one or perhaps two watertube boilers .....

  4. The use of boiler mountings
    5. Watertube boilers, because of their smaller water content in relation to their steam raising capacity, require certain additional mountings: Automatic feed water regulator. Fitted in the feed line prior to the main check valve, this device is essential to ensure the correct water level in.the boiler during all load conditions. Boilers with a high evaporation rate will use a multiple-element feed water control system ....

  5. Purity of boiler feedwater
    6. Most 'pure' water will contain some dissolved salts which come out of solution on boiling. These salts then adhere to the heating surfaces as a scale and reduce heat transfer, which can result in local overheating and failure of the tubes. Other salts remain in solution and may produce acids which will attack the metal of the boiler. An excess of alkaline salts in a boiler, together with the effects of operating stresses, will produce a condition known as 'caustic cracking'. This is actual cracking of the metal which may lead to serious failure.....

  6. The steam-to-steam generator working principle and operational procedure
    7. Steam-to-steam generators produce low-pressure saturated steam for domestic and other services. They are used in conjunction with watertube boilers to provide a secondary steam circuit which avoids any possible contamination of the primary-circuit feedwater. The arrangement may be horizontal or vertical with coils within the shell which heat the feedwater.....

  7. How to control combustion in a marine boiler
    8. The essential requirement for a combustion control system is to correctly proportion the quantities of air and fuel being burnt. This will ensure complete combustion, a minimum of excess air and acceptable exhaust gases. The control system must therefore measure the flow rates of fuel oil and air in order to correctly regulate their proportions.....

  8. Safe boiler operation - Preparations & raising steam
    9. All boilers have a furnace or combustion chamber where fuel is burnt to release its energy. Air is supplied to the boiler furnace to enable combustion of the fuel to take place. A large surface area between the combustion chamber and the water enables the energy of combustion, in the form of heat, to be transferred to the water.....

  9. Fuel oil burning process - various design burners
    10. Marine boilers currently burn residual low-grade fuels. This fuel isstored in double-bottom tanks from which it is drawn by a transfer pump up to settling tanks. Here any water in the fuel may settle out and be drained away.

  10. Boiler arrangement - combustion process - supply of air
    11. Combustion is the burning of fuel in air in order to release heat energy. For complete and efficient combustion the correct quantities of fuel and air must be supplied to the furnace and ignited. About 14 times as much air as fuel is required for complete combustion....

  11. Ordinary spring-loaded safety valve and improved high-lift safety valve for a marine boiler
    12. Safety valves are fitted in pairs, usually on a single valve chest. Each valve must be able to release all the steam the boiler can produce without the pressure rising by more than 10% over a set period.....

  12. Correct working level for marine boilers - use of water level gauges
    13. The water level gauge provides a visible indication of the water level in the boiler in the region of the correct working level.

  13. How to maintain water level in a marine boiler ?
    14. A modern high-pressure, high-temperature watertube boiler holds a small quantity of water and produces large quantities of steam. Very careful control of the drum water level is therefore necessary. The reactions of steam and water in the drum are complicated and require a control system based on a number of measured elements......

  14. Safety precautions for working with marine boiler
    15. All boiler controls, regulators, alarms and trips must be tested regularly in accordance with the applicable Planned Maintenance System and maker’s recommendations. Each test is to be recorded with the signature of the Engineer Officer who conducted the test....





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Marine diesel engines ||Steam generating plant ||Air conditioning system ||Compressed air ||Marine batteries ||Cargo refrigeration ||Centrifugal pump ||Various coolers ||Emergency power supply ||Exhaust gas heat exchangers ||Feed system ||Feed extraction pump || Flow measurement || Four stroke engines || Fuel injector || Fuel oil system || Fuel oil treatment ||Gearboxes || Governor || Marine incinerator || Lub oil filters || MAN B&W engine || Marine condensers || Oily water separator || Overspeed protection devices || Piston & piston rings || Crankshaft deflection || Marine pumps || Various refrigerants || Sewage treatment plant || Propellers || Power Plants || Starting air system || Steam turbines || Steering gear || Sulzer engine || Turbine gearing || Turbochargers || Two stroke engines || UMS operations || Drydocking & major repairs || Critical machinery || Deck machineries & cargo gears || Control and instrumentation ||Fire protection ||Engine room safety ||



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