Boiler &

Water Heater

Types and their

Differences

10/04/2016 - MJL

5930 Bandini Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA., 90040

Phone: 323-727-9800

Fax: 323-722-2848

www.parkerboiler.com

Welcome To TechForum 2016

New Orleans, LA

Overview

• A discussion of basic definitions and

the various types of packaged

boilers and water heaters commonly

found in use today

• Advantages and disadvantages of

each type

For the Record

Definition of a Boiler • A device for generating steam or hot

water

• Designed to transmit heat from an

external combustion source to a fluid

contained in the boiler

• Contained/controlled combustion

• Boiler HP = output of 33,482 BTU/Hr.

• Boiler HP = 34.5 lbs/hr evaporation of

water

• Low pressure or High pressure

TYPES OF BOILERS

• Thrust of our discussion will

focus on most commonly

encountered boilers - below

8,000,000 btuh

- commonly referred to as “Package

Boilers”

TYPES OF BOILERS

NOT IN THIS DISCUSSION

Field erected

built in place at job site

– Usually < 20,000,000 btu/h

typical of power generation plants or

very large industrial application or

a central plant

Water Tube

Boiler

Flexible or

Bent Water

Tube Type

Boilers

Flexible Water Tube

• Water inside tubes

• Fire surrounds or outside of tubes

• Serpentine Bent Tubes

• Same Pressed In, Some Welded

WATER TUBE TYPES

ADVANTAGES –

FLEXIBLE WATER TUBE

TYPE • Quick heat up time

• Most designs handle Thermal Shock well

• Small water volume

• Small Footprint – Easy to repair

– Wide water flow ranges for Hot Water

DISADVANTAGES –

FLEXIBLE WATER TUBE

TYPE

• Can scale slightly sooner in

steam service (open systems)

• Steam must be sized for

instantaneous loads

Typical Types – Flex Tube

Flex Water Tube Boilers

• Parker Boiler www.parkerboiler.com

• Babcock & Wilcox www.babcock.com

• Bryan Steam www.bryanboilers.com

• English Boiler www.englishboiler.com

• Nebraska Boiler www.neboiler.com

• Unilux Boiler Works UBW www.uniluxboilers.com

(Owned by Easco)

• Universal Boiler Works www.universalboiler.com

(Now owned by Precision Boiler)

Straight Tube

Water Tube

Type Boilers

Still a Water Tube Type where tubes have water inside, fire on outside.

Tubes are straight, rolled into heads.

Straight Water Tube

ADVANTAGES –

STRAIGHT TUBE TYPE

• Quick Heat Up

• Small Water Volume

• Low Cost

• Easy to Clean

DISADVANTAGES –

STRAIGHT TUBE TYPE •Can scale slightly sooner in steam service

•Many bolts to remove to do internal

•Not able to withstand true thermal shock

•Steam units Carry Over 40-125 PSI

Typical Types – Straight Tube

Straight Water Tube Boilers

•Ajax/Ace http://aboilerinc.com (Out of

business Nov 2015)

•Allied Boilers www.alliedboilers.com

•Rite Engineering www.riteboiler.com

Copper Fin Boilers

(also water tube)

Copper Fin

ADVANTAGES

• Low cost

• Small foot print

• Good for potable water or space

heating

DISADVANTAGES –

COPPER FIN

• Lighter duty construction

• Scales slightly easier at higher

temperatures

tubes won’t last running over 140 deg F

• Thinner .065 wall can corrode out

quicker in condensing environment

• Limited size

Typical Types Copper Finned Tube Boilers

• Ace Boiler www.aboiler.com

• Camus Hydronics Ltd. www.camus-hydronics.com

• Hamilton Engineering (Made by Lochinvar) www.hamiltonengineering.com

• Laars (used to be Teledyne) www.laars.com

• Lochinvar www.lochinvar.com

• Patterson-Kelly www.patkelco.com/home.shtm

• Raypak www.raypak.com

• RBI Water Heaters www.rbiwaterheaters.com

• Thermal Hydronics Supply LTD www.thermalhydronics.com (Make copies of parts for all copper tube boilers)

• Thermal Solutions www.thermalsolutions.com/left.htm

• Toyotomi www.toyotomiusa.com

• Weben Jarco www.weben-jarco.com

Fire Tube Type

Boilers

FIRE TUBE TYPE

• FIRE IN TUBES

• WATER IN VESSEL SURROUNDING

TUBES

• STEAM TO 300 PSI

• HOT WATER TO 150PSI

• MULTI FUEL

Fire Tube Type

Fire Tube Type

FIRE TUBE TYPE

• CLEAVER

BROOKS

FIRE TUBE TYPE –

ADVANTAGES

• CAN HANDLE LARGE INSTANEOUS DRAWS WELL

• POTENTIAL FOR GOOD EFFICIENCY

• NOT PARTICULARLY PRONE TO SCALING

• MULTIPLE FUEL CHOICES

FIRE TUBE TYPE -

DISADVANTAGES • LARGE VOLUME OF WATER TO HEAT UP FROM A

COLD START

• STRAIGHT TUBES EXPAND --CAN LEAK IF BOILER IS CYCLED FROM COLD OR IS THERMALLY SHOCKED

• IF HEAVY SCALING OCCURS, EXPENSIVE OR IMPOSSIBLE TO REPAIR

• LARGE VOLUME OF WATER AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE

• WEIGHT

• SIZE

Typical Types Fire Tube Boilers

• Boilersmith LTD (Canada) www.boilersmith.com

• Burnham www.burnham.com

• Cleaver-Brooks www.cleaver-brooks.com

• Dixon Boiler www.dixonboiler.com (out of business) - running w/ Porter Boiler

• Easco Boiler Corp. www.easco.com

• Hurst Boiler www.hurstboiler.com

• Lattner Boiler www.lattner.com

• Kewanee Boiler Works www.kewaneeboiler.com/ (out of business - now Burham)

• Saskatoon Boiler www.saskatoon.com

• Sellers Boiler www.sellersengineering.com

• Superior Boiler Works www.superiorboiler.com

• Triad Boiler Systems Inc www.triadboiler.com

• York Shipley (Div. of AE SysTech, LLC) www.aesystech.com

Cast Iron

Sectionals

CAST IRON SECTIONAL

Cast Iron Sectional

CAST IRON SECTIONAL

TYPE

•Assembled of pancake-like sections

•Cast iron material

•Factory or Field assembled

•Rope gasket seals between sections

•Draw rods hold sections together

ADVANTAGES –

CAST IRON TYPE

• Tend to last a long time in most

applications

• Can operate with little water

treatment

• Can operate with some scale

buildup

• Cast iron is brittle

• Susceptible to Thermal Shock – Severe Damage and Cracked Sections

• Leaks between sections

• Limited Pressure and Temperature – 15 PSI Steam

– 75 PSI Hot Water

– ASME Section IV only

• Lots of Labor if not Packaged

DISADVANTAGES –

CAST IRON TYPE

Typical Types

Cast Iron Boilers

• Burnham www.burnham.com (now owners of Kewanee and Bryan)

• Buderus www.buderus.com

• Crown Boiler Company www.crownboiler.com

• De Dietrich Boilers http://macna-dedietrich.com

• Peerless Heater Company (Boilers) www.peerlessboilers.com

• H.B. Smith Cast Iron Boilers www.smithboiler.com

• Hydrotherm www.hydrotherm.com

• Weil-Mclain www.weil-mclain.com

• Viessmann www.viessmann.com

Vertical

Tubeless

Vertical Tubeless

Vertical Tubeless

• Fire surrounds water and/or water &

steam similar to tea kettle concept.

• Atmospheric or Forced Draft.

• Very popular for steam in small dry

cleaners.

ADVANTAGES - TUBELESS

•Less forgiving for scaling

•Small actual foot print

DISADVANTAGES

- TUBELESS

• Cost to repair 80% or more of new cost

• Long heat up time

• Cannot handle thermal shock well

• Actual listed clearance for combustibles &

access is 36” or greater – tosses out small

footprint advantage concept

Typical Types

Vertical Tubeless Boilers

• Columbia Boiler www.columbiaboiler.com

• Fulton Boiler www.fulton.com

• Hurst Boiler www.hurstboiler.com

• Lattner Boiler www.lattner.com

Vertical Boiler – Tube Type

• Thermo Steam www.thermosteam.com

Forced Steam

Generators or

Hot Water

Generators

Generators

Water in small tube

pumped through coil or

vessel.

Fire on outside.

ADVANTAGES

• Fast Heat Up

• Small Footprint Per BTU

DISADVANTAGES

• Very Loud, Large Feed & Blower Motor

• Some units have 25HP Motors – Heavy Parasitic Energy Costs

• Water Treatment Must Be Perfect. Scale Very Easily – Very Costly To Repair

Typical Types

Forced Steam Generators

• Clayton Boiler www.claytonindustries.com

• Miura www.miuraboiler.com

• Vapor Power International www.vaporpower.com

DISADVANTAGES

• Cannot Use In Closed Loop Even though some are marketing this

way (PH Increases)

• Some Units, Efficiency Drops To

55% In Re-circulation Mode

BONUS SECTION –

BOILERS USED IN

GALVANIZING

APPLICATIONS

• Besides capturing the waste heat

off furnace, boilers best method

for heading pickling and acid

tanks

• Danger is, what happens when coil fails

and when pressure is lower (system off

) than boiler, where does this acid end

up?

BONUS SECTION –

BOILERS USED IN

GALVANIZING

APPLICATIONS

• Helpful warning

• tools?

BONUS SECTION –

BOILERS USED IN

GALVANIZING

APPLICATIONS

• Continuously monitor

• TDS and wire to alarm

• Or isolation valves

BONUS SECTION –

BOILERS USED IN

GALVANIZING

APPLICATIONS

Parker T3600 skid

built for AZZ Galv-

• St. Louis, MO

• TDS and wired to

alarm