STARTING OF THE BOILER FROM THE COLD STATE

Before putting a boiler into operation, certain checks have to be made.

Ensure that the openings to the boiler mountings are clear and that all
the tubes of the boiler are not faulty. Replace any fittings that have been
removed and making a physical check of the boiler to ensure that they
are correctly positioned and secured.
Close all access holes such as handhold plugs and manhole covers are
put back. Check all boiler mountings and ensure that they can be
operated freely such as feed valves and steam stop valves.
Check all dampers and ensure that they are moving freely and can be
opened or closed fully. Boiler doors can now be closed up.
Check the burner to ensure that it is in good working condition. Also
check to make sure that there are no leaks and the lines are holding.
Once all checks are done and the boiler is found to be satisfactory,
filling can now begin. Start filling the boiler slowly with feed water and
begin dosing of the boiler water.
STARTING OF THE BOILER FROM THE COLD STATE
Prepare fuel system of the boiler for DO operation. Check the DO level in
service tank, operate drain valve. Check the condition of strainer for DO
pump.

Supply power for the control panel of the boiler.

Switch all equipment to the MANUAL mode. Put the thermostat switch in
BYPASS mode.

Switch ON the force draft fan to start pre-purging for about three
minutes. Check for any abnormal noise and vibration.

Continue operation of force draft fan start the DO pump for pilot burner,
check that discharge preccure is in normal range, remove air from the
piping. Start the igniter for pilot burner. Watch the flame in the sight glass
provided.
STARTING OF THE BOILER FROM THE COLD STATE
Stop the pilot burner after 30 seconds of operation. Perform post-purging
for about one minute. Stop the force draft fan. Check all equipment for
any abnormalities. Check the inner surface of furnace, make sure of no
oil leakages.
Firing of the boiler should be done with intervals of the following length
( appr)

Time of firing When boiler is off

2 minutes 8 minutes
2 minutes 6 minutes
3 minutes 10 minutes
3 minutes 10 minutes
3 minutes 8 minutes
3 minutes 8 minutes
4 minutes 10 minutes
4 minutes 10 minutes
Time of firing When boiler is off.
5 minutes 10 minutes
5 minutes 10 minutes
10 minutes 10 minutes
20 minutes 20 minutes
20 minutes 20 minutes
30 minutes 20 minutes
30 minutes 20 minutes
30 minutes 20 minutes
STARTING OF THE BOILER FROM THE COLD STATE
Check the pressure in steam drum regularly. Keep the air vent open until
steam begin coming out from the vent.

During heating, the water level will increase. Try to keep the water level in
the middle of sight glass, perform blow down if necessary.

Check the leakage from packing in glands and tighten further their parts
even if no leakages were found.

When the pressure reaches nearly the working pressure, make sure that
system is ready for steam supply, then remove drain from steam valves,
headers and piping, then send the steam very slowly. In case of opening
steam valves, open first the closest to the boiler, then one after another to
the fartherst one. Check water hammer noise, leakages and other
defects under well-balanced condition of the pressure.
STARTING OF THE BOILER FROM THE COLD STATE
Start heating of the fuel oil service tank. After FO temperature reached
around 80 degrees, change consumption from DO to FO. Switch off the
thermostat BYPASS mode. Check the normal operation of the boiler on
FO.

Change the mode of operation of the boiler to AUTO. Close main steam
valve and test the high steam pressure alarm. Manually increase the
water level and test the high water level alarm. Close steam and water
valves for cut-off switch, drain the water and test the abnormally level
emergency trip.
 MAINTENANCE

Operation parameters recording – every time to take over a duty

Put all the items necessary for control of operation such as pressure,
temperature, feed water quantity, fuel oil consumption, chemical quantity,
blowing quantity, conditions of feed water and boiler water.
Functional test of water level gauge – once day
Operate the steam and water cocks and check the functioning of water level
gauge by observing the fractuation of water level
Safety valves test - once a month
Lift the valve rod of safety valve so that steam can be sufficiently blown off and
check the working state and make sure that there is no dust or adhering
substance
Soot blowing - one-four times a day
Blowing of emergency low water level shut-off device – once a week
Close steam and water valves and conduct blowing-off from the drain valve
on the piping
Blowing-off of boiler water – once a day
Conduct blowing-off from both surface and bottom blow-off valves for appr.
30 sec. The quantity and the frequency of bottom blow-off may be increased
according to the results of boiler water analyses. Operate the steam and
water cocks and check the functioning of water level gauge by observing the
fractuation of water level
Exhaust gas economizer water washing – once a month
Open manholes and use stationary system or remove soot from pipes using
water hose
Soot removal from smoke tubes – once at rest
Open the doors of smoke box and remove fully soot and scale adhering on the
inside walls of the tubes using a tube brush and tube scraper
Functional test of pressure gauge – once a year
Compared with a standard pressure gauge make sure that the indicator of
the gauge attached works as normal as that of the former
Re- fixing of attached valves – once a year
Open the valves. Check the fitting state, replace gland packing and re- fix the
valves.
Inspection of inside and outside of the boiler – properly at rest
Check the state of scale forming and corrosion on the inside walls. Check the
state of corrosion and insulation of each valve seat of the mounting valves.
Check the state of corrosion of the outlet surface of each tube and possible
leakages.
Combustion equipment maintenance

Detach sprayer body (main burner) and clean atomizer (burner tip). Detach
igniter and pilot-burner. Clean and inspect them . Detach flame eye for
cleaning and check. Inspect movable parts, especially link mechanism for
regulating air/ fuel mixture ratio. Clean strainer for fuel. Withdraw air register
for cleaning and inspection .

Lightly oil the moving parts on the air/oil ratio linkage at regular intervals. Keep
electrode points on the igniter clean and the high tension cables free from
moisture and dirt. Keep spare sprayers, atomizers and valves clean and
ready for use.
Preservation of boiler at rest
When the boiler is at rest, proper measures must be taken to prevent its
inside and outside from corrosion. If the maintenance is not sufficient, the
life of the boiler will be greatly shortened.

Long – term preservation (dry preservation method)

When the ship’s boiler is to be brought to rest for longer than one month,
completely blow-off the boiler water and dry the boiler, than put a moisture
absorbing agent into the boiler and close the manhole. At the same time,
close each of the valves and grease up the gland. Thus the boiler is to be
safely preserved. In the case of dry preservation, the inside of the boiler
must be free from moisture, otherwise corrosion may be.
Short – term preservation (full water preservation method)
When the ship’s boiler is to be brought to rest for less than one month, or for
a few days, the boiler must be filled up with water in case the boiler is free
from residual pressure. In order to prevent the boiler from corrosion, some
special chemicals must be added to the water. Then close the manhole
tightly. It is also desirable to tightly close the inlet and outlet o the
combustion chamber and other openings as much as possible during
preservation so the air won’t get inside.
Even in case of short-period preservation, the dry preservation method must
be employed in winter time or in cold weather districts where the water may
get frozen.
Abnormal fall of boiler water
When abnormal fall of the boiler water is found, immediately stop the
operation of the boiler ( stoppage of burner operation and air supply) and try
to seek after the cause.
- Isn’t the surface or bottom blow-off valve open ?
- Is the water supply system working normally (check feed pump, water level
regulator, cascade tank level)
- Doesn’t water leak from a tube ( smoke or water) due to cracks or
corrosion?
- Do the burner and automatic control equipment operate normally?
Clear up the cause and repair the part, then operate the boiler again. Don’t
start to operate the boiler again while the cause remains unclear.
In case of considerable loss of water do not fill up the boiler until the parts
are cooled down.
Empty – boiler burning
In case empty – boiler burning is found, take the following procedures strictly
and surely.
- Immediately stop the operation of boiler. Never supply water after stoppage
of the boiler.
- Wait until the boiler is naturally cooled and the internal residual pressure is
gone. Then carefully check the extent of the damage from the inside and
outside of the boiler.
- Even if any damage cannot be observed on the boiler proper, conduct the
hydraulic test before start of operation. Start operation of boiler only after
necessary measures are taken, such as tightening up of parts where
leakage occurs.
Additionally, the cause of empty-boiler burning must be found and
necessary countermeasures for the feature must be taken