From all the industrial boilers in the market, you want to buy one that meets your needs and runs at pick operational efficiencies for the longest period of time. Accordingly, there are many factors affecting the buying decision that you have to consider. Those key aspects are types of boilers available, price, lifetime efficiency, operational specifications, size, safety, maintenance, fuel, and accessories.

Types of Industrial Boilers

There are three types of industrial boilers, water tube, fire tube, and firebox. They are configurable for use in many types of operations.

Water Tube Boilers

They are the type of industrial boilers where water passes through tubes while the hot combustion gas flows on the other side of the pipes. Water Tube boilers are more expensive and efficient and less dangerous than fire tube boilers. They produce high temperatures and steam pressure.

Fire Tube Boilers

They are the type of industrial boilers where heat and gases of combustion (from the furnace) pass through tubes that are enclosed on water. They have a lower cost than water tube type and require less maintenance. However, they are not capable of producing high heat, pressure, and steam.

Fire Box Boilers

They are a traditional “locomotive” type of boiler. The “firebox” is the space where the heat originates, producing hot gases that pass through the tubes, heating the fluid. It is reliable but limited in its applications.

Price of an Industrial Boiler

A steam boiler is an expensive piece of equipment. Consequently, price is a crucial variable to be considered when buying one. Nevertheless, in the long run, you may spend more money in downtime for repairs, maintenance, and fuel consumption if you buy a lower price boiler.

Lifetime Efficiency

It is crucial to make the buying decision with the lifetime efficiency of the boiler in mind. Hence, It would be best if you did a cost-benefit analysis for the expected useful life of the boiler. Specifically, you should consider: running times, operational costs, maintenance schedule, and costs, and expected lifetime of the machine. Buying the right kind of boiler saves you money and trouble in the long run.

Operational Specifications

The operational specs give you the matching points with the demands of your facility. Therefore, it is essential to know them beforehand. For instance, if your plant demands high temperature and pressure for its production processes, you need a high-performance boiler. Furthermore, they are a vital input in the feasibility study. Some of them are heat output capacity, temperature, thermal efficiency, and maximum pressure.

Size of an Industrial Boiler

It is vital for various reasons. The more steam you need for operating the facility, the larger the boiler size that you require. Consider that the run costs of an oversized boiler are higher compared to the run costs of an undersized one. Nevertheless, the latter may not be able to meet the high-temperature requirements needed by your facility.

Industrial Boilers Require Safety First

Safety is a primary consideration when buying a boiler. Handling the operation of a boiler is a highly technical job that requires well-trained personnel. They must follow the operational procedures in detail, due to the potential hazard of the high temperatures and pressures involved. High-quality boilers take safety first as an original manufacturing specification. Accordingly, you should check the safety track record of the specific brand and model that you want to buy.

Maintenance of Industrial Boilers

It is vital to take into consideration the maintenance schedule of the boiler. Since you want it to be functioning at peak efficiency for the longest time possible. Additionally, low-quality boilers require frequent repairs, which means that they have to be replaced sooner than one of higher quality.

Fuel for Industrial Boilers

Before buying a boiler, the owner has to consider the type of fuel that the boiler uses, evaluating its availability and cost. Boilers use oil, electricity, coal, natural gas, and propane.

Accessories

Many accessories are necessary to complement the operation of the boiler: de-aerators that remove excess oxygen from the water, safety valves, and others.

Conclusion

You are responsible for the operation of a facility that depends on the high efficiency, long-running times, and extended use-life of an industrial boiler. Therefore, it is crucial to make a decision that you are not going to regret later on. Because you don’t want to have your plant shut down for boiler repairs. Or worse, to have part of your personnel suffering injuries for malfunction of the boiler that you selected.

Accordingly, you want to buy the right model and size of the boiler for your plant requirements. Afterward, you should install it correctly and keep it well operated and maintained by highly skilled personnel. Then, you will have your facility operating at optimal levels for a long time. We have that boiler, call us here to have a conversation about it.

Sources: Superior Boilers

A boiler is a crucial piece of equipment in most industrial, commercial facilities and power plants. Specifically, it is a closed pressure vessel that produces high or low-pressure steam or hot water for industrial or domestic use, and have a wide variety of uses. Consequently, there are several types of boilers serving every need. Here we present their classification so that you have a better idea of the kind of boiler that you need.

Classification of Boilers

Industrial Boilers

Fire Tube


They are the type of industrial boilers where heat and gases of combustion (from the furnace) pass through tubes that are enclosed on water. (1)

Water Tube


They are the type of industrial boilers where water passes through tubes while the hot combustion gas flows on the other side of the pipes. Water Tube boilers are more efficient and less dangerous than fire tube boilers. (2)

Fire Box

They are the traditional “locomotive” type of boiler. The “firebox” is the space where the heat originates, producing hot gases that pass through the tubes, heating the fluid. It is reliable but limited.

Packaged Type


The packaged type comes as a factory-assembled package with mountings, accessories, and control instruments installed on it. Either they can be of the fire tube or the water tube type. (4)

By the Type of Fuel Used by Boilers

Coal-fired


They generate thermal energy by burning pulverized coal. (21)

Oil-fired


They are used for application in low-pressure steam or hot water central heating system. (22)

Gas-fired


They, as its name indicates, are gas-fired by either natural gas or propane. (23)

Biomass


They are very similar to the conventional gas types, but instead of using gas (or oil) to produce the heat, they combust sustainably sourced wood pellets. (24)

Circulating Fluidized Bed (FBC Boiler)

CFB is a combustion technology that allows burning solid fuels in steam boilers. When air or gas passes through an inert bed of sand supported by a fine mesh, as the velocity of the air bubbles increases the bed particles, and the air attains a state of high turbulence and the bed assumes the appearance and exhibits the properties of a fluid, and hence its name. (5)

Pulverized Coal (PC Boiler)


Their use is commercial or industrial, and they generate thermal energy by burning pulverized coal or other combustible material. Specifically, compressed air blows the pulverized coal through a suitable nozzle where it burns. (6)

Waste Heat Recovery


It is an energy recovery heat exchanger that recovers heat from hot streams with potential high-energy content. In particular, hot fuel gases from a diesel generator or steam from cooling towers or even wastewater from different cooling processes such as in steel cooling. (7)

Nuclear Steam Generators


Nuclear Steam generators are heat exchangers that are used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. Specifically, pressurized water reactors (PWR) use them in between the primary and secondary coolant loops. Then, his primary coolant is pumped through the reactor core, where it absorbs heat from the fuel rods. (8)

By the Steam Pressure of Boilers

Low-Pressure


They are of the steam or hot water types that have a maximum pressure of 15 pounds per square inch for steam and a maximum of 160 pounds per square inch for hot water. (9)

High-Pressure


A high-pressure is a boiler that generates steam or other vapor at a pressure of more than 15 PSIG or heats water to a temperature higher than 250°F and pressure greater than 160 PSIG for use external to itself. (10)

By the Boilers’ Steam Uses

Process Boilers.


They produce a heated or vaporized fluid for use in various processes or heating applications. For instance, water heating, central heating, boiler-based power generation (11)

Utility Boilers


It is a combustion unit of more than 25 megawatts that serves a generator that produces electricity for sale and fires fossil fuel. (12)

Marine Boilers


They are usually of the two-drum water-tube type with water-cooled furnaces. Likewise, heat recovery equipment of the economizer or air-heater type. The majority of ships are fitted with two units, although some large passenger ships may have three or more. (13)

By their Portability

Stationary and Portable boilers.

By the Furnace Position

Externally Fired Boilers


It has the combustion chamber outside of the shell. This type of furnaces are not surrounded by water but by brickwork (14)

Internally Fired Boilers


It is one whose furnace is wholly or partly surrounded by water. (14)

By the Axis of the Shell

Vertical (Cochran)


It is a vertical drum axis, natural circulation, natural draft, low pressure, multi-tubular, solid fuel fired, fire tube boiler with an internally fired furnace. (15)

Horizontal (Cornish, Lancashire)


Lancashire is a simple horizontal boiler which belongs to the shell and tube class. While Cornish is much like the Lancashire boiler, it is a fire-tube type of boiler that its hot gases flow in tubes and water surround these tubes in shell. (16)

By the Number of Tubes in the Boiler

Single-tube Boilers


It is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one tube running through a sealed container of water. (17)

Multi-tube Boilers


It is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through many tubes running through a sealed container of water. (18)

According to the Circulation of Water and Steam in the Boiler

Natural Circulation Boilers


Inside them, the heating of water sets up convection currents that make the water flow. Consequently, as the temperature of the water in the boiler increases, the difference in density makes the water circulate. (19)

Forced Circulation Boilers


It is one where a pump circulates water inside the boiler. Notwithstanding, it differs from a natural circulation type, which relies on current density to circulate water inside the boiler. Furthermore, in some forced circulation boilers, the water flows at a speed of twenty times the rate of evaporation. (20)

Conclusion

Independently of the type of boiler that you need, our steam team has over 100 years of combined experience and is prepared to serve you! We provide solutions for all of your industrial boiler rental and boiler sales needs for all market segments, request a quote today here.

Sources: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24