RE: Boiler commentary

[Mike Eorgoff]

I think that there are possibly three reasons that the units are tested to
such pressures that don't necessarily have any metallurgical bearing:

1) Users may have a tendency to raise the pressure setting on their pressure
relief valves above what the factory intends.  Since the majority of prv's
are not staked or tagged like their full sized brethren, this is easy to do.
A number of safety valves from Accucraft do not have an inherent
adjustability like the small valves similar to the type that Aster uses.  So
people put shims in them to raise the spring pressure, or stretch the
spring.  In normal applications of pressure relief valves, if you pull the
wire and tag off, your insurance is NULL.  Since our units aren't directly
subject to insurance or regulatory inspections.....

2) Pressure gauges are not normally checked for accuracy in the US.  I have
not run across any mention of gauge checking being available at any steam
meet.  The cost of a master gauge traceable to NIST is about the cost of a
Ruby.  The cost of one of those calibrated piston pressure generators for
gauge testing is much higher.  (Don't reply about them being easy to make, I
am talking about one that is NIST traceable).  Also there would be the cost
of recertification of the equipment every year, and liability insurance for
providing the service.

3. CYA and government regulations.  The latest Accucraft boilers are coming
with a boiler certificate for satisfaction of European regulations.  This
requirement has been discussed somewhere in cyber space more than a few
times.

Mike Eorgoff