[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >Royce: The instrument you are thinking about used by gun smiths is called a >"bore scope". It depends on the ability of a transparent plastic rod to >transmit light and vision. Of course the ability to see inside your boiler >would >depend on how many openings are in the shell too. Two would be needed, one to >get light in there and one to "peer" through. > Well, I have actually seen inside the upper section of the vertical tube part of the boiler. There are 5 bushings at near the top of the tube (2"dia) and two near the bottom (axle pump input and the bottom of the sight glass). The problem is that the horizontal tube pierces the vertical tube and blocks viewing the bottom of the vertical tube. This is where I suspect that the "contaminants", if present, would have collected.
>What I have done at times is to fill the boiler with house hold vinegar and >let soak a couple of days then bring up pressure to about 5 psi and open the >blow down and see what comes out. > I have run two boiler's full of vinegar as well as washed with muriatic acid (short exposure time) to try to clean up anything that may be inside. The interior parts of the boiler that I can view are pretty clean. I'm just suspicious of the bottom of the vertical tube. In light of the thoughts and suggestions of those who have commented, I'm beginning to think that the most expedient solution is Steve's. I'm going to try to get a scraping off the bottom of the vertical tube and inspect it in the light of day. There is, as Trot likes to say, a third alternative. The symptom being diagnosed is poor steaming. This boiler once produced prodigeous (sp?) amounts of steam. But a number of things have happened or changed making the source of the decline unclear. Contaminants at the bottom of the vertical tube is one potential source of the problem as it would seriously decrease the heat transfer to the water. But, as I say, a number of things have changed which could affect steaming. I would like to eliminate boiler contaminants as a cause. I just haven't figured it out yet. But, on the positive side, my axle pump works like a charm. More later. royce in SB _______________________________________________ SSLiveSteam mailing list Send messages: [email protected] Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html
