Boiler Mountings and Accessories

The boiler mountings are fittings which are mounted on the boiler for its proper
functioning. Mountings are water level indicator, safety valve, pressure gauge,
etc. It may be noted that a boiler cannot function safely without the mountings.

The boiler accessories are the devices, which form an integral part of a boiler
but are not mounted on it. They include superheater, economiser, feed pump etc.
It may be noted the accessories help in controlling and running the boiler
efficiently.

Different types of boiler mountings and accessories are

Boiler Mountings
Following are the important boiler mountings:

1. Water level indicator

2. Pressure gauge
3. Safety valve
4. Stop valve
5. Blow off valve
6. Feed check valve
7. Fusible plug

Water Level Indicator

It is a main fitting in the boiler, Water level indicator indicates the water level
inside the boiler. It is a safety device upon which safe working of the boiler
depends.
Working Principle

Water-tube indicator the water consists of a vertical hard glass tube G which is
fitted with two gunmetal tubes A and B. The tubes A connects the steam space of
the boiler with the glass tube and the tube B connects the water space of the
boiler with the glass tube.

The tube A is provided with a valve ‘S’, called a steam valve, and tube B is fitted
with another valve ‘W’, called a water valve. In addition to these valves, a third
valve D, called drain valve, is fitted to the water level indicator through which
water together with condensed steam from the gunmetal tube A is drained from
time to time.
Pressure Gauge

Pressure gauges are used to measure the pressure of steam inside a steam
boiler. The pressure gauge is fixed in front of a steam boiler.

Working Principle

The pressure gauge shown in fig is bourdon pressure gauge. It consists of a

circular spring tube A. One end of the bourdon tube is closed and connected to a
link L and the other end is sequared to a Hollow block B. The link L connects the
closed end of the tube to the toothed sector C which is hinged at O. The toothed
sector gears with pinion D which carries a pointer P. The pointer moves on a dial
graduated in pressure units.
Safety valves

These are the devices attached in the steam boiler for preventing explosions due
to excessive internal pressure of steam.
The safety valve is an instrument which prevents the boiler pressure from rising
above its normal working pressure by automatically opening when the boiler
pressure exceeds the normal working pressure, Thus allowing excess steam to
escape into the atmosphere until the pressure comes down to its normal valve.
Thus, a safety valve ensures safety to a boiler from being damaged due to
excessive steam pressure.

The safety valves commonly used are:

1. Deadweight safety valve,

2. Lever safety valve,
3. Spring-loaded safety valve,

Steam stop valve

The function of a stop valve is to control the flow of the steam from within the
boiler and to stop it completely when required. A stop valve or junction valve is
used to regulate the flow of steam from the boiler.
The valves mounted on the boilers, which change the direction of flow of steam
by 90° are called junction valves, while valves fitted in pipelines which allowing
the steam in the same direction are called stop valve.

Blow-off Valve

The function of a blow-off valve is to remove periodically the sediments deposited

at the bottom of the boiler while the boiler is in operation and to empty the boiler
while it is being cleaned or inspected.
When the blow-off valve is opened the water which is under the pressure of
steam, rushes out with tremendous velocity thus carrying out the sediments
along with it.

Feed Check Valve

When the level of water in the boiler falls, it is brought back to the specified level
by supplying the additional water called feed water. The pressure inside the
boiler will be high therefore the pressure of the feed water has to be raised by a
pump before it is fed into the boiler. The feed water under high pressure is fed
into the boiler through the feed check valve.
The function of a feed check valve is to control the flow of water from the feed
pump to the boiler and to prevent the backflow of water from the boiler to the
pump when the pump pressure is less than the pressure or when the feed pump
ceases to work. Evidently feed check valve is placed at the boiler end of the
delivery pipe of the feed pump.
Fusible Plug

The plug is made up of tin or leads alloy, which has a low melting point. The
function of the fusible plug is to put-off the fire in the furnace of the boiler when
the water level falls below an unsafe level and thus avoids the explosion, which
may take place due to overheating of the tubes and the shell. It is fitted over the
crown of the furnace or the combustion chamber.
Boiler Accessories
The boiler accessories are required to improve the efficiency of the steam power
plant and to enable for the proper working of the boiler. The boiler accessories
aren’t mounted directly on the boiler.

The essential boiler accessories are:

1. Economiser
2. Air pre-heater
3. Superheater
4. Feed pump
5. Steam Separator
6. Steam trap

Economiser

The combustion gases coming out of the boiler contain a large quantity of heat.
Therefore the maximum amount of heat from the gases should be recovered
before it escapes to the chimney.
In the economiser, heating the feed water does the recovery of heat in the flue
gases. The economiser is placed in the path of the gases. They improve the
overall efficiency of the boiler by reducing fuel consumption.

Air Pre-heater

The air preheater is an accessory that recovers the heat in the exhaust gas by
heating the air supplied to the furnace of the boiler. Supplying preheated air into
the furnace produces a high furnace temperature and accelerates the
combustion of the fuel. Thus the thermal efficiency of the plant will be increased.

The advantages of air pre-heater are,

1. Increase in the steam generation rate.

2. Better combustion with less soot, smoke and ash, and
3. Low-grade fuels can be used.
Superheater

The superheater is used in boilers to increase the temperature of the steam

above the saturation temperature.

The dry saturated steam generated in the boiler is passed through a set of tubes
placed in the path of the flue gases, in which it will be heated further by the hot
gas to increase its temperature about the saturation temperature.

Feed Pump

A feed pump is a boiler accessory required to force the feed water at high
pressure into the boiler. Commonly used pumps are,

1. Reciprocating pumps
2. Rotary pumps
The reciprocating pumps are driven directly by coupling them to the steam
engine. The rotary pumps are driven by the steam turbines or by electric motors.