Super heater blowout

[VibrationTech]

I am a Project Engineer for a vibration/infrared company and while on a recent Sea Trial the stbd boiler lost steam pressure due to a blown super heater tube. Thought I'd share a pic for anyone interested!

image-3750632034.jpg

[Too bad steam is gone]

I've seen a few of those over the years. Bet it made a hell of a racket when it blew.

[Fraqrat]

I've had to fix a few of these in my time as well. Last one I remember was the SS Diamond State. Happened on the morning the entire crew showed up to sign on for to do post shipyard sea trials. The contractor they hired to do the boiler work was also a licensed engineer. He took responsibility to bake it all night. Problem was his crew was behind schedule hanging all the doors and closing the boilers up. So he brought it a little sooner than it was ready for. Hell of a mess every tube on the lower nest exploded. Took out some of the generating and screen tubes and holed the mud drum in several places. All that was left in the vestibule was the lower pass stainless hanger bar with the j bolts still welded to it and it was mangled. The superplastic curtain in between the upper and lower tube banks was still intact.

[Sweat-n-Grease]

I've seen a few of those over the years. Bet it made a hell of a racket when it blew.

Sounds like a thousand Banshees.

[Sweat-n-Grease]

I've had to fix a few of these in my time as well. Last one I remember was the SS Diamond State. Happened on the morning the entire crew showed up to sign on for to do post shipyard sea trials. The contractor they hired to do the boiler work was also a licensed engineer. He took responsibility to bake it all night. Problem was his crew was behind schedule hanging all the doors and closing the boilers up. So he brought it a little sooner than it was ready for. Hell of a mess every tube on the lower nest exploded. Took out some of the generating and screen tubes and holed the mud drum in several places. All that was left in the vestibule was the lower pass stainless hanger bar with the j bolts still welded to it and it was mangled. The superplastic curtain in between the upper and lower tube banks was still intact.

So this contractor, what was his next job, driving a roach coach?

[Fraqrat]

They called my dads outfit in to repair it all. I think the incident bankrupted the other fella. He had hired me months before to go with a few guys to Orange Texas and fire up the plant on an old ship called the Pioneer Crusader. We stayed over there in a hotel for a week I did night watch with an TMA 2nd. The automation was iffy so I just sat down below watching the fires and adjusting fuel and air by hand. The 2nd kept an eye on water levels and we collected our check. To this day I have no idea why we started everything up. At the end of the week we secured everything and that was that. Easiest money I ever made.

[Sweat-n-Grease]

They called my dads outfit in to repair it all. I think the incident bankrupted the other fella. He had hired me months before to go with a few guys to Orange Texas and fire up the plant on an old ship called the Pioneer Crusader. We stayed over there in a hotel for a week I did night watch with an TMA 2nd. The automation was iffy so I just sat down below watching the fires and adjusting fuel and air by hand. The 2nd kept an eye on water levels and we collected our check. To this day I have no idea why we started everything up. At the end of the week we secured everything and that was that. Easiest money I ever made.

Does this mean he didn't drive a roach coach?
What a mess to put back together, it boggles my mind.
Look, I know shit happens, but hey ~

[tengineer]

I am a Project Engineer for a vibration/infrared company and while on a recent Sea Trial the stbd boiler lost steam pressure due to a blown super heater tube. Thought I'd share a pic for anyone interested!

image-3750632034.jpg

Nice. I remember when we were bringing a plant up, venting the superheater and of course you couldn't hear much but the screaming when in the vicinity. We started flowing and I asked the oiler to kill the vent. The screaming stopped as normal but was replaced with another music entirely, things started making rattling noises and I looked at the stack which looked like a damn cooling tower. Got the thing shut down and the superheater section was a scrap metal man's dream. We got it put back together with the help of some fine boiler tube guys in about a week.
Strange thing is, I miss that kinda thing.

[Sweat-n-Grease]

Nice. I remember when we were bringing a plant up, venting the superheater and of course you couldn't hear much but the screaming when in the vicinity. We started flowing and I asked the oiler to kill the vent. The screaming stopped as normal but was replaced with another music entirely, things started making rattling noises and I looked at the stack which looked like a damn cooling tower. Got the thing shut down and the superheater section was a scrap metal man's dream. We got it put back together with the help of some fine boiler tube guys in about a week.
Strange thing is, I miss that kinda thing.

"We started flowing," meaning the boiler was on line and feeding the TG's, perhaps the Main Engine too. Were the drains cracked open on the main and aux steam lines? So what happened? Was the superheater stop valve opened too fast? Were warm-up valves used? Ever figure out what caused such a rupture?

[tengineer]

"We started flowing," meaning the boiler was on line and feeding the TG's, perhaps the Main Engine too. Were the drains cracked open on the main and aux steam lines? So what happened? Was the superheater stop valve opened too fast? Were warm-up valves used? Ever figure out what caused such a rupture?

Yes, all the above was done but we later found out the there had been some carryover during load tests prior to shutting it down. Best guess was the damage was done by that and when we were coming on line increasing the load it just went. Things started flying around in there! Never seen stuff come loose before just holes, this was impressive. It had some age on it already...

[Sweat-n-Grease]

Yes, all the above was done but we later found out the there had been some carryover during load tests prior to shutting it down. Best guess was the damage was done by that and when we were coming on line increasing the load it just went. Things started flying around in there! Never seen stuff come loose before just holes, this was impressive. It had some age on it already...

WOW! What could you do but secure the boiler and grab a cold one. Cripes !! Gotta say, this one never happened to me but I do understand the problem of carry-over and shock. Things started flying around in there ~ Oh my goodness, indeed, Good Lord Almighty !

[tengineer]

WOW! What could you do but secure the boiler and grab a cold one. Cripes !! Gotta say, this one never happened to me but I do understand the problem of carry-over and shock. Things started flying around in there ~ Oh my goodness, indeed, Good Lord Almighty !

In retrospect it was amusing. We started looking at each other when we heard the noise and thought maybe some fool had decided to use a jack-hammer to chip rust or a bearing had gone in a fan or something really strange or bad. Then when I saw the stack it was one of those OH SHIT moments.
When we started cutting tubes out it looked like some one had been launching ball bearings down them. I was amazed we lasted long as we did.That's when I started asking questions. It was a damn Bailey guy that let it carry over while doing his load tests. He didn't believe his own instruments and convinced the first he had everything under control. The first told me later that when they were venting to atmosphere he heard it get quiet for a minute but the Bailey guy said everything was OK. go figure...Naturally the first in this episode was home when this all happened. He got to be third for awhile when he came back. The experience did him good. Damn fine chief not long after, on a motor ship.

[Sweat-n-Grease]

In retrospect it was amusing. We started looking at each other when we heard the noise and thought maybe some fool had decided to use a jack-hammer to chip rust or a bearing had gone in a fan or something really strange or bad. Then when I saw the stack it was one of those OH SHIT moments.
When we started cutting tubes out it looked like some one had been launching ball bearings down them. I was amazed we lasted long as we did.That's when I started asking questions. It was a damn Bailey guy that let it carry over while doing his load tests. He didn't believe his own instruments and convinced the first he had everything under control. The first told me later that when they were venting to atmosphere he heard it get quiet for a minute but the Bailey guy said everything was OK. go figure...Naturally the first in this episode was home when this all happened. He got to be third for awhile when he came back. The experience did him good. Damn fine chief not long after, on a motor ship.

As strange as this may seem, I would have liked to have been there. <Too bad steam is gone> hasn't piped-in yet, I don't blame him, seems like 2 to 3 feet with the wind blowing like the Banshee.

[tengineer]

Oh, it is not strange to me at all. It was a once in a life time experience. Those of us who had such experiences are fading away. I know it is progress and things move forward but damn no one ever sees a guy looking for a leak in a fog with a broom any more. The deck department appreciated us more back then or maybe they just thought we were nuts, but you had to be a little crazy to think that stuff was uh, interesting....hell, it was fun!

[Sweat-n-Grease]

Oh, it is not strange to me at all. It was a once in a life time experience. Those of us who had such experiences are fading away. I know it is progress and things move forward but damn no one ever sees a guy looking for a leak in a fog with a broom any more. The deck department appreciated us more back then or maybe they just thought we were nuts, but you had to be a little crazy to think that stuff was uh, interesting....hell, it was fun!

True ~
I wonder how many of today's engineers even know about the broom. And another thing, although I've been gone for over a decade I know we all go along much better back then. Hell yea, it was fun, for those of us who choose to go Engine anyway. Deck Dept was still kind of uptight back then but we still drank with them.

[tengineer]

True ~
I wonder how many of today's engineers even know about the broom. And another thing, although I've been gone for over a decade I know we all go along much better back then. Hell yea, it was fun, for those of us who choose to go Engine anyway. Deck Dept was still kind of uptight back then but we still drank with them.

Of course we drank with 'em. They insisted on cold stuff and we just cared if it was wet so it was nice to sit down with them, they civilized us, sorta. Of course you NEVER washed your face too well before you sat down just so they didn't forget who they were dealing with. I actually let a former deck dept. guy fish with me on a regular basis now and as you would say, the party never ends.

[highseasmechanic]

I never really had an appreciation for steam out of the academy until I sailed on a steam. Yes I am one of the few newer guys that actually has steam ship experience. In fact I was even able to upgrade to steam 2nd due to my time. I sailed on the SS Blue Ridge for almost two years. Granted it was rather automated (single person watch stander). Regardless, I knew very little when I came on board for the first time as I only had simulator time from Cal. The Chief and First were really good about bringing me up to speed and was cleaning burners, putting in the jacking gear, and warming up the turbines in no time. The poor port boiler had many super heater tube ruptures. Got to love foster-wheeler supe rheater header inner and outer doors. We had some kick ass QMED's who knew the drill with the doors. I think all told in the two years I sailed on her, (scrapped RIP), we plugged about 20 tubes. Rumor was they got some bad steel tubes when they were replaced in the previous shipyard.

[87cr250r]

I recently watched the Horizon Consumer pull into port billowing out a white smoke screen so thick it seemed to cover the entire port of Oakland. Apparently they had lost an economizer tube. Those are a lot bigger than superheater tubes, under higher pressure, and more density due to liquid phase. Of course water in the superheater is at 350 degrees so it immediately flashes to steam and is quite the sight to see.

[tengineer]

I recently watched the Horizon Consumer pull into port billowing out a white smoke screen so thick it seemed to cover the entire port of Oakland. Apparently they had lost an economizer tube. Those are a lot bigger than superheater tubes, under higher pressure, and more density due to liquid phase. Of course water in the superheater is at 350 degrees so it immediately flashes to steam and is quite the sight to see.

Economizer tubes under higher pressure than superheater tubes? Must be something new.

[tengineer]

I never really had an appreciation for steam out of the academy until I sailed on a steam. Yes I am one of the few newer guys that actually has steam ship experience. In fact I was even able to upgrade to steam 2nd due to my time. I sailed on the SS Blue Ridge for almost two years. Granted it was rather automated (single person watch stander). Regardless, I knew very little when I came on board for the first time as I only had simulator time from Cal. The Chief and First were really good about bringing me up to speed and was cleaning burners, putting in the jacking gear, and warming up the turbines in no time. The poor port boiler had many super heater tube ruptures. Got to love foster-wheeler supe rheater header inner and outer doors. We had some kick ass QMED's who knew the drill with the doors. I think all told in the two years I sailed on her, (scrapped RIP), we plugged about 20 tubes. Rumor was they got some bad steel tubes when they were replaced in the previous shipyard.

I think the appreciation for "kick ass" QMEDs, oilers etc has gone out the window. It is sad because I have more respect for some of the life long oilers I knew than many of the licensed guys. These guys took pride in their work and carried many an engineer on their backs. Now there seems to be an attitude that if you don't get a license you are some sort of lower class citizen
Heck, the drillship people don't even know what a QMED or oiler is, they call them "motormen". What the hell is a motorman? Who came up with that? The USCG got a "motorman" credential they're handing out nowadays? Next thing you know engineers on drillships will be called mechanics...Transocean is already doing that in some cases.