Fulton FB-S Horizontal Firetube Boiler - Manual (Page 22)

The Fulton Companies*FB-S Series Manual*Version 2010-0820 rev. 3/5/13
Page 22
+ Total Organic Carbon: Take a water sample. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. No sheen or foam should be visible.
++ Iron: Take a water sample. Hold the sample against a white background. The water should have no visible yellow, red
or orange tinge.
ND: None Detected.
5. Water Supply
a) The quality of the water used in the boiler will affect the life of the elements and
pressure vessel and it is strongly recommended that a competent water
treatment company be consulted prior to the installation of the boiler. PV
damaged due to adverse water conditions will not be replaced under warranty.
b) Natural feedwater supplies contain solids and dissolved gases. These may
promote scale, foaming, corrosion, and/or poor steam quality. To prevent this,
feedwater must be studied individually and treated accordingly. The treatment
should provide quality feedwater to the boiler such that corrosion and deposition
in the boiler will be minimized. Thermal cycling, dissolved oxygen, high or low pH
can all be major causes of corrosion. Untreated hardness is the major cause of
scale deposits. Poor quality feedwater requires increased blowdown and
increased chemical treatment costs to prevent boiler corrosion and scaling.
c) One way to lower the amount of dissolved gases in the boiler feed water is to
preheat the feedwater. This option injects live steam into the feedwater to
increase the water temperature to 180 degrees F or higher which removes
oxygen and carbon dioxide from the water.
d) RO/DIWater: Reverse Osmosis / Deionized water is water that all dissolved
solids have been removed. Very high purity steam quality can be obtained with
RO/DI water. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity and a pH of <6.5. It is
corrosive to carbon steel, however, not to stainless steel. Therefore, anytime
RO/DI water is used in a carbon steel vessel, pH neutralization is required to
bring the pH up to the required level.
e) The Fulton Warranty does not cover damage or failure that can be attributed to
corrosion, scale or fouling.
6. Glossary of Water Supply Terms
a) Dissolved Oxygen: Oxygen that is dissolved in the feedwater will cause the
steel in the boiler and the feedwater system to be attacked by the water in a
manner described as “pitting”. The pits that are produced can vary from tiny
depressions to holes large enough to penetrate the boiler metal and are usually
covered with tubercles of iron oxide. Once pitting starts, it may be extremely
hard to arrest. Pitting can proceed at a surprisingly rapid rate and can occur not