johnsmachines

VR-18-18 Stands for Victoria, Geelong Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, 2018, 18th registered boiler for the club.

So this morning I fired up the boiler with the boiler inspector closely watching.  The gas was turned to maximum, and the water was showing full.

Steam appeared about 10 minutes later and the Sandberg safety valve started popping at 100 psi. Every couple of minutes the safety valve released and the pressure remained in the 97-100 psi range.  This went on for about 20-30 minutes.  All to the satisfaction of the inspector.

He was happy with the standard of the build, the pressure test, the accumulation test, and that all requirements had been met.

The boiler is now certified for 4 years.  There has been a change in protocol about which I was unaware.  The previous certification rule was for 12 months only, and retesting was required for a further 3 years.  So this new rule is much less time consuming for me and the inspector.  He is happy that before the next testing I will have a steam pump and a steam injector installed.

I was so delighted with the result that I treated myself to a trip to the non ferrous metal supplier, and bought a selection of hex brass stock for the workshop.  When I returned to the workshop there were still a few hours of daylight, so I spent the time making the new inspection hatch for the Trevithick dredger engine.  Not quite finished, so no pics yet.

The next step for the boiler is to make and attach the wood lagging and to put on some paint.