Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 55 - PUBLIC SAFETY › Part V - Fire Protection › Chapter 50 - Boiler Construction, Maintenance, Inspection and General Use › Subchapter C - Existing Installations- Power Boilers › Section V-5028 - Water Columns

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The water
				  column shall be so mounted that it will maintain its correct position relative
				  to the normal waterline under operating conditions.
B. The minimum size of pipes connecting the
				  water column to a boiler shall be 1 inch. For pressures of 400 psig or over,
				  lower water column connections to drums shall be provided with shields, sleeves
				  or other suitable means to reduce the effect of temperature differentials in
				  the shells or heads. Water glass fittings or gage cocks may be connected
				  directly to the boiler.
C. The
				  steam and water connections to a water column or a water gage glass shall be
				  such that they are readily accessible for internal inspection and cleaning.
				  Some acceptable methods of meeting this requirement are by providing a cross or
				  fitting with a back outlet at each right-angle turn to permit inspection and
				  cleaning in both directions, or by using pipe bends or fittings of a type which
				  does not leave an internal shoulder or pocket in the pipe connection and with a
				  radius of curvature which will permit the passage of a rotary cleaner. Screwed
				  plug closures using threaded connections as allowed by Section I of the ASME
				  Code are acceptable means of access for this inspection and cleaning. For
				  boilers with all drum safety valves set at or above 400 psig, socket-welded
				  plugs may be used for this purpose in lieu of screwed plugs. The water column
				  shall be fitted with a connection for a drain cock or drain valve to install a
				  pipe of at least 3/4 inch pipe size to the ash pit or other safe point of
				  discharge. If the water connection to the water column has a rising bend or
				  pocket which cannot be drained by means of the water column drain, an
				  additional drain shall be placed on this connection in order that it may be
				  blown off to clear any sediment from the pipe.
D. The design and material of a water column
				  shall comply with the requirements of Section I of the ASME Code. Water columns
				  made of cast-iron in accordance with SA-278 may be used for maximum boiler
				  pressures not exceeding 250 psig. Water columns made of ductile iron in
				  accordance with SA-395 may be used for maximum boiler pressures not exceeding
				  350 psig. For higher pressures, steel construction shall be used.
E. Shutoff valves shall not be used in the
				  pipe connections between a boiler and a water column or between a boiler and
				  the shutoff valves required for the gage glass, unless they are either
				  outside-screw-and-yoke or lever-lifting type gate valves or stopcocks with
				  lever permanently fastened thereto and marked in line with their passage, or of
				  such other through-flow construction as to prevent stoppage by deposits of
				  sediment, and to indicate by the position of the operating mechanisms whether
				  they are in open or closed position; and such valves or cocks shall be locked
				  or sealed open. Where stopcocks are used, they shall be of a type with the plug
				  held in place by a guard or gland.
F. No outlet connections, except for control
				  devices (such as damper regulators and feed water regulators), drains, steam
				  gages, or apparatus of such form as does not permit the escape of an
				  appreciable amount of steam or water there from shall be placed on the pipes
				  connecting a water column or gage glass to a boiler.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
					 Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 23:531 and
					 R.S.
					 51:1424.