[Stoves] Green Steam Engine

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Kevin

 

150 kW is pretty high but 1 bar working pressure to atmospheric is nothing.
I felt 4 bars gauge was reasonable. Compressors have to be inspected and
certified every year but hardly anyone does. They commonly work to 10 bars.
But with steam, that is another kettle of..well, another kettle!

 

Maybe the best use of low pressure steam is as a heat transport medium to
run a heat hot air engine.

 

Regards

Crispin

 

 

 

Dear Crispin

 

Boiler Inspection regulations differ significantly from area to area. Here
is the Standard for Nova Scotia.:

http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/regulations/regs/tsboiler.htm#TOC2_4

Anyone considering steam installations should read through it, or the one in
effect in their Jurisdictional Area, to appreciate the complexities of steam
systems. 

 

A pressure of 4 bars is about 60 psia, or 45 psig. In Nova Scotia, steam
vessels are exempt if their energy output is less than 150 kw, and the
relief valve is set at 15 psig (2 bar). See Section 4 (1) (c).

 

There is a lot of history embedded in such regulations. Our pressure limit
may have been set as a result of an accident 100 years ago, when someone was
killed when a 30 psig boiler blew up. That is one reason why regulations
differ significantly from area to area.

 

Best wishes,

 

Kevin 

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