Conventional Boilers
There are many different types and sizes of boilers. Choices include fire tube, water tube, copper fin tube and cast iron.
Fire and water tube boilers can burn multiple types of fuel and can produce steam both low and high pressure as well as produce hot water with limitations on supply and return water temperatures. These boilers are designed for commercial, industrial in addition to the municipal market place applications.
Copper fin tube boilers are limited to gas fired hot water and are intended for commercial applications only.
The choice of boiler is impacted by local codes and standards, available space, performance requirements and payback analysis. There are a number of codes and standards, laws, and regulations covering boilers and related equipment that should be considered when designing a system. Regulatory requirements are dictated by a variety of sources and are all focused primarily on safety.
Selecting the type and design for your needs is critical to get the maximum performance for your situation and budget. With our representation of Cleaver-Brooks and Raypak we have a proper selection for all of these different applications. MPN Boilers can help you make the right choice:
FIRETUBE
Non-condensing firetube boilers are available for low- or high-pressure steam, or for hot water applications. Typically used for applications ranging from 15 to 2,200 horsepower, a firetube boiler uses a cylindrical vessel, with the flame in the furnace and the combustion gases inside the tubes. The furnace and tubes are contained within this vessel, which also houses the water and steam.
WATERTUBE
The commercial watertube boiler typically produces steam or hot water for commercial or industrial process applications, and is used extensively for comfort heating applications. In the watertube design, tubes contain steam and/or water, and the products of combustion pass around the tubes. Typically, watertube designs consist of multiple drums. A steam drum (upper) and mud drum(s) (lower) are connected by the tubes, forming both the convection section and the furnace areas. Ranging in size from 500,000 to more than 20,000,000 BTU input, these boilers provide fast steaming capability because of the relatively low water content, allowing quick response to changing load demands.
COPPER FIN TUBE
Copper Fin Tube Boilers provide a lot of power in a small package. They work best with long steady burn times under fairly constant loads. Water quality is important, because hard water can scale up the tube heat exchangers quickly.
ELECTRICAL
Electric boilers are noted for being clean, quiet, easy to install, and compact. Because there are no combustion considerations, an electric boiler has minimal complexity (no fuels or fuel handling equipment) with easily replaceable heating elements.
An electric boiler may be the perfect alternative to supply low or high pressure steam or hot water where the customer is restricted by emission regulations. In areas where the cost of electric power is minimal, the electric boiler could be the best choice. Sizes range from 9 kW to 3,375 kW output.