Editor: Matt Keenan

715-648-5000

IMPORTANT

tial is current plus check how many credits you have or need using this link: http://apps2.commerce.wi.gov/SB_Credential/SB_CredentialApp/SearchById.

On a more serious note: Lately there have been newspaper headlines describing boil-er and pressure vessels accidents in the US. Look on our website to get the details from those accidents. It appears to becom-ing an epidemic lately. My hope is that this pattern will end and the public will enjoy a long period free from accidents. I want to encourage us all to continue to be vigilant. Personally I have seen some scary situa-tions recently on inspections this year. I’m glad I was there to see these violations and some were blatant. My experience over the years is that these types of violations were a rare occurrence but lately though it has been more prevalent. I don’t know why these occurrences have increased in fre-quency but I’m wondering if any of you have noticed this increase. I have had to look more deeply than ever to find things like plugged fittings, safety controls by-passed or non-code repairs.

I know the Midwest has some of the best inspectors out there and we have made the workplaces, schools and dwellings safer through our efforts. We need to make sure we are out there and available to meet these new challenges. Keeping ourselves healthy will keep us in these occupancies. Not only should we be physically healthy but we need to stay safe on the roads. 50% of my job’s responsibility and most of my stress comes from driving on the roads. Winter is here and I am sharing some tips for safe

How time goes by so fast. It seems that not long ago we were all together at the Appleton Holiday Inn enjoying a great seminar and fellowship. Based upon your critiques we at the WBIA received the best marks for relevant content and su-perior presentations. I feel that all of our seminars are great but this last one was special because it focused on a specific industry. The Midwest and especially Wisconsin has contributed greatly to-wards the paper industry and we were privy to some of the best presenters of our time. In case you missed or need to regain some insights from that seminar visit on our website (thewbia.com) you can also see other seminar presentations we have done in the past.

Looking ahead, the next 10th Annual In-dustry Days Seminar will be on April 16th and 17th in Onalaska WI next to La Crosse. We will be joined by Joel Amato and his Minnesota inspectors to do a conjoined Wisconsin/Minnesota seminar. Presentations will be given by the es-teemed Joel Amato, Mike Verhagen, an instructor from the NBIC, George Galanes and Dan Chudecke. Topics al-ready confirmed are NBIC Parts 1, 2 and 3, Metallurgy throughout the boiler de-pending on pressures and application and High Efficiency boiler design and controls along with updates from either jurisdictions. You can begin registering on the web site (thewbia.com) and se-cure your room at the Stoney Creek Inn, 3060 S Kinney Coulee Rd., Onalaska, WI 54650, Phone: 608-781-3060. Early reg-istration is highly recommended if you want to get the reduced room rates. Make sure you check to see if your com-mission is not expiring and your creden-

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT JAY ECKHOLM

Volume 20, Issue 2

Fall 2013 Issue

The Chief’s Words!

By: Mike Verhagen

2

The WBIA Website 2

Steel Yankees 4

Steam Bikes 6

Steam Cars 6

Steam Boats 6

PBBS 7

Allied Valve 9

Galvanic Corrosion 11

Tom Thumb 8

ASOPE 13

2014

Seminar Information

14

Inside this issue:

2014 10th Annual

Boiler Seminar

April, 16 & 17, 2014

La Crosse, WI

National Board Training

Small Boiler Training

Materials view of Boiler

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 2

The Chief’s Words: By: Mike Verhagen, Chief Boiler Inspector

operation of vehicles in inclement weather.

#1 – Be observant and prepared. Know the weather report before you head out and plan your trip ac-cordingly. Be certain you have the necessary emer-gency equipment and extra clothing. Watch out for changing road conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses, or patches of black ice.

#2 – Complete a vehicle inspection. Be certain your vehicle is prepared for adverse weather. Check tires, wipers and lights.

#3 – Slow down. Speed is the #1 cause of vehicle accidents in the winter. Don’t drive too fast for con-ditions.

#4 – Leave space. Create a cushion around your vehicle. Increase following distance, always leaving yourself an “out” in case of trouble.

#5 – Get off the road. If conditions get too danger-ous, DON’T DRIVE.

Keep safe and we will see each other again in April sharing stories and some great ale. Have a great Holiday Season and thank you for your commitment and acting professional every day.

Jay

WBIA WEBSITE

The WBIA Website is going through a growth spurt. We are making it better and easier to use. We have also added more layers of secu-rity to the site.

Over the next few weeks a new format and look will show up. Please let us know what you think of these changes.

Check us out @

http://thewbia.com/

Remember you can sign up for the upcoming semi-nar her!

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT (CON’T)

With a great growing season behind me, my as-paragus, peaches, apples, pears, grapes, toma-toes, swiss chard, beets, carrots, peppers and beans have been harvested, dried or canned. The cherries from June were quickly frozen after pick-ing and recently pitted /processed into jam jelly and juice during the last few Packer games. I am also ready for fall as the lawn was cut for the last time and fishing boat, lawn mowers and patio fur-niture are put away for the winter. I am presently making preparations for hunting late November but not too worried about the big buck this time around as already sliced and diced my son’s 7 point buck he bagged with his bow the last week-end in October. Yes, my family is busy with at-tendance at more than 4 wedding and a half doz-en birthday parties so far this year including my own. Now I look forward to celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and send my wishes for a safe, healthy and enjoyable holiday season to everyone.

Speaking of Holidays, it’s past Halloween and thanksgiving less than a week away the WBIA committee monsters, ghosts, goblins and turkeys have already secured a Seminar Training date…. April 16-17, 2014 …. for our 10th ANNUAL” Boil-er Safety Industry Days, so mark your calendar now. In brief, the training location is at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska WI so our MN friends and inspectors will not have to travel far to attend. Get your travel plans ready and mark your calen-dar today to attend a “joint” Minnesota and Wis-consin Industry Days Seminar in 2014. More de-tails in our Spring Newsletter.

Continue to visit our WBIA website @ www.thewbia.com and provide your input to our webmaster and Secretary Matt Keenan. New up-dates and sponsors for “Everything Boiler” is at your finger tips”. Try it, and give us some input to make it better. A special thanks for all our spon-sors.

Con’t on page 3

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 3

IMPORTANT Continuing Education Requirements for All National Board Commissioned Inspectors Started in 2005!

Attending the WBIA Seminars helps you meet these requirements.

The Chief’s Words: (con’t)

DEPARTMENT NEWS

The Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) is moving ahead quickly these days. Retire-ments from state service has slowed down and one new boiler inspector has been hired with his start date scheduled at the end of November 2013. To my surprise A 2nd notice was recently posted for another state boiler inspector position. It appears Rick Merkle’s magic wand with the help of our Madison Administration is attempting to fill positions lost to retirement and transfer. These much needed new hires will definitely assist our staff maintain our never-ending workload.

Speaking Retirement …. In August a retired ex-Naval Chief, past Coast Guard Volunteer / trainer, , Past WBIA Chairman and a Southeastern Wisconsin District Inspector and a current WBIA member David Homan who proudly held NB commission #12611 w/ IS-A-B endorsements, WI Cert #248745, National Board “R”-Team Leader #255; actually packed his ditty bag and retired from state service. Although we are sad he departed, we are equally happy he can leisurely research his family origins and enjoy his family, es-pecially the grand-kids he spoke of so often. As a reminder, although presently retired, you can continue to earn continuing education hours by attending the 10th Annual Industry Days Training in Onalaska, WI so we’ll see you there. With a promise to call or visit frequently, I send a well deserved Congrats and a wish for a long, happy and healthy retirement.

My Waukesha office is very busy with plan review for Gas Systems per SPS 340 and includes several LPG & CNG equipment installations which require inspections at several sites throughout the state. In addition, with Federal dollars available to go “GREEN”, numerous school systems and bus companies are converting their vehicles or buses from gasoline to propane. Gas System storage tank and dispensers require plan re-view and installation inspection. Unlike Boiler and pressure vessels code chapter 341 …no periodic inspec-tion is required after acceptable final inspection and submittal of inspection report that verifies code com-pliance at installation site.

Inspection report processing in Madison continues to run effortlessly and I wish to extend my appreciation for everyone’s help and efforts to make timely inspections and “accurate” reports. Accurate reports, greatly increase the efficiency of our automated computer processing. Good health and safe travels while inspect-ing in Wisconsin.

In conclusion, our industry remains in great need of commissioned inspectors. Since job security in these positions is fantastic, please spread the news during daily travels and enlist the possible, qualified and ex-perienced individuals to join our ranks. The WBIA wants YOU !

10 Annual Boiler Industry Days

APRIL 16 & 17, 2014

La Crosse, Wisconsin http://www.thewbia.com/WP/upcoming-seminars/

Steel Yankee Dryer By: Matt Keenan

Yankee dryers for the last 100 years have been construct-ed of cast iron. Now a new Yankee is being put in service. This is a Steel Yankee. Why steel? The main advantages come from the properties of the material itself, namely its

elasticity and toughness. Cast Iron when reaching its critical load cracks. Steel only begins to yield when stresses exceed the design limits. Because of this the safety margins for steel and cast iron are drastically dif-ferent. In the ASME the pri-mary membrane stresses for cast iron must have a safety margin of 10 against tensile strength. The same figure for steel is 3. A steel Yankee cannot use a doctor blade. The steel Yankee surface needs to be coated with a special metallic layer. This coating does not come cheaply. The cast iron Yankee we always worry about the head to shell connection. Not so with the steel Yankee. This seam is welded. We still do not have good data yet on long term experienc-es with the steel Yankee. Only time will tell. Right now only a few grades of steel are now allowed. We see some great advantages for these new dryers but time will tell if these advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Only time will tell.

The Chief’s Words: (con’t) Eat well during the Holidays and thanks again for your cooperation and support.

Rick Merkle, Waukesha Section Chief

rick.merkle@wi.gov

262-561-5065

Mike Verhagen, Chief Inspector

mike.verhagen@wi.gov

262-548-8617

DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE

Continue to mail general correspondence to the Madison office:

DSPS -Industry Services/Inspection Support

PO Box 7302

Madison WI 53707-7302

INSPECTOR MATERIAL ORDERS

Material orders for registration tags “B or U” # s, may be ordered via materialor-ders@wisconsin.gov

WEB SITE INFO

Wisconsin Boiler inspector’s Association

www.thewbia.com

Coming soon … 2014 Industry Days Joint Training MN & WI

National Board— www.nationalboard.org

ASME— www.asme.org

DSPS …Industry Services, then Boiler Program

http://dsps.wi.gov/Default.aspx?Page=206e4e80-ab36-414c-8a08-e8295f107ae2

Boiler Program ... Sign-up “Email” to be notified of program updates

http://dsps.wi.gov/Default.aspx?Page=5dd51cf7-d314-4a05-9d48-0aa834bfd57e

Credential–License Check …verify current certi-fications, registrations & licenses

http://apps2.commerce.wi.gov/SB_Credential/SB_CredentialApp/SearchByMultipleCriteria

Happy and Safe Holidays to all

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 4

Volume 20, Issue 1

Page 5

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 6

Wisconsin Inspectors Map

This one-horsepower steam bicycle was availa-ble as a kit until the mid-1950s. Properly assem-bled, it could reach a speed of 25 miles per hour. A flash boiler, which converts water to steam instantly, provided energy without creating the safety hazard of a large pressur-ized steam vessel.

Steam Bike

In 1769, the very first self-propelled road ve-hicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Jo-seph Cugnot (1725 - 1804). Cugnot used a steam engine to power his vehicle, built un-der his instructions at the Paris Arsenal by mechanic Brezin. It was used by the French Army to haul artillery at a whopping speed of 2 1/2 mph on only three wheels. The vehicle had to stop every ten to fifteen minutes to build up steam power. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehi-cle and placed in the front. The following year (1770), Cugnot built a steam-powered tricy-cle that carried four passengers.

Father Ferdinand Verbiest, a Catholic priest may have been the inventor of the first steam car in 1687. Early documentation suggests that Father Verbiest built the steam vehicle for Chinese Emperor Chien Lung, but this has been under much debate.

1st Steam Car

The era of the steamboat began in America in 1787 when John Fitch (1743-1798) made the first successful trial of a forty-five-foot steam-boat on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787, in the presence of members of the Con-stitutional Convention. Fitch later built a larger vessel that carried passengers and freight be-tween Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jer-sey.

John Fitch was granted his first United States patent for a steamboat on August 26, 1791. However, he was granted his patent only after a battle with James Rum-sey over claims to the same invention. Both men had simi-lar designs.

Steam Boat

Volume 20, Issue 1 Page 7

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 8

Tom Thumb was the most famous steam locomotive in early American railroad his-tory. It was built by Peter Cooper in 1829 to demonstrate to doubting railroad ex-ecutives that steam power would be more effective than the teams of horses they were using. Rapid expansion of population had brought tremen-dous demand for faster ways to transport goods and passengers. Canals were popular, but they took too long to build and were limited to a few geographic areas. Wagons pulled by horses along a system of rails could go wherever needed and seemed like a good solution. The problem was the limitations of the horses them-selves-- it took such large numbers of them, and they could only move so many miles an hour. In England, railroad developers had already solved the problem by inventing a steam-powered locomotive to move the loaded wagons. But the English locomotives, so successful on the flat, straight English runs, were too heavy and rigid for the hills and curves of American tracks. Into this discouraging situation came a true pioneer of American enterprise, Peter Cooper. A New York merchant, he gained an understanding of mechanics from his experience as a carriage maker and iron foundry owner. When the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road was organized In 1827. he made large invest-ments in Baltimore land. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first in the country to provide regular service, was launched to connect Baltimore with the Ohio River, 379 miles away. By 1829 only 13 miles of track were in ser-vice, and Cooper was anxious about his investment. Convinced that steam power was the answer to the railroad's problems, he urged the reluctant directors to try it. When they hesitated, he assured them, "I believe I could knock together a locomotive myself."

Cooper started with a small steam engine he had brought from New York. The cyllnder was cylinder/4x 14 1/2 inches. He added an upright boiler 20 inches in diame-ter and about 5 feet tall, and he used two old musket barrels for pipes. To heat the coal hotter to make enough steam, he rigged a blower to a drum. This was at-tached by a cord to the wheel of a railway cart. The finished result was so tiny Cooper named it Tom Thumb. It took several months of tinkering to get things working right. On one early trial run the little locomotive raced a horse-car on the adjacent track. lt was winning the race when the cord to the blower's drum slipped off, and to the jeers of the horse-car's driv-ers, the engine's steam drained away. Of course the horse won the race. At last Cooper was ready to demonstrate his invention, and on Saturday, August 28, 1830, a crowd gathered at Pratt Street de-pot in Baltimore to see them off. Tom Thumb's open-air carriage held two dozen dignitaries, and Cooper himself manned the engine. Thirteen miles to the end of the line at Ellison's Mills, the little locomotive carried the train up an average grade of 18 feet per mile and around the sharp turns. It took an hour and 15 minutes. On the return trip, with four more passengers, the train covered the 13 miles in 61 minutes, including a four mi-nute stop at the middle depot to take on wa-ter. The afternoon's demonstration was a triumph. Cooper's experimental model had proved that for railroads, steam power was the way to go. So Little Tom Thumb won the race after all!

Tom Thumb

Thought of the Day “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we

created them”

Albert Einstein

Volume 20, Issue 1 Page 9

WISCONSIN MINNESOTA

3301 E. Evergreen Dr. 6291 318th St Appleton, WI 54913 Cannon Falls, MN 55009 Telephone: 920.832. 9778 Telephone: 507.263.2251 Fax: 920.832.9798 Fax:866.929.3719

Contact Us:

http://www.alliedvalveinc.com/index-5.html

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 10

Galvanic Corrosion By: Jay Eckholm

“Just when you thought you’ve seen it all”. I’ve heard this comment from other inspectors and enjoyed their stories. I can now share with you one of mine. It is about the effects of galvanic corrosion. We all see this affect but this story is an episode of corrosion on steroids.

I did an inspection on a newly installed 15 PSI Hurst fire-tube boiler. I was excited because I had learned that they installed this boiler after years of nagging them to get new boilers. You see I really hated to do the inspec-tions in the past because at this location they owned and operated two 1950’s boilers with “grandfathered” safety controls and just as you guessed, covered with asbestos. You know how I felt when I got the call to visit. This year was going to different…and it was.

As I entered the boiler room excited to see this glistening blue colored boiler with all CSD-1 safety controls and the newly insulated steam pipes I found a rusty looking façade. It looked as if the boiler cried rusty tears. The stains left from having 50% of the tubes leaking was a shocker when you take into consideration the fact that it only ran 2 months. The tubes were replaced by the installing contractor but the culprit which caused much heartache, time, and materials was “Galvanic Corrosion”. How does galvanic corrosion work?

We have seen it.

It is easy to find…on the outside. What happened to this boiler happened internally and quickly  

(Con’t page 11) 

Wikipedia says, dissimilar metals and alloys have different electrode potentials, and when two or more come into contact in an electro-lyte, one metal acts as anode and the other as cathode. The electropotential difference be-tween the dissimilar metals is the driving force for an accelerated attack on the anode member of the galvanic couple. The anode metal dissolves into the electrolyte, and de-posit collects on the cathodic metal.

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 11

Galvanic Corrosion (con’t)

The boiler tubes leaked because the galvanic coupling was present on the boiler tubes. The two metals which came in contact with one another was copper and carbon steel. The steel is obviously the boiler’s tube but how did copper play into this scenario? Why did particles of copper impregnate the fire tubes? Let us first examine the relationship of the two metals. This chart shows how vulnerable mild steel is when impregnated with copper.

I did mention that the old boilers were from the 50’s. This also meant that the new boiler was retrofitted to the 1950’s steam header. A more significant event occurred when in the 1960’s a renovation included installing a two pipe closed loop heating system. At that time all radiators were upgraded from cast iron to copper fin.

How did the copper from the system get to the boiler tubs? During the installation of the new boiler the owner also upgrade the sys-tem’s steam traps. The contractor replaced the traps and found the old strainers almost completely plugged and replaced them also.

How the copper got into the boiler was because the system had new strainers and traps the system flowed more thoroughly and effi-ciently. The result was that all the trapped particulates left in the pipes upstream from the newly installed strainer now flowed into the boiler. These particulates contained a large amount of Copper particulates which not only floated into the boiler water but while un-der pressure attached/impregnated themselves to the tubes.

Because I cannot share pictures I collected from the site I do have nearly exact replicas from the web of what I saw and examined on the nearly brand new boiler tubes. What I found interesting was that where the copper adhered to the tube the holes looked as if someone took a drill and drilled into the tube. The metal surrounding each hole was as thick as when it came from Hurst.

The water surrounding the tubes became the perfect electrolyte and provided a means for ion migration whereby metallic ions move from the anode (tube) to the cathode (copper particle) attached to the tube. Steam bubbles moving rapidly over the first two months in service placed the galvanic corrosion rate on steroids.

(Con’t page 12) 

Dissimilar metals and alloys have different electrode potentials, and when two or more come into contact in an electrolyte, one metal acts as anode and the other as cath-ode. The electropotential difference be-tween the dissimilar metals, such as in our example (copper vs. carbon steel), is the driving force for an accelerated attack on the anode member (carbon steel) of the gal-vanic couple. The anode metal dissolves into the electrolyte, and deposit collects on the cathodic metal. (Wikipedia)

I’m sure you noticed the term impregnated above and was wondering why or how does this occur inside a new boiler.

We have to consider the whole process from the beginning to explain the use of the term.

Galvanic Corrosion (con’t)

Precautions need to be made before and after installation of a boiler installed on a closed loop bimetallic system. The vendor used to provide boiler water analysis could have done some simple tests after initials start-up to detect the presence of iron and copper parti-cles in the boiler water or condensate return. Corrosion inhibitors such as sodium nitrite or sodium molybdate can be injected into these systems to reduce the galvanic potential. However, the application of these corrosion inhibitors must be monitored closely. If the application of corrosion inhibitors increases the conductivity of the water within the system, the galvanic corrosion potential can be exponentially increased. I decided to share this experience so that the next time we suggest having new boilers installed we can help the owners and installers by educating them on the potential for corrosion when dealing with bimetallic closed loop systems. The push for more efficient heat-ing systems in old buildings is supported with grants provided by utility companies and government programs. The opportunities are out there and so are the potentials for galvanic corrosion.

Volume 20, Issue 2 Page 12

World’s Largest Yankee Cylinder

The Facts

Investment volume: 115 mio Euro 

Production capacity: 80.000 t of kraft paper per annum 

Length of machine: 100 m 

Working width: 5,4 m 

Construction expanse incl. finished goods warehouse: ca.  

10.000 m² 

Max speed of production (28g/m²): 1000 m/min. 

Type of paper: Kraft paper (MG-, MF-paper) 

The American Society of Power Engineers, Inc. (ASOPE®) is an independent third party licensing agency whose objective is to establish national standards and a formal structured level of competence for na-tional and international recognition of the power engineer.

ASOPE® is not a labor organization and is not affiliated with any other organizations. ASOPE® recogniz-es and promotes other organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Association Power Engineers, National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, and governmen-tal regulatory agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency and OSHA.

ASOPE Region 2 Email reg2@asope.org Area Covered: Wisconsin, Illinois, Upper Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri

Power Engineer Competency License Program

The American Society of Engineers has three license program categories. The first is the Main Power Engineer Competency license program, the second is the Supplementary Power Engineer Competency license program and the last is The Hobbyist and Specialty Power Engineer Competency license program.

APRIL, 16 & 17, 2014

Great training is planned. CEU’s to be awarded for specific credential holders. A Certificate of Attendance will also be issued at the end of the event. For more in-formation and to Sign up go to the WBIA Website to Register. thewbia.com. PayPal is available.

A special room rate has been assigned for those needing lodging during this seminar. Please contact the hotel and inform them you are attending the WBIA Industry Days Seminar.

Ask for WBIA Conference Rate of $70/single The hotel does accept State Rates. Reservations should be made by April 1st after which rooms are not guaranteed

The 10th Annual Boiler Industry Days will bring to you a variety of unique training this year. We have put together a seminar to include training by the National Board. We are also teaming up with the State of Min-nesota this year. For our Members that will mean one stop this year will get you up to date on Wisconsin and Minnesota information. Both Mike Verhagen and Joel Amato will bring us up to date on all State matters.

Training will include two (2) full days of Training. Day one will see the Chiefs bring us up to date on items going on in their Jurisdictions. Also the first day Dan Chudecke will speak on all those small boilers that do not look like boilers and George Galanes with give us a material tour through a boiler. The end f day one the National board will bring us Boiler Explosions, and a history of the National Board.

Day two will be all National Board training. A review of changes in Part 1-3 will be discussed.

Stoney Creek Inn

3060 S Kinney Coulee Rd., Onalaska, WI 54650

Phone: 608-781-3060 Fax: 608-781-3063