Boiler Drum Gauge Glass Charging

Whatever you do, don't open any valves very fast. That is probably more important than any consideration of which valve must be first. But I wouldn't be surprised to see some dogmatic but unsupported arguments in either direction.

Having said that, I am going to take this story in a different direction. If you are familiar with boiler operations, you would probably enjoy the section of Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" in which Tom's friend Ben saunters down the street impersonating a steamboat with its noises.

And now I am going to up the ante. If you have ever been around boilers and ships' engine rooms, you need to read John Dalmas's short story "Gullicksen and the 500-Pound Hallucination, in his collection "Otherwhens, Otherwheres". If you have a soul at all, that will be one of the best experiences of your life.

RTFM

You should read the manual. That would save everyone's time.

POWER PLANT : BASIC OPERATION OF POWER PLANT ..

And, to think this person is trying to get into the engineering field? Not Good!!

He doesn't have a clue, let alone he doesn't have the manual to read! What, did he skip the day they covered purging the sight glass in class?

...."technician sent by manufacturer is just as sensless ..." You came here asking a simple question about 3 out 4 boilers that we, as a group, have not a clue about what make and model the 3 out 4 boilers are, let alone if their HW or steam or how they're staged, or .... and list goes on. Now it sounds like the situation is, "The Blind leading the Blind" And you want a bunch of other people in tow behind you, that have not a clue of relevant information about this equipment or where they are located in this world (?).

It is now time for your "factory tech" to get on the phone with the " factory engineering dept." and ask, "WTF is going on with these New Seals"? And, "are they to design specs"? That's 2 simple questions that the "factory tech. has to ask". And, I would "Highly" recommend your "factory tech" get you both a set of "factory" operation and maintenance manuals for the 3 out of 4 boilers. And that both of you get yourselves educated on the operation and maintenance of these 3 out of 4 boilers ASAP, before somebody gets hurt or KILLED from your lack of knowledge.

Until then ........

Sorry for being harsh, but boilers are no laughing matter when they explode from the lack of knowledge!

I would value the opportunity to enter any boiler room anywhere with you and " run the piping " for some Q&A. I am and have been a factory tech for over 25 years. I appologize for your bad service. I am licensed in California and would be glad to do a complete boiler room survey for you. You will find it more than informative.

As I fill a boiler I leave the site glass valves open, first venting air and then water to check for leaks. Then as steam builds up the site glass will be charged and purged of air. If it is a standard round site glass and a leak occurs tighten the upper AND lower gland nuts at the same time to reduce the chances of breakage.