At 08:57 AM 3/15/01 -0800, you wrote:
>What are the concerns with using brass in a boiler?
>Steve Ciambrone
Steve,
Over time (sometimes not a very long time) the zinc will leach out of
brass leaving it pourous. The basic underlying concern is safety and the
soundness of the pressure vessel. But since in our scales we are probably
talking more in terms of maladies like leaks and weeps rather than a
complete failure, the practical problem is one of ending up with a
chronically weepy boiler that will require a bothersome surgery, possibly
fatal surgery, to correct. It's a situation of accepting that if you use
brass there is the likelyhood of a weepy boiler at some point down the road.
Although bronze is preferred, brass is not a big concern in a
component made to be renewed or replaced, such as fittings, since fittings
are intended to be removed from a boiler from time to time and if a problem
occurs the fitting can be replaced without having to subject the boiler
vessel to a surgery.
Cheers,
Harry
