Re: soft solder joints (was Harris book)

[Paul Anderson]

Art Walker wrote:
> 
> Steam is a very effective fire douser, is it not ?
> 
I wouldn't be surprised.  Though, I'm not sure if weakening the boiler
structure(mud rings and staybolts are structural elements) is wise in
order to douse the fire.  What if the flow of steam is insufficient to
compensate for the loss of strength in the boiler?  You could end up
with the safety measure acting as a catalyst for a full-blown
explosion.  With a proper fusable plug, pressure in the boiler is let
down very rapidly, while maintaining the structural integrity of the
boiler as a whole.  With leaking staybolts, pressure is releived much
more slowly, and the boiler vessel has already been made unsafe.  In a
gauge 1 application it probably isn't as big an issue as it would be at
other scales, however, I still wouldn't be willing to risk it.  Silver
solder isn't THAT much more work.