To Royce, from Arthur in Mexico City Do not go to thinner walled tubing because there is a safety factor involved. The effect of steam at 40 psi is not the same as air at the same pressure. Steam debilitates a pressure shell. The slightly more btu's required to heat up a Type M or L copper tube would not be noticeable. What requires the most btu's to heat up 1º per mass is water. I say mass because mass is weight and if you are going to compare btu absorption/consumption it has to be based on equal masses. I think the ratio is about 9 to 1. That is, it takes 9 times more btu's to heat water 1º than to heat the same weight of copper 1º. You have to understand that you have to use the same units of measure in mass (weights) and in temperatures. That is, you can't compare bananas to apples. Also, you have to understand that the temperature of a flame has nothing to do in this type of calculation. It the volume of heat, btu's.
This is why a 1/4 full boiler produces steam much faster than a 3/4 full boiler. The 1/4 full boiler has less water to heat up. Arthur _________________________________________________________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Royce Woodbury" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Multiple recipients of sslivesteam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 15, 2002 9:12 AM Subject: of boilers and things > So here's a question to "pick things up a little". > > I have a piece of boiler tubing from a kit 1 1/2" in outside diameter with a > wall thickness of about .035". There are those of you out there who probably > could say that that is type "M", or something tubing. But as this tubing is > provided in a kit, I assume that it is more than adequate for the pressure (40 > psi ?) that it will have to contain. If one were to go thicker, the heat > transfer properties of the boiler would change. For example, a thicker wall > would take more energy to heat up before getting to the task of heating the > water, but would retain the heat better (be less susceptible to "environmental" > cooling based on its greater mass). And the same for the flue tubes. My > question is, is it a bad idea to increase (I assume that decreasing wall > thickness in shells or flues is a no-no) wall thickness for whatever reason ? > > Whadya think steamers ? > > royce in SB > > >
