Working Principle of a Boiler

Every household in the United Kingdom has a central heating boiler in their houses. But anyone
of you has ever thought how does a central heating boiler work. Today I am going to explain how
exactly the central heating system (boiler) works.

The water stored in the vessel when heated to a desired temperature level by burning natural
gases, coal and wood pellets can be defined as a boiler. The steam produced by the boiler when
heated is piped to a spot which can be is utilized for different purposes such has running the
production units, sanitizing some area, sterilizing equipments, to warm up the surroundings, to
heat up the water, and many more.

Burner is a heart of the boiler which converters water to steam. This burner is heated by
supplying fuels into it. Generally the steam needed to heat your houses, buildings, hospital, office
and other places where heat is required is created by the fuel that is burned and supplied to the
boiler from the burner. The burner can be heated by using different fuels like natural gas, coal or
wood pellets. If you’re using natural gases, then the natural gases are released into the burner
through a special pipe which heats the burners. If you’re using any oil to heat the burner the then
the oil is supplied to them which pressurizes and heats the burners. When it comes to wood
pellets, the woods are burned using some fuel which helps to heat the burners.

After the burners are heated up using the required fuels, then the gases or the fire from the
burners are directly released on the boiler to heat up the water. The water can be boiled in the
boiler depending on the two types of boilers used in the market.

There are generally two types of boilers which use their own principles to produce heat.

• Firetube Boilers
• Watertube Boilers

Watertube Boilers: In the Watertube Boilers the tubes are arranged vertically in the shell. Then
the water is filled in the shell which is heated by sending the hot fuel or hot gases through the
tubes. Generally Watertube boilers are built in rectangular shape with two or three drums. The
drums are arranged at the top and bottom, where top drum is used to separate water and steam
and the bottom drum is used to collect he sludge. Watertube boilers are usually utilized when
more than 750hp of steam per hour is required.

The temperature generally rises up to 212 degree Fahrenheit when the fuels or hot gases
released into the boiler from the burner which heats up the water. At this temperature the water
converted to the steam. The steam generated is then circulated throughout the building or home
using radiators, vents and pipes, specifically created for heat transferring.

To overcome the problems like overheat of the boilers, some of the heat is retained in the boiler
to keeping the building or home warm needs. Since more steam is produced as the temperature
increases, it is essential to check the boiler and ensure that excess pressure is not built. To check
the pressure build up, run your boiler for short durations of time. Furthermore, they have to be
maintained regularly to keep them in optimum working condition.
Firetube Boilers: Firetube boilers are also know as shell boilers. These boilers are the most
commonly used boilers in the market. In the firetube or shell boilers the water is surrounded by
the water. The water which surrounds the shell or firetube is heated by sending the hot gases or
fire which is produced by the burner through the shell or firetube. The hot gases or fires are
allowed four times through the tubes in the boiler before letting the out of the boilers. These tubes
are generally set at the banks of the boilers. The firetube boiler systems can release up to
25,000lbs or 750hp of steam per hour. About 80% of the boilers that are in use today belong to
this particular category.