Boiler Starting Failure – Troubleshooting

marineinsight.com/tech/boiler/boiler-starting-failure-troubleshooting/amp/

April 12, 2019

Failure in boiler starting is a common phenomenon on ship. There can be several

reasons for the failure in staring of a boiler. In this article we will learn about the most
common reasons for not starting of boiler.

1) Fuel inlet valve to the burner is in close position:

The fuel line for boiler’s burner consists of several valves located at fuel tank, pumps
suction, discharge valve, or valve before the boiler burner. Any of these can be in closed
position resulting in starvation of fuel.

2) Line filter at the inlet of the fuel line for burner is choked:

If the system runs in heavy oil then there are chances of filters in the line getting choke.
To avoid this, boiler system are normally built for changeover from diesel to heavy oil
during starting and heavy to diesel during stopping. This keeps the filter and the fuel
line clean.

3) Boiler fuel supply pump is not running:

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There are two main reasons for fuel pump not running. Normally when the pumps are in
pairs, the change over auto system is kept in manual position, and if the operating
pump trips, the stand by pump will not start automatically. Another reason is tripping
of pump due to short circuit in the system etc.

4) Solenoid valve in the fuel supply line is malfunctioning

Nowadays most of the system adopts advance automation, but their can be a possibility
wherein the solenoid in the fuel supply line is malfunctioning and not opening.

5) Flame eye is malfunctioning:

A Flame eye is a photocell operated flame sensor fitted directly on the refractory to
detect weather the burner is firing or not. If the flame eye unit is malfunctioning, then it
will give a trip signal even before the burner starts firing.

6) Air or Steam ratio setting is not proper

For proper and efficient combustion, air fuel ration is very important, if the supply of
air is excess then there will be excess of smoke, and if it exceeds more than normal level
the combustion will burn off causing flame failure.

7) Forced draft fan flaps malfunctioning

For removing excess gases trapped inside the combustion chamber forced draft fan
(FDF) are used for pre purging and post purging operation and are connected with a
timer to shut the fan flaps. If the flaps are malfunctioning then continuous forced air
will go inside the chamber, preventing the burner to produce flame causing flame
failure of the boiler.

8) Any contactor switch inside Control panel is malfunctioning

Boiler control panel consist of several contactors and PLC cards. Even one contactor
malfunctioning may result in trouble for boiler starting.

9) Trip not reset

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If any previous trips like low water level, flame failure, emergency stop etc. has not been
reset than boiler will not start.

10) Main Burner atomiser is clogged

Main burners consist of atomizer for efficient burning of fuel. If the atomizer is clogged
by sludge and fuel deposits then burner may not produce flame and trip the boiler..

11) Pilot Burner nozzle is choked :

A Pilot burner nozzle is very small and can be blocked by carbon deposits and sludge
resulting in flame failure. Some pilot burner consists of small filter which can be
clogged after continuous operation resulting in flame failure because of carbon
accumulation.

12) Electrodes are not generating spark

Initial spark for generating a flame is produced by electrode which may be due to
carbon deposits on them or fault in the circuit of electrodes etc.

If you liked this article, you may also like to read- Boiler cleaning, Boiler mountings &
Boiler Gauge glass Maintenance

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Top 5 Air Compressor Problems Marine Engineers
Must Know
marineinsight.com/tech/air-compressor/top-5-air-compressor-problems-marine-engineers-must-know/amp/

February 16, 2019

An air compressor is an important machinery in the ship’s engine room which supports
several other systems, including the main engine. However, the compressor is one
machine which requires constant monitoring and maintenance in order to ensure it
runs smoothly. Though a number of safety devices are provided on the compressor, it is
only prudent to take all the necessary precautions that are required for the smooth
running of the compressor.

For understanding common problems with air compressors, it is important to know all
the different parts of the system. One must also know all important checks that are
required to be made before operating the compressor. As a marine engineer working on
ships, you should be able to understand and troubleshoot some of the common
problems associated with the marine air compressor. Mentioned below are five such
common problems.

1. Compressor Capacity is Low:

This is one of the most common problems seen on all types of ships. Often, compressor
capacity can go low or reduced if it is running for a long time and eventually it is unable
to cope up with the air demand.
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Main reasons for this problem are:

Leakage in discharge and suction valves

Fault or leakage in the unloader
Leakage from the relief valve
Increase in bumping clearance (Read more about bumping clearance here.)
Wrong setting of compressor auto cut-in and cut-out (too close)

2. Oil Carry Over in Air:

If the compressed air in the system is carrying oil, would be mainly because of the
following reasons :

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 Oil-water separator is not working correctly hence oil is being carried to the air
receiver
The cylinder lubrication is adjusted at high quantity, leading to carryover of oil
with air
The auto drain is malfunctioning

3. Excessive Vibration and Noise:

If the compressor is generating too much noise and vibration, it can be because of the
following reasons:

Loose pulley, flywheel, belt, belt guard, cooler, clamps or accessories

Lack of oil in the crankcase
Piston hitting the valve plate i.e reduced bumping clearance
Compressor holding down bolts are loose
Compressor foundation chocks have worn out

4. Overheating of Discharged Air

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If the temperature of the discharged compressed air is high, it can be because of
overheating caused as a result of the following reasons:

Chocked or dirty intercooler tube

Cooling water pump capacity decreased or insufficient
The atmosphere at air suction of the compressor is hot
No forced ventilation for fresh air near the compressor
Damage in the head gasket
Chocked air suction filter
Valves of 1st or 2nd stage leaking

5.Milky Oil in the Crankcase

If there is an accumulation of milky coloured oil in the crankcase, it can be because of

the following reasons:

Water leakage from cylinder liner

Water leakage from the jacket
Oil running hour is over

These are some of the most common problems that are found in continuously running
air compressors onboard ships.

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Do you know any other common compressor problems? Let us know in the comments
below.

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View Comments (26)

i want join

dear sir i have done my B.E. with mechanical branch, can i join merchant navy
?????

Reading product reviews before getting an air compressor really can come inside
handy. By looking into articles on what the merchandise fairs, or maybe reading
about customer scores and comments can help you along with your dilemma in
selecting the most appropriate one to suit your needs.

I am going to new air compressor. This compressor is very noise, my wife angry
about this. I want to buy compressor vary less than 60db. Do you have a lot of
experience, give me your opinions?

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When the air compressors are cooled by LT System, and if LT temp is high, the
Lubricating oil temp increases and Oil Pressure drops to low , but not to the shut
down level. At this condition if the Compressors ( tandem piston type) where LP
cylinders lubricated by Lub oil, this lubrication fails and piston seizes in the
cylinder, and breaks into 2 pieces, damaging both the piston and liner, jacket etc.

thanks.I want more knowledges.

The best air compressor

Another problem with air conpressor although not common akways but sometime
can experience is overpressurising in compressor crankcase. Due to which sump
ooil will cone out theough the oil filling cap and sump oil will be teduced. You can
see oil mist near the oil filling cap.

The main reason behind this is damage of piston pin O-ring . You have to renew
the piston pin O-ring to solve the issue.
Check your soare R.o.b whether you have some of this O-ring or not.

i am vishal i am interested to do the work in shipping

9158806040

What is reason for noise in belt compresser ....give solutions

You post gives very good information about the basic problems in air compressor.
Servicing air compressor time to time is important as this will reduce the chance
of common problems such as excess noise or overheating that occur in air
compressors. Industrial Standard Organization also requires management to asses
and minimize risk involved in handling air compressor.

One of the most common problem is carbonizing the stage valves frequently.any
idea

Greetings Mr. Anish

Nice to see your articles and you have taken lots of interest in preparing the
documents. I have some points to add in this issue are following---

1. Milky Oil in the Crankcase

If there is a accumulation of milky colored oil in the crankcase, it can be because

of the following reasons:
Water leakage from cylinder liner
Water leakage form jacket
Oil running hour is over-

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At times this is very quick schedules in emulsifying the compressor Lube oil- the
probability in Tandem compounding pistons the gudgeon pin seal ring High temp
rubber ring tend to get brittle and cracked, the air leaks from gudgeon pin through
piston rod and into the sump condensed and emulsified. Tanabe, Yanmar,
Matsubara and some other japanese and european makes suffer with lube oil
contamination and damages.

2. Compressor Capacity is Low:

This is one of the most common problems seen on all types of ships. Often,
compressor capacity can go low or reduced if it is running for long time and
eventually it is unable to cope up with the air demand.

Main reasons for this problem are:

Leakage in discharge and suction valves

- Many times it is observed that compressor valves overhauled with old, defective
and uneven free length springs in valves cause all these problems. As a good
practice the valve springs or spring plates should be changed as a set for complete
valve to avoid breaking of springs and plates and these are one reduce the capacity
of the compressor.
- Another unnecessary grinding of the valve seats and even valve plates damage
the profile and leaks developed.

Fault or leakage in the unloader

- Unloader drains for LP Inter cooler drain and HP or after cooler drains tend to
get chocked and condensate carried forward in HP stage and mix with lube oil and
condense in the sump causes emulsion or choke the drains.

Leakage from relief valve

Increase in bumping clearance (Read more about bumping clearance here.)
Wrong setting of compressor auto cut-in and cut-out (too close)

- Additional- Inter coolers and After coolers coils air side carbon fouling at high
discharge temperatures reduce the compressor capacity. Cooling water side
scaling is another issue to raise the air temperature higher.

The above points are normally observed in ships where I visit as condition
monitoring analyst with vibration, Thermographic and Ultrasound analysis
onboard ships.

Thanks and regards

Chary TSR
Condition monitoring analyst Ex CE/ Supdt

Thank you for your valuable inputs.

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Dear sir, I has a question about point 5. Milky oil in crankcase.
after several checks and inspections we found no evidence of leaking cylinder liner
or jacket. Question. Is there any posibility of condensate wáter found to be into
the crankcase, as result from the Heat exchange of LT wáter and compressed Air.

Hi! I'm having some trouble with my old air compressor (it leaks), but I've just
seen an article that talks about Oil-Free compressors
(https://www.airpowereast.co.uk/2018/04/oil-free-compressed-air/) so I'm
wondering if you could help me decide..

Should I fix the leak, or get a new compressor?

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