Baldwin expansion stays - all crown stays in 110.

A couple of photos taken through the fireman's side backhead washout plug hole showing crownstays and what looks like maybe a mouse nest (?).

https://plus.google.com/photos/100313002764258550558/albums/5910409946290694369?authkey=CNaNlJeL__D5RA

I promised a photo of a boiler tube taken from a locomotive in regular use from 1992-2013:
The boiler is fed with water from a softener, then trough reverse osmosis, gets an oxygen scavenger +pH to 11, gets blown off if not used within 3 days and dried.
The heritage railway does not have any trouble with their boilers, rumor has it that english heritage railways without such a regime have 1 boiler failure/locomotive/year. Must be expensive and probably NIH syndrome!
Kind regards
Jos

Thanks Jos. Minimal surface pitting and clean steel. It would be very useful to know about the condition of the raw feedwater that required the use of the softener, and what the softened water is like before being put in the boiler, and the oxygen scavenger used and how it's tested for correct quantity. I think anybody unfamiliar with the reasons not to leave cold boilers full for extended periods by now shouldn't be involved with steam.......and we're learning a lot about the importance of maintaining the correct PH.

This sort of mirrors experiences I had with a water softener solving scale problems on one railroad.

Dave

HI Dave,
I have a description from the user, it needs translation however, this needs a few days.
Kind regards
Jos

Here is the comment from the user:
This is a picture of a firetube of locomotive SHM 5(Hoorn- the Netherlands) .
It has been used from 1991 to 2012. The locomotive was used intensively during that period and sometimes remained pressurised for weeks.  One can see the clear advantage of a good water treatment. Water softening is by ion exchange, then desalination by reverse osmosis and blowing-off to prevent  the water to become too salty .
100 ml / m³ DM 4:1 is added, which is tannin based that binds the oxygen. This is to counteract corrosion especially on the tubes. It also forms a skin with iron ions, which shields the steel surface from corrosive ions. Furthermore, Alkatreat is added that contains sodium hydroxide. Adding to the neutral water makes it alkaline with a pH  of about 11 .
As a consequence they never have to wash boilers. Once a year the boilers are opened and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. They also have never suffered from boiling up/water to the cylinders.
If the locomotive is not used more than 4 days, the boiler is blow-off warm and dried with electric heating in the firebox, the boiler is ventilated at the same time.
None of the fire tubes of locomotive 5 was leaking .
This method of boiler treatment is a must for any steam locomotive owner who wants a long life expectancy for his boiler and hates the time-consuming boiler washing. Cold days are never necessary.
Kind regards
Jos