If a plant is considering the addition of an economizer to a boiler equipped with a FGR system it is important to consider the impact of an economizer tube failure on the boiler as a system.

If an economizer with all welded tube connections and headers inside of the endboxes is installed and experiences a tube failure, the economizer unit must be bypassed. This would result in much higher temperatures to the FGR fan and burner. These higher temperatures could cause significant damage to the fan and take the burner out of tune. A problem with a single tube in an all welded economizer will effectively shut down the boiler until a major repair can be initiated.

Avoid this problem by selecting an economizer with individually replaceabe tubes. A unit should be selected that has the ability to isolate a single tube from service in a mater of minutes, not days. A unit of this design need only be bypassed a few minutes while the suspect tube is isolated from the rest on the unit. The economizer must have the ability to have these tubes stopped with standard plumbing components, no special factory order parts. When isolated, the economizer can be brought back online and the boiler restarted. This cannot be done on economizers of an all welded tube construction without significant time and expense, time that today's competetive facilities cannot afford. The boiler can operate until a convenient time to replace the tube.

Return to Economizer Information Main Page

Return to Boilerroom.com Home Page

Information on Boilerroom.com