To Certify a Tractor Boiler

Let me start at the beginning.

We at the museum in Vista have had a Case 60 HP steamer for a
long time, but it has not been run in seven or eight years. She was
over-fired for a few years and left with her nose dirty. When last
put up, the boiler was full of water and the flues were leaking.
The end result has been that the ash and water combined, and over
the last number of years the rivets in the nose have been rusting
away.

About five years ago, I got involved with steam tractors here in
Vista. At that time none were running but we now have an Advance
and a Russell operating at our shows and we are working on the
Case. Here in Southern California, as in other places, we are
required to have our boilers certified by the state. Here however,
the difference is that it will usually take a year or so to certify
each tractor! This is, in part, because our insurance inspector and
our state inspector had not ever seen a steam tractor before. When
we asked what was needed to get certification it took not less than
six months to get a two-page letter from the state capital listing
the requirements for certification. Here are some of the
requirements they asked for:

1. A complete set of drawings including vessel joint details and
any internal and external attachments.

2. A list of all known original or existing design criteria,
maximum allowable working pressure and temperature, heat treatment,
corrosion allowance, impact test, lethal service, loadings, direct
firing, service restrictions, etc.

3. If the design was not based on code rules, we are to provide
a copy of the source of design rules used.

4. Evidence of any existing original mill identification on
vessel materials. If such data is not available, provide
documentation on tests made in accordance with material
specifications designated for the applicable code section, as
follows: Chemical Analysis, Tensile Tests, Hardness, Bend Tests. In
addition show a comparison to code material and indicate how they
are equivalent.

5. Reports on tensile and bed tests on head and shell.

6. Reports on liquid penetrate tests of all corner joints.

Collecting enough original literature or copies thereof to show
the factory specified thickness of the sheets and rivets, as well
as the tensile strength and chemical composition of the metal, is a
job to say the least. The drawing of the boiler had to be made and
together with several pages of calculations, all stamped by a
certified professional engineer, then go to the state for
approvals, then and only then will they come out to see the boiler
itself. With time and money, much of this can be done, but there
are some things that the original literature will not tell you,
like the amount of phosphor and sulfur in the boiler plate. The
usual way of getting this information is to cut sample test plates
from the boiler and send them out to a lab. This will mean that you
will have two or three holes, 1′ by 9′ or so, in your
boiler that will have to be patched up, and in California that will
require an expensive California certified boiler welder! Luckily,
we have been spared that part so far, mostly because of the fact
that our tractors are all large brand name tractor companies.
Research has shown that there was an ASME origination back in the
late 1800s. They were not the organization they are today but they
did publish papers on how to design a good boiler. There were no
laws at that time that said you had to do it their way, but the
insurance companies were requiring the manufacturers to go by the
ASME (and other) guidelines or they would not insure the
company’s product.

In a roundabout way, the major companies all used the same
guidelines for boiler construction. Many of the definitions and
calculations that the ASME uses for the type of boiler on steam
tractors have not changed since the late 1800s or early 1900s. The
definition of fire box steel or flange steel and the calculations
for stay bolt spacing etc., are virtually unchanged. Based on this
the state has agreed to let us pass on these rather destructive
tests to our boiler shells. One thing that is harder for us here,
than it is elsewhere, is that we must have a safety factor of eight
on our tractor boilers. That is to say that the boiler must have
been designed to withstand eight times the operating pressure and
not explode! A lap seem boiler here in California is limited to 100
p.s.i., so the boiler calculations must show that the boiler would
hold at least 800 p.s.i. when it was new.

By comparison, a new boiler today is usually built to a safety
factor between four or five. However, each state has its own set of
rules. Also, if there are any paid employees at the museum, OSHA
will get involved.

There is more I could say, but enough for now. Let me get back
to our 60 horse Case. The first chore we have to do is to replace
some eight or nine rivets in the nose. A local boiler company has
quoted us $3000 for that job! We also need to replace the flues;
the same company quoted us $5000 for that. These prices are way out
of line for a museum like ours. Like most of you, we are a
non-profit organization. We have found a boiler company sympathetic
to our cause, and if we do most of the work (which we like to do
anyway), they will finish and take responsibility for the job. This
will make the state happy because there is a qualified boiler
company involved and it makes us happy because it will not cost us
nearly so much money.

So things are now in place for us to begin returning the Case
back to operational status and it will now take only time and a bit
less money.

Photo courtesy of Tim Sollman, 897 – 2 3/8 St., Clayton , WI
54004. Location unknown any one have any ideas?

Along this line, we thought we would make available the detailed
drawing of the boiler for our tractor. It is a highly detailed
drawing of the boiler, inside and out, approximately 24′ by
18′, and shows virtually every rivet and stay bolt along with
dimensions, etc. It is a slightly modified version of the one
approved by the state for our certification. An ad for the drawings
appeared on page 36 of the July/August IMA with the details. All
profits will go directly to the restoration of our Case
steamer.

We hope to show off this engine again soon and then you will
probably see a picture of it here.