I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show "Glenn"
wrote back on Sat, 22 Jan 2005 16:15:27 -0800 in
rec.crafts.metalworking :
I hesitate to jump in here as my knowledge of the subject is limited to
reading, but IIRC the problem lies in the superheated water in the
container. The pressure allows the water to be heated to well above boiling
point at atmospheric pressure. When you release the pressure as in opening
the steamcleaner valve, all the water can now turn to steam very rapidly.
If your popoff valve does not have sufficient capacity to dump the excess
pressure fast enough the vessel can become overpressured and turn into a
bomb. Seems there was also a greater problem as the water level gets down,
the flash over can occure more rapidly.

For the "Rube Goldbergs" among us, it shouldn't be "too difficult" to
rig a water quench on the steam tank. That is, when the "Oh ****"
pressure valve cuts loose, it trips water reserve, which floods around the
boiler, which "should" soak up heat from the boiler, and hopefully lower
the temp enough to keep the superheated water from trying to become steam.
Or just lower it back to "really hot water".

What comes to mind is a kind of jacket around the boiler, with at least
an equal capacity to the boiler. Normally it is empty, but to shut things
down, you dump water into it and let nature take its course. Hmmm, now I'm
going to be up all night pondering this.


--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."