When we talk about watertube boilers, we’re talking about boilers that pass water through tubes, rather than fire tube boilers that pass heat through tubes. That’s about the simplest way to sum it up. But the real explanation, and all the advantages that watertube boilers bring to the table (and the factory floor and the warehouse and the hospital and the laboratory and so many other places) lie in the details.
HOW IT WORKS
As the name implies, the watertube boiler’s tubes are full of water. Those tubes, in turn, are exposed to immense heat from the boiler’s burner(s). As the water flows through the tubes, it gets hotter and hotter until it eventually changes phase and becomes steam. At that point, it escapes out into the steam head, where it can then be routed to work processes.
ADVANTAGES
There are a lot of reasons why you may choose to rent or install a new watertube boiler, and some of them are pretty significant.
IT CAN TAKE THE PRESSURE
Unless you know how to violate the laws of physics, water (along with many other fluids) is essentially incompressible. That’s why hydraulics work. Since the watertubes are full of water, they can therefore endure a lot of pressure. That means watertube boilers can, in turn, operate at higher pressures.
IT HAS THE POWER
Watertube boilers are capable of higher outputs than fire tube boilers, making them the big boys on the block. While fire tube boilers top out at about 75,000 pounds per hour, watertube boilers can chug out 250,000 pounds per hour or more. In fact, some package boilers can put out millions of pounds per hour in power plant applications. So, if you need a lot of steam, you need a watertube boiler.
IT GETS STUFF DONE
Because watertube boilers operate at higher pressures and volumes, they can supply high-pressure steam. While high- and low-pressure steam can both be used for building and residential heat and hot water, high-pressure steam can feed a variety of additional work processes. This makes it the ideal choice for heavy industries and other industrial and commercial applications. And you only get a large capacity of high-pressure steam from a watertube boiler.
IT SERVES A LOT OF PEOPLE
The larger steam generating capacity offered by a watertube boiler means that, depending on your end work processes, you may be able to supply a greater number of people and processes with it. Large facilities and large residential and commercial spaces, therefore, often opt for a watertube boiler.
IT CAN ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES
The extra steam capacity and pressure of a watertube boiler make it more resistant than fire tube boilers to demand surges. Because it has less water content per output it heats up faster, making it the choice when steam loads vary.
DISADVANTAGES
Watertube boilers are awesome, but they aren’t perfect. There are a few reasons not to choose them, and they’re not insignificant.
PONY UP FOR THE PRIVILEGE
Watertube boilers cost more than fire tube boilers. Unless you need the higher temperatures and pressures of a watertube boiler, you might consider a fire tube boiler instead. If, however, you need lots of high-pressure, high-temperature steam, nothing but a wate tube boiler will do.
BIG ‘OL BOILER
Watertube boilers are generally larger than fire tube boilers, which means you’ll need a bigger footprint in your facility if you’re going the watertube route.
If you’d like to go into greater detail about how water and fire tube boilers operate, consider taking a course or two from WARE’s Boiler University. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the fire and the flame from real industry experts with decades of experience. Of course, if you’re in the market for a new or rental boiler, WARE has a large fleet on hand with multiple capacities and footprints. We also have the nation’s largest online boiler supply site, Boilerwarehouse.com, so we’ll keep you supplied with the parts, supplies, and consumables you need to keep your boiler running at its best. Whatever you need, just let us know.