THE OLD STEAM AGE
During the industrial revolution, steam was used to power giant textile mills, steam trains and ocean liners. Most boilers
worked in a similar way to our domestic kettle. Water was heated in a container and steam came out through a spout.
During the industrial revolution, steam was used to power giant textile mills, steam trains, and ocean liners. Most boilers worked in a similar way to our domestic kettle. Water was heated in a container and steam came out through a spout.
The Lancashire Boiler
The famous Lancashire Steam Boiler was the most advanced of its time. Coal was used to heat two “firetubes” which heated up the surrounding water. As the temperature of the water increased, steam rose from the water’s surface into the steam pipe.
Explosion Risk
Firetube boilers come with a high risk of explosion. These events frequently caused serious injury and even death.
They were hazardous due to the hot water being stored at the same pressure as the steam. Any failure of the outer casing causes the water to expand to around 1600 times its volume in less than a second – resulting in a devastating explosion.
This usually happened when the boiler water level dropped dangerously low.
Over time, the original firetube design has been modif ied and improved, However, the safety risks and drawbacks remain.
Firetube boilers come with a high risk of explosion. These events frequently caused serious injury and even death.
They were hazardous due to the hot water being stored at the same pressure as the steam. Any failure of the outer casing causes the water to expand to around 1600 times its volume in less than a second – resulting in a devastating explosion. This usually happened when the boiler water level dropped dangerously low.
Over time, the original firetube design has been modified and improved, however the safety risks and drawbacks remain.
Explosion Risk
Firetube boilers come with a high risk of explosion. These events frequently caused serious injury and even death.
They were hazardous due to the hot water being stored at the same pressure as the steam. Any failure of the outer casing causes the water to expand to around 1600 times its volume in less than a second – resulting in a devastating explosion.
This usually happened when the boiler water level dropped dangerously low.
Over time, the original firetube design has been modified and improved, However, the safety risks and drawbacks remain.
Slow start up
Another pitfall of the firetube boiler was the time taken to heat up, sometimes taking hours to build up steam pressure. Boilers had to be started well in advance of when they were needed – or kept ticking over to be available when required. Boilers were built on a large scale to cater for varying outputs and demands.
The Clayton Steam Generator heralds the New Steam Age
The traditional horizontal cylindrical boiler has made way for the high powered vertical Clayton Steam
Generator. Future-focused organisations are now operating Clayton Steam Generators worldwide.
The Clayton Steam Generator is a unique design that pumps water through the inside of a small diameter heated coiled tube. Cold water enters at one end and high pressure steam exits at the other.
The Clayton Steam Generator has three main components:
- A Pump
- A water tube coil, and
- A steam separator.
Water is heated as it is pumped through the coil and fed into the steam separator to produce very high quality dry steam. Steam flow is synchronised with the speed of the pump and the heat source.
ADVANTAGES AND BENEFIT
The Clayton Steam Generator is the world’s most advanced and compact steam making machine with many advantages, making it suitable for any steam application.
- High quality steam output
- Low blowdown
- Small footprint
- Low in weight
- Quick start-up
- Rapid response
- Low running costs
- Automatic operation
- Energy efficiency
- High reliability
- Safety
Safety Features
The Clayton Steam Generator is the safest steam boiler around. It operates using forced circulation of water through a helical coil which is heated to produce steam.
The advanced design eliminates any possibility of a steam explosion. Due to the forced circulation there is very little water inside the coil. You don’t even need to check the water level – because there isn’t one.
