ASME Certified Indoor Wood Boilers

[Ted Goodwin]

What indoor wood boilers are ASME Certified? I live in Massachusetts which requires the ASME certification. My town has zoned out outdoor wood boilers. I'm particularly interested in wood gasification systems.
I would consider a combination oil/wood boiler, but it would have to have different chambers for each.

 

[curtis]

You can get a ASME Econoburn boiler.

 

[henfruit]

Ted, Are you planning on storage?

 

[muncybob]

Wood Gun offers the certification. When I was in the market it was an additional cost though.

 

[nate379]

What indoor wood boilers are ASME Certified? I live in Massachusetts which requires the ASME certification. My town has zoned out outdoor wood boilers. I'm particularly interested in wood gasification systems.
I would consider a combination oil/wood boiler, but it would have to have different chambers for each.

So if you have a non-ASME boiler, what happens, the cops show up?! Ahahaha

 

[BoilerMan]

I'm guessing that it won't pass building inspection, which only will happen in new construction or a permit is pulled for the install.

TS

 

[ihookem]

Borrow the stamp from someone else and give the guy 20 bucks for rental. Isn't this stamp like the fire rating stamps on doors. If you ask for one they got get the sticker, put it on the sie of the door and and 20 bucks.

 

[BoilerMan]

Borrow the stamp from someone else and give the guy 20 bucks for rental. Isn't this stamp like the fire rating stamps on doors. If you ask for one they got get the sticker, put it on the sie of the door and and 20 bucks.

No, it's a stamp, not a sticker. The stamp is pressed into a strucural steel part of the vessle. A "swap" would need cutting and welding.

TS

 

[Bret Chase]

Borrow the stamp from someone else and give the guy 20 bucks for rental. Isn't this stamp like the fire rating stamps on doors. If you ask for one they got get the sticker, put it on the sie of the door and and 20 bucks.

to get a rating sticker for a door frame... it's supposed to have a closer reinforcement plate welded in......

I can't say that always happens though...

 

[Bret Chase]

No, it's a stamp, not a sticker. The stamp is pressed into a strucural steel part of the vessle. A "swap" would need cutting and welding.

TS

Yeah, it's struck into the vessel... which always made me wonder if the stamp could cause stress risers and be a failure point...

 

[heaterman]

A little ASME clarification.......

ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) is a whole process of certification for materials, construction and methods. Each individual part on any ASME rated boiler has been documented as to the material used, the method of making the part, the source of the part and anything else you can think of. This is true right down to the smallest nut, bolt or screw. The company has to show documentation and testing used to determine the suitability for something even as seemingly insignificant as a little 3/4" x 2" pipe nipple.

This certification is denoted by the {H} stamp which is usually struck into a plate with along with the national board number of the pressure vessel, and riveted or pretty much permanently attached to the boiler.

It's different than the EN505 rating found on nearly all the decent quality European boilers, but I can't say it's any better.
For a process or power type boiler that runs at 150 or 500 or 900PSI, you betcha! I want to know where every last piece of that boiler came from and everything else about it. For a residential hot water boiler with a 30PSI relief and operating pressure of 12-15 or a steamer operating at mere ounces of pressure......it never made much sense to me as long as the appropriate safeties are in place.

 

[mikefrommaine]

The empyre elite is unpressurized so it should pass code.

 

[jebatty]

Never noticed, but are hot water heaters ASME? They can operate at 140F, maybe higher, and a whole lot more pressure than a 30 psi boiler, which more likely is at the 20 psi level.

 

[ewdudley]

Never noticed, but are hot water heaters ASME? They can operate at 140F, maybe higher, and a whole lot more pressure than a 30 psi boiler, which more likely is at the 20 psi level.

In many jurisdictions stamping requirements do not apply to tanks smaller than 120 gallon, e.g., "10) Pressure vessels with a nominal water containing capacity of one hundred twenty (120) gallons or less for containing water under pressure, including those containing air, the compression of which serves only as a cushion.." --http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/title28/28-25/28-25-18.htm

 

[Gasifier]

Yes, I noticed this when researching hot water heaters. Many of the large ones are 119 gallons. AHS told me that the only difference in their boilers when they are stamped or not is that an inspector has to come and inspect the process for any boilers that are to be ASME stamped. The ones that are not are still built through the same process. They have to pay for all the inspections on the welds, all parts inspected, etc. That is why it cost you an $500 for the ASME certification.

 

[nrcrash]

What indoor wood boilers are ASME Certified? I live in Massachusetts which requires the ASME certification. My town has zoned out outdoor wood boilers. I'm particularly interested in wood gasification systems.
I would consider a combination oil/wood boiler, but it would have to have different chambers for each.

I am in mass and I pulled my permit before I bought my unit. Gave the building inspector all the documents on the unit I was using and had him approve it. I didn't run into the problem of not having it asme certified because it never came up (sure I didn't bring it to his attention).

 

[maple1]

My welder has an AMSE certified shop. From what he was telling me about it, it cost him a crap load of money to get to ASME status (needed it for bidding certain things), and sounded like it had all to do with paper trails and not much to do about actual welding & construction stuff. That is, as far as what they were building goes, they didn't actually build it different, it just had to be fully documented & paper trailed with a consulting engineer involved in that.

 

[Gasifier]

I was under the impression that the welds would sometimes be x-rayed or something. But I don't know anything about it really. I just know some welders and when they do things for things like state certifications, bridges, etc..........

 

[fahmahbob]

All I know about it is that it cost me an extra $1000 for my Econburn to be ASME certified. Ouch.

 

[heaterman]

Never noticed, but are hot water heaters ASME? They can operate at 140F, maybe higher, and a whole lot more pressure than a 30 psi boiler, which more likely is at the 20 psi level.

No they're not and that never made sense to me. Commercial sized tanks (120 gallons or over) have to be ASME rated and I think that is true for a tank that holds practically anything be it water or air. The arbitrary factor is that someone decided long ago that tanks of 119 gallons or less are not hazardous while tanks of 120 gallons are. .........go figure....... Hence, a 120 gallons pressure vessel has to be ASME while a 119 gallon does not.

Water heaters also have only two safeties, the operating aquastat and the relief valve. It baffles me why a light commercial water heater that holds 119 gallons of water and fires at 199,000 btu does not have to be certified to the same level as a tank that is 120 gallons and 200,000 btu's.
A little 70,000 btu gas boiler has to meet all the ASME specs for the vessel plus it must include several safeties that are not used on the water heater.
Doesn't make much sense until you consider the lobbying muscle that entities like the home builders association can put in front of any government or agency efforts to change the cost of a product used in nearly all homes............just sayin.....

 

[mikefrommaine]

^^^
I know when I installed my tr-119 water heaters the manual called for a bigger safety relief valve than what you typically see on residential tanks. I forget the specs but they weren't cheap.

 

[BoilerMan]

^^^^ Anyone here see the Mythbusters episode about the exploding electric water heater? It was a mere 30gal electric, I assume 4500watts. It did a good number on things....... something like 320 psi, they are tested to 300 and rated for 150psi so there is a 2X safety factor when it's new.

TS

 

[Gasifier]

I am trying to remember what code was for New York State and ASME certification. Something about under four families ...... I can't remember now. Read to much chit now a days. Is that a getting older thingy?

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

I am trying to remember what code was for New York State and ASME certification. Something about under four families ...... I can't remember now. Read to much chit now a days. Is that a getting older thingy?

Here you can find all the details .... per state, Canadian province, major city
(broken link removed to http://www.nationalboard.org/SiteDocuments/NB-370.pdf)

Look for:
OBJECTS SUBJECT TO RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STAMPING
All boilers and pressure vessels, except the following: ....

 

[Gasifier]

Here you can find all the details .... per state, Canadian province, major city
(broken link removed to http://www.nationalboard.org/SiteDocuments/NB-370.pdf)
Look for:
OBJECTS SUBJECT TO RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STAMPING
All boilers and pressure vessels, except the following: ....

Thanks. I thought it was four families for some reason. Looks like it is fewer than six families for New York.


OBJECTS SUBJECT TO RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STAMP ING
All boilers, except the following:
1. Boilers subject to inspection by inspectors of boilers under the US Department of Transportation.
2. Boilers located on farms and used solely for agricultural purposes.
3. Steam or vapor boilers operating at a gage pressure of not more than 15 psi and which are located in dwellings occupied
by fewer than six families.
4. Hot-water boilers which are located in dwellings occupied by fewer than six families.
5. Boilers subject to inspection or control of a federal agency.