VA explosion in Conn.
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I saw that result on a project I was working on. We had extended a 6" steam main and welded on a flange and bolted a flanged valve on to seal the system. Well, one of the plant people opened the valve we had used to stop the steam flow so we could do our work too fast. As the steam flow had stopped, condensate was naturally formed and a slug of water was pushed rapidly down stream when 125# steam was allowed to enter the stopped main. It blew the 6" flanged valve off the end of the main we were extending. The force broke the valve casting shooting the valve across the basement room it was in with the opposite wall stopping it. The valve flange was still bolted on the new pipe flange we welded on the main. Luckily no one was in the basement room at the time. It takes no time at all to fill a room with steam at 125# pressure and anyone in there would have suffocated.
Mike
chargervert
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I work with steam all the time,and flash,as stated in the post above caused by hot pressurized steam contacting cool condensate,can be extremely violent when they meet inside a pipe! Its like a violent storm condenced inside a pipe,exploding like a pipe bomb at 300 degrees. It can and does hurt and kill people! I always drain the condensate if possible,and always open steam valves slowly and let everything come up to temperature slowly. I have seen steam cut threw metal flanges,it will cut and burn a person effortlessly,and should be respected!
I have largely operated boilers, high & low pressure most of my working life. I have seen a 1" pipe blown apart from water hammer. Posted on the wall in our office where I work now is a story of a boiler explosion at a St. Louis Mo. box company where a (small, vaporized boiler, approx. 10 feet long & 4 feet in diameter), exploded, killing one person an injuring 4 others. It launched through the roof and traveled 500 feet through the air where it crashed down through the roof of a hospital linen supply company killing 2 people there as well. Steam should always be respected. It can be extremely dangerous. That is why many states require trained & licensed personnel to operate boilers and steam equipment. For years a lot of guys I worked with were BT's in the Navy and just stayed in the field. Unfortunately, most of these jobs are rotating shifts which sucks! The bad part these days is failure of pipework due to ****-grade imported steel. In the last year we have had pin holes blow out through brand new schedule 80 fittings that were only in use for a couple months! One popped a hole in a blow down line directly in front of me, fortunately for me , the hole was on the other side of the pipe instead of in my face! 
My Father was a SteamFitter/PipeFitter Local 420 spent a few years running Night shift at Limerick Power Plant and places all over Pa...
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I became a apprentice steam fitter in 1978 because I wanted a better living than I could make as a ASE Master Tech working in a Dodge dealership. I quit working with the tools in 2008 and worked as a estimator until 2015. I still (of course) belong to UA174-Grand Rapids, MI.
Mike
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Steam was a one hit wonder.
Water expands to steam at a rate of 1600 to 1. That generates a lot of pressure.
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I've worked around steam too at a refinery and saw the quality of the crap grade imported steel coming in. Luckily the ones buying the products looked for suppliers of high grade components and they were tested before putting them into use but you know how the human element can be. If we saw something that was questionable, we say something about it. I'm just glad I'm not working around that crap anymore and feel for the ones that are new to it as the older guys are all retiring or have retired and there isn't very many still working to help the new guys learn what to watch out for....The bad part these days is failure of pipework due to ****-grade imported steel. In the last year we have had pin holes blow out through brand new schedule 80 fittings that were only in use for a couple months! One popped a hole in a blow down line directly in front of me, fortunately for me , the hole was on the other side of the pipe instead of in my face!
I worked in a refinery for 33 years and when metals started coming from Japan and China we started rigorous testing before it was allowed in.
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I worked for a small machine shop in 78-79 that catered to the petrochem plants in the area and we were getting forgings from Japan and that stuff was right but we were skeptical at first. Now with the stuff from China, my skepticism is off the chart!
oldbee
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That's the way it is in every job. Get rid of the old guys AND lose the institutional knowledge; then say "what's wrong"?
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My dad blew half his face up by welding a part that contained water he did not know about. I have seen water heaters that launched right from the basement through the roof due to "steam propulsion". Steam is a great way to move heat but, it must be respected. I worked on several conversions from steam to hot water heating because maintenance was not kept up on the steam systems and education on the steam systems is lacking.
Mike
Mike
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