Hi,

I would be grateful for some advice regarding boiler housing. I have a fairly large steam plant and the housing surrounding the boiler is definitely not metal. It is about 2mm in thickness and when you press it it bends a little. It is black but has probably been painted. I am concerned that it may be asbestos. There are white deposits around the boiler and especially at the gas inlet end of the boiler. The boiler is fired by two 3" diameter ceramic burners. I have provided some photographs which may offer some clues?

In any event, whetever the housing is made of, I plan to remove it and replace it with a metal housing to support and surround the boiler. I have plenty of mild steel plate which might be suitable but this would probably conduct the heat away from the boiler pretty rapidly, unless it could be painted with some sort of heat resistant paint? Is this a possibility?

If it is asbestos, presumably the best way to remove it is to work outside, wear a mask and not to break the material but carefully remove it and dispose of it accordingly.

Any assistance will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Much obliged for the information. This is most helpful. I understand now that the lining inside the boiler housing is Kaowool blanket. Does this give off white residue over a long period of time. If it is Kaowool, I will probably just clean up all the white deposits and repaint the boiler housing.

Also, I have just noticed that there are six nutted stays (visible in one of the pictures in the album), but they are not soldered. Is this acceptable for home use? The previous owner said that the working pressure of the copper silver soldered boiler is 80 psi with two safety valves fitted. He reports that he ran the boiler without any problems.

I did have a word with someone who professionally inspects model boilers and he mentioned that this is not uncommon practice (nutted stays without being soldered).

I would be grateful for advice from those who are more experienced with model boilers.