Boilermaking

[Peter FirthParticipant @peterfirth59241]

having come to the point now of needing to build my Boiler , and wishing to build to standards etc here in the UK , is their a definitave spec to stick to which covers building to CE spec and which parts to adhere to .. searching the internet gives me lots of information and in some cases contradict each other .

i am fortunate to have Tig welding capability available and material certificates , and was trying to see what advantages if any ( or negative ) as against silver soldering methods.

and to adhere to model making practices to gain certification , as i see some commercial offerings mentioning tig and CE marks, the more i look the more confused the area seems to be .or is this just a marketing exercise .

i'm looking at building a copper boiler in 7 1/4"

are their any definative articles published that are up to scrutiny by the insurance companys etc , or do they publish spec's individualy .

Thanks

Peter

[Peter FirthParticipant @peterfirth59241]

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

HI Peter

Ive been making various boilers for a number of years now and have researched this issue at length. As an ex professional welder and moder maker (who cant spell for toffy!) I offer you the following…

your in for a hard time!

I take it you are building a loco and want to run it in public – if so then here goes…ertification is via a club inspecter..

You need to be coded welder, regs dont stipulate which code though!

Since you wont be able to find a published drawing stipulating tig you will have to gain agreement from your boiler inspecter before starting as it is a change to drawing. Once he agrees you will need the code weld certs and all material certs. ce marking is for commercial boilers, not diy. Next up is the welding – hope youve got a 400 amp set cos welding two pieces of 10 gauge copper takes a massive amount of amps and heat.

I would rather tig anyday than silver solder but its a relatively new technique to the ageing me brigade so expect resistance!! It can be done, but its a right fuss. Refer to the Blue Book regs – currently being made even more impossible to adhere to…or updated, whichever you prefer! Stick to facts and not peoples opinions, they so like giving them but as youve found often contradict each other. PM me if you want further help. Im in the midst of producing a 5" scale boiler – everyone says it simply wont work but the maths say otherwise. We can but try!

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