With all the talk about boiler construction and repair I was wondering. If you had a used boiler and it had an S stamp and a R stamp. and if the companies that built and repaired it were no longer in existence, what could the AMSE or the National Board tell you about your boiler? Do they keep any paper work, other than then when it was built and repaired and by whom ? Are any of the builders calculations kept? Data on the steel? If so how long do they keep them?
Mikechoochoo

Assuming the boiler was registered with the National Board by the manufacturer, you can order a copy of the original data report from them. You need to provide the name of the manufacturer, the National Board registration number, the boiler's serial number and the year of manufacture (I have been able to get data reports without the year of manufacture). The National Board archives documents they receive forever.

Another source of documentation may be the Jurisdiction the boiler operated in. This may be where any repair documentation may have been filed.

S.O.

If you brought the boiler into our shop, here's what we would tell you:

1. The fact that it is an "S"-stamp boiler and built to the code means that we do not have to re-verify the materials. This should have already been done as part of the Code process.
2. Located somewhere near the "S"-stamp itself should be a vessel identification number. Depending on the age, there may also be a National Board number (and would probably start with the letters "NB"). The manufacturer name and this number together should be unique for this boiler, and will help you in obtaining any documentation.
3. Regardless of what numbers are there, the ASME/NB should have on file a completed P-2 form, which is a data sheet for the boiler indicating material specs, number of tubes, firebox type, heating surface area, steaming capacity, and several other bits of information. You can make requests to the ASME/NB for a copy of the P-2 and other paperwork that is part of the file.
4. The "R"-Stamp merely tells us the fact that it was repaired to meet requirements in the National Boiler Inspection Code (NBIC). The repair may or may not have been done by the original manufacturer of the boiler, but at a minimum would have been completed by a shop authorized to use an R-Stamp. The "R"-stamp itself is verification alone that the repair was made properly, as such, there may or may not be detailed paperwork for the repair, however, if there were significant changes or alterations to the boiler, these would likely be documented. (Form R-2, for example, accomplishes this.)

The mere fact that the stamps exist on the boiler should be evidence enough that the design, calculations, material specs, and construction (and subsequent repair, in this case), were are completed in compliance with either the ASME Code (for the "S"-Stamp) or NBIC ("R"-Stamp).

And why is that? Even though my shop is given the unique "S" and "R" stamps (the physical stamps themselves), it does not mean I can just take them and go stamp any piece of metal I want. I do not own the stamps, I simply have a privilege to use them, but only when authorized to do so, and I must be authorized each and every time I use them. So even though I have the stamps in hand, and I follow all the standards of the Code and build a nice, new boiler, it will not bear an S-stamp until my Authorized Inspector (who has followed the entire tells me (authorizes me) to put the "S"-stamp on the boiler.

Thanks for the explanation Stan and John,
Mike Choochoo