What is everyone using for UT testing on boiler shells? Looking for suggestions on units - not incredibly expensive, but not the cheap knockoff's either. Looking at using on boilers of 2 14" gauge live-steam locomotives to determine feasibilty of return to service.

Thanks,
Bradley Linda
Waco, TX

Recommendation: Hire a professional who does this without prejudice regarding the locomotive. You need honestdata, uncompromised by affection for the project.

You can rent them from scientific instrument companies. Better to rent a good unit than to buy a cheap and inaccurate / unreliable one.

NDT Systems Model TG100D is a stout, simple and relatively inexpensive UT thickness tester. https://www.ndtsystems.com/

For a decent basic one search eBay or Amazon for TM-8818 or TM8818 its a cheap Chinese import but all the thicknesses I tested matched up with a retired pro-grade Staveley Nortec NDT-133 (now Olympus, Industrial Non-Destructive Testing) that I also have (luckily for me seller didn't know you needed a fluid between the transmitter and the metal thus was selling it for parts)

When I compared thicknesses I used the supplied standard (0.20, 0.30, 0.40 & 0.50 inch levels) mounted to the Nortec (tested using the 0-2" range), ~5/8" thick pitted boiler shell and medium carbon steel block, using both glycerine and SAE 30 motor oil as coupling media.

Rich C.

P.S. What ever you read with the tester, use the info as a basis for deciding if the boiler might be restore-able or most likely condemned and to aid in getting further answers, but not as a final decision on safety status of a boiler. As you may have a deep pocket or crack that fell between your scan points and/or hasn't erupted to the exterior surface.

Take care and be safe, remember steam at 100-120 psi (IIRC pressure range), if you take a pressurized cube about the size of a mouse and release it under atmospheric conditions the volume expands almost to the size of an elephant. This is why steam failures are so violent and extra care is needed. Superheated steam is even worse.

Can we softly suggest that the best piece of assurance you have with UT is a calibration procedure and a person who is capable and competent to read and apply the procedure. As many of you know, Wasatch also does railroad tank car certifications. In our interactions with FRA and in reading 49 CFR parts 200-299, we read often of procedures and capable and competent people. Part 230 does NOT require that we "hire" somebody. It also does not preclude you from "renting" or buying your own machine. Renting, hiring or buying, unless the machine is used with a procedure and a person who knows the procedure, the machine and the process, none of the options are viable.

End game, have a procedure and a person who can use it correctly with the correct machine.

Side note: We do UT inspections for hire and we do provide our procedure and our calibration records and our training records on our procedure when we do this for hire.

Per 230.2 part 230 does not apply in this case

Robby Peartree

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll take a look at the units mentioned.

As to the other comments, we are fully aware going into this that neither engine may be a viable candidate for operation again. This is just us wanting to take some measurements to see if it is even worth pursuing bringing someone in, or if it is just a cosmetic restoration and display. And to state the obvious, neither would be steamed under any circumstance before they had been gone over and reworked by a professional(s), and subjected to the applicable state and insurance inspections, etc. If it's to be done, it will be done right.

Glad to hear that, too many people view them as toys (expensive ones at that).

These people also tend to forget that even a little firecracker will destroy stuff, the way it differs from a stick of dynamite is the blast radius... Same thing goes with the difference between big and little steam engines, when you don't take proper care of them, blast radius.

Take care, be safe and good luck.