Agent 99 Wrote:
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> Knowing the person(s) involved in the UP steam
> program (both current and past) for a long time
> (longer than I'd like to admit) I will say that
> while the current manager has made some missteps
> (he is human, kinda like the rest of us........)
> the overall direction of the program has been
> stunning (in a good way).
> Yes, the boiler water chemistry and washout
> procedure "experiments" with #844 can only be
> described as disastrous but today the #844 is on a
> much more carefully managed boiler water makeup
> plan that includes a high capacity mobile water
> softener that has been installed in the service
> car. A softener will mitigate 80% of the water
> issues by eliminating from the makeup water most
> of the substances that cause scale to build up in
> the boiler.
> Yes, soft water introduces its own set of
> potential problems but these are being handled
> with additives that control the Ph of the water
> and protect against oxygen corrosion (but its NOT
> an oxygen scavenger).
> The #844 has a low volume continuous blowdown
> installed as well as mudring blowdown valves that
> are used to control the boiler water chemistry
> which is monitored daily. The use of a softener
> greatly diminishes the frequency of blowing down
> but doesn't eliminate it.
> Examination of the boiler since starting the use
> of the softener and new treatments seems to
> indicate that the procedures are working well.
> Intermittent use and multiple water sources makes
> dialing in the boiler water chemistry challenging
> but they should be light years ahead of where they
> were before. I guess time will tell.
>
> 99 out

Incidentally, 844 (as well as 3985 and 4014) were
equipped with the continuous blowdown device when they
left the Alco plant in 1944, 1843, and 1941, respectively.
Sounds like they simply decided to resume using it.

Certainly nothing new or revolutionary.