Blowdown Vessel Size

Blowdown Vessel Size/ Blowdown Tank Sizing

Why Blowdown ?

Steam Boilers are blown down to remove some of the suspended and dissolved solids in the boiler water. Build-up of these solids over time can cause foaming which results in a) excessively wet steam and b) carry-over of contaminants – which can damage valves and equipment, as well as clog the heat transfer surfaces of the boiler.

The job of the blowdown vessel is to allow the blowdown to be collected and released to the environment in a safe and controlled manner. Cooling water is added to reduce the temperature of contents before it goes into the public drainage system.

This should be read in conjunction with publication:  BG03 (supersedes HSE-PM60)

Our Blowdown Vessels are: UKCA or CE Marked Built to ASME and BG03 compliant SIZED – to your needs.

We have a Standard Range or can design and build blowdown tanks to your specification.

Email us or ring 01636 704208 to discuss blowdown tank sizes and availability.

Blowdown Vessel Size is determined by the blowdown volume it is likely to receive.

A good rule of thumb would be to take the volume of blowdown* and multiply it by 4 for the overall volume of the receiver – however standing water levels and the design of the tank internals and connection sizes plays an important part.

* There are many ways of establishing this including: the pressure in the boiler coupled with blowdown line size and length and duration – only so much fluid can get out of a hole that big at that pressure in that time ! Also the water level drop during blowdown against the diameter and length of the boiler.

For details of our range click Blowdown Vessel Range.

We also manufacture Flash vessels, Separators, Manifolds, and fabricated pipework – Ring 01636 704208 or Email Us now.

Further information can be found at the engineering toolbox website: Blowdown Tanks

And some great energy saving tips in this PDF from the US Department of energy – Boiler Blowdown Energy Efficiency

Blowdown Vessels or Blowdown Tanks can be built to a range of design codes: see also: PD5500, EN286 air receivers, DNV, ASME, LLOYDS, 97/23/EC, EN13445, 87/404/EEC, 2009/105/EC, ABS, BS5169