Boiler facts for kids
A boiler is like a super-sized kettle! It's a special machine that heats up water or other liquids. Sometimes it heats them until they are very hot, and sometimes it even turns them into steam. This hot liquid or steam is then used for many important jobs. For example, it can warm up buildings through central heating, help make electricity, cook food, or even clean things.
What Powers a Boiler?
Boilers need fuel to create heat. They can use different types of fuel, such as coal, oil, wood, or natural gas. Some boilers even use "rejected heat," which is leftover heat from other industrial processes. This makes them very efficient!
Different Kinds of Boilers
Just like there are different types of cars, there are different types of boilers. Each one works a little differently to heat up water or make steam. Here are a few main types:
- Fire-tube boiler: In this type, hot gases from burning fuel pass through tubes that are surrounded by water. The heat from the tubes warms the water.
- Water-tube boiler: Here, the water flows inside tubes, and the hot gases from the fire pass around the outside of these tubes. This design allows for higher pressure and more steam.
- Flash boiler: This boiler heats water very quickly, turning it into steam almost instantly.
- Flued boiler: This is an older type of boiler that has a large tube or "flue" running through the water, where the hot gases travel.
Boilers and Steam Heating
Sometimes, boilers are called "steam generators" because their main job is to make steam for heating. In the past, steam from boilers was often used to heat train passenger cars. When steam locomotives were being replaced by diesel locomotives or electric locomotives, special boilers were put on these new engines to keep the passenger cars warm. These boilers would burn oil or use electricity to make steam. Today, most modern trains use electric heaters instead of steam.
Images for kids
-
A moveable (mobile) boiler (preserved, Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry Poland).
-
A stationary boiler (United States).
-
A 1950s design steam locomotive boiler, from a Victorian Railways J class.
-
A superheated boiler on a steam locomotive.
-
A large boiler used for a power plant.
