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There have been a vast number of designs of steam boiler, particularly towards the end of the 19th century when the technology was evolving rapidly. A great many of these took the names of their originators or primary manufacturers, rather than a more descriptive name. Some large manufacturers also made boilers of several types. Accordingly, it is difficult to identify their technical aspects from merely their name. This list presents these known, notable names and a brief description of their main characteristics.
annular fire-tube boiler: a vertical fire-tube boiler with the tubes arranged radially,Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". such as the Robertson.
annular water-tube boiler:Script error: No such module "anchor". a vertical water-tube boiler with the tubes arranged radially, such as the Straker with horizontal tubes, or near-vertically and conicallyScript error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". as used by Thornycroft for steam wagons.
<templatestyles src="Template:Visible anchor/styles.css" />auxiliary boiler: An auxiliary boiler, on a steam ship, supplies steam that is not used for main propulsion, but is necessary for some part of the essential machinery.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". See also donkey boiler. A small boiler may be used as an auxiliary boiler when at sea, or a donkey boiler in port. A composite auxiliary boiler does this, using waste heat from the main engines when at sea, or is separately fired when acting as a donkey boiler. Auxiliary boilers were also present in some locomotives, in particular those used in passenger rail service, where steam was used as heating for the cars being pulled. With the advent of head end power, these steam boilers were phased out, often being replaced with concrete weights.
Babcock-Johnson boiler: early production Johnson boilers operating at high pressures (Template:Cvt) and with water-wall ends to their furnace.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Benson boiler: a monotube "once-through" steam generator.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
box boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: An early marine boiler with flat sides. Owing to the flat sides, even with extensive rod stays, the boilers were only suitable for low pressures. These boilers were physically large and contained a few large flues, each heated by its own furnace. The flues were round, rectangular or arched and usually long and labyrinthine.[5]
Brotan boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a rarely used boiler for steam locomotives that combined a conventional fire-tube boiler barrel with a water-tube firebox. There is a prominent steam drum above the boiler barrel, making it resemble a Flaman boiler.[6][7]
Brotan-Deffner boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".Script error: No such module "anchor".: a variant of the Brotan boiler. The steam drum was shortened and placed behind the boiler barrel, giving a much more conventional silhouette. Around a thousand of these were used in Hungary.[6][7]
bundled-tube water-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".; early large-tube water-tube boilers where the tubes were grouped into bundles (of 19, for geometrical reasons) that shared a common header, so as to improve shared access for tube cleaning.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Butterley boiler: a form of Cornish boiler where the furnace was opened up into a "whistle mouth", enlarging the grate area.
Clarkson thimble tube boiler[8]Script error: No such module "anchor".: the original thimble-tube boiler, using a great many short closed-ended watertubes. Often used for heat-recovery from the exhaust of large Diesel engines.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Climax boiler: A vertical water-tube boiler with many long spiral coils around a central steam-and-water drum.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Cochran boiler: a vertical boiler with horizontal fire-tubes.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
composite boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a boiler used for either direct-firing, or as a heat-recovery boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Corner tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a natural circulation water tube boiler in which the pre-separation of steam takes place from the water-steam mixture outside the drum and the preheated downcomers.
Cornish boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a large horizontal stationary boiler with a single flue.
cross-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: usually a vertical flued boiler with a small number of large water-carrying cross-tubes within the firebox.
The term is also applied to vertical boilers with other arrangements of tubes, such as those with horizontal fire-tubes.
Crosti boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".:
De Poray boiler: patented French designs with a secondary combustion chamber to improve combustion efficiency. A vertical form of this uses field-tubes.
<templatestyles src="Template:Visible anchor/styles.css" />donkey boiler: A donkey boiler is used to supply non-essential steam to a ship for 'hotel' services such as heating or lighting when the main boilers are not in steam, for example, when in port.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Donkey boilers were also used by the last sailing ships for working winches and anchor capstans. See also auxiliary boiler.
Dublin "economic" boiler: a vertical multitubular return fire-tube design, for model engineering-scale uses.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Dürr boiler An early naval water-tube boiler, developed and mostly used in Germany, but also trialled in the British Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Template:Sfnp
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egg-ended boiler:Script error: No such module "anchor". an early form of tubular wagon boiler, with hemispherical ends to support higher pressures.
express boiler:Script error: No such module "anchor". another term for small-tube water-tube boilers, on account of their high ratio between heating surface area and water volume, and thus their rapid steam-raising.
Fairfield-Johnson boiler: a later form of Johnson boiler operating at lower pressure (Template:Cvt rather than Template:Cvt), but still a high superheat temperature Script error: No such module "convert"..Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Fairlie boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A double-ended locomotive boiler with a central firebox, used in Fairlie's patent for double-ended articulated steam locomotives.
field-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".:Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
fire-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A boiler with many narrow fire-tubes inside a water drum. A development of the flued boiler, where the many smaller tubes give a much larger heating surface area for the overall boiler volume.
Flaman boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: an attempt to squeeze the largest possible locomotive boiler into the loading gauge by splitting the boiler into two drums: a fire-tube boiler beneath and a steam drum above.[10]
flued boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A boiler with only one or two large diameter fire-tubes inside a water drum. These later developed into the fire-tube boiler.
forced-circulation boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: boilers where circulation is forced by a pump, rather than relying on thermosyphon effect. These may use either forced-water-circulation (e.g. La Mont) or forced-steam-circulation (e.g. Löffler).Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Galloway boiler: a Lancashire boiler fitted with Galloway tubes. Originally these fused the Lancashire boiler's original two flues into a single kidney-shaped flue, with the tubes mounted in the joined section. Later boilers kept the cylindrical flues separate and placed the tubes within them.
gothic boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: an early locomotive boiler, where the outer firebox was particularly large and served as the steam dome, often highly decorated with polished brass. These were popular for early railway locomotives, from 1830 to 1850.[11]
This is another form of boiler frequently described as a "haystack".
gunboat boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: similar to the commonly known locomotive boiler, from steam locomotives. A horizontal boiler drum contains multiple fire-tubes and a separate furnace. However, the furnace in a gunboat boiler has no opening at the bottom of the furnace to allow dumping of ash; the furnace is completely water-cooled, similar to a Scotch boiler furnace. These boilers were used in early torpedo boats and gunboats, having low height for protection from enemy gunfire.
Harris "Economic" boilerScript error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
haystack boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: Early balloon- or haystack-shaped, circular in plan with a domed top and often a flat base. See also Napier and gothic, quite different designs also described as "haystack" boilers.
heat-recovery boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a boiler without its own furnace, used to recover heat from some earlier process, such as a large marine Diesel engine or an industrial furnace.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Hornsby boiler: a form of bundled-tube water-tube boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Illingworth boiler: a water-tube boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Inglis: a modified form of the Scotch boiler, with an additional combustion chamber.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Johnson boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: one of the first "modern" classes of high-pressure marine oil-fired water-tube boilers. They have a single steam drum above a single water drum. Their small-diameter water-tubes curve outwards on each side to form a cylindrical furnace. As there is no grate or ashpan beneath, firing must be by oil. Return circulation is by external downcomers. Early versions also used water-walls at each end of the furnace, later ones had plain firebrick walls.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Kier:Script error: No such module "anchor". (sometimes Keeve or Kieve) an un-fired boiler, a pressure vessel heated by an external steam supply, used for bleaching in dyeworks and processing paper pulp. In use they were continuously rotated by an engine, steam being supplied through a rotating joint in the axle. They were usually spherical, sometimes cylindrical, and some were recycled from old boiler shells.[12]
Kingdom boiler: an uncommon pattern of water-tube boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
La Mont boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a forced-water-circulation boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". They are often used as marine heat-recovery boilers.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". It was also used, unsuccessfully, for an experimental steam locomotive in East Germany in the 1950s.[13]
launch-type boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a small fire-tube boiler used in launches and smaller steam yachts. A horizontal cylinder in form, with a cylindrical furnace and multiple fire-tubes. They have some resemblance to a small Scotch boiler or Huber boiler, but with the fire-tubes extending beyond the furnace end, rather than folded back as a return-tube boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Sometimes small return-tube boilers of just this form are also described as "launch-type".
locomotive boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: the commonly known form familiar from steam locomotives. A horizontal boiler drum contains multiple fire-tubes and a separate firebox.
Monotube steam generatorScript error: No such module "anchor".Script error: No such module "anchor".: A single tube, usually in a multi-layer spiral, that forms a once-through steam generator. The first of these was the Herreshoff steam generator of 1873.[15]
Multi-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: fire-tube boiler with multiple small fire-tubes, rather than a single large flue.
Napier boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A high-domed low-pressure boiler used on early steamships.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Also known as the "haystack", although not the usual, and even earlier, haystack boiler.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Niclausse boiler: a field-tube boiler, with the field-tubes set at a shallow angle to horizontal.[2]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
One Atmosphere BoilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A compact boiler capable of producing superheated steam to over 1000C at one atmosphere's pressure.[20]
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Paris boiler:Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Paxman "economic" boiler: a form of Scotch boiler, adapted for stationary use and set in a brick surround as an external flue.
Ramzin boilerScript error: No such module "anchor". or 'straight-through boiler': a once-through monotube boiler with a water-wall furnace. It was distinguished from similar boilers, such as the Benson, by its use of near-horizontal tubes in a shallow helix.[21] It was invented by the Russian Leonid Ramzin, whilst imprisoned in a sharashka.
Rastrick boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a vertical heat-recovery boiler, typically used in ironworks. Owing to the conditions of their use, they acquired a poor reputation for safety and explosions.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
return-tube boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: fire-tube boiler with multiple small fire-tubes that reverse the direction of gas flow within the boiler. Individual tubes are not folded: there is usually a furnace, a combustion chamber that reverses the flow, then the tubes return from that. The Scotch is a well-known example of this type.
Schmidt boiler: a high-pressure locomotive boiler, as used for the experimental LMS 6399 Fury. To avoid the usual problems of scale formation in a highly stressed firebox, the Schmidt system uses a separate primary circuit filled with distilled water.[22]
<templatestyles src="Template:Visible anchor/styles.css" />Smithies boiler: A development of the pot boiler with added watertubes, used for model steam locomotives.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The boiler was invented by F. Smithies in 1900 and developed by Greenly. It consists of a cylindrical water drum hidden inside a larger drum that forms the visible part of the model. Long slightly-sloping water-tubes are mounted beneath this water drum. The advantage of the boiler over similar model boilers is the use of almost the entire water drum surface for heating, although this also tends to scorch any paintwork on the outer drum, unless this is insulated.[23] In a later development by Greenly, the backhead of the boiler becomes a double-walled water space and straight water-tubes are led into this at an angle.
Steam generatorScript error: No such module "anchor".: modern boilers, with very small volume in relation to their heating area. Boiling is thus almost instantaneous and the volume of heated, but unboiled, water is minimal.[25]
Straker boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: a vertical water-tube boiler for the Straker steam wagon.
submerged multi-tube boiler: a vertical multi-tubular fire-tube boiler, with the boiler shell extended upwards in an annular ring, so as to always maintain the whole length of the tubes submerged. Used in steam wagons and similar, where the water-level may be disturbed as the vehicle climbs a hill.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Sulzer boiler: a monotube "once-through" steam generator.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
three-drum boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: water-tube boilers with three drums in a triangular arrangement. The best known of these are the Yarrow and Admiralty patterns. Lesser-known examples are the Normand and Mumford.
Thuile locomotiveScript error: No such module "anchor".: a unique variant of the Flaman boiler using a barrel that was an elongated figure-8 section rather than circular.[27]
vertical boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: flued or fire-tube designs where the main shell is a cylinder on a vertical axis, rather than horizontal. Boilers of this external form may have a great variety of internal arrangements.
wagon boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: an early boiler, enlarged from the haystack to a flat-sided rectangular plan that permitted a larger grate area, but could only withstand low pressures.
Woolf boiler:Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Yarrow boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".:[2][26][32]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[33]
Yorkshire steam wagon boilerScript error: No such module "anchor".: A double-ended transverse-mounted boiler used in steam wagons, to avoid problems of tilting when climbing hills. Internally it resembled a locomotive or Fairlie boiler with a central firebox and multiple fire-tubes to each end. In the Yorkshire though, a second bank of fire-tubes above returned to a central smokebox and a single chimney.
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