Inspector of Cranes

[Rena]

One of my grandfathers was a time served engineer up in Glasgow and he became a boiler inspector for an insurance company; it was in this capacity that he travelled around the country.  If any boiler whatever job it was doing, whether being used in a factory, or to drive a train, or a tractor, or a crane, the insurance company stipulated that their boiler inspector was the first person to start up the boiler after it had been repaired.

In the early days boilers tended to explode due to a build up of steam pressure, thus rather dangerous to be near.   I've been told that there was a race for the first person to produce a fusible plug that would stop boilers exploding.

[Mvann]

Fusible plugs are for when the water level gets to low. Most boiler explosions were due to poor maintenance or because it was too easy to set the safety valves to a higher pressure than what they had been passed for.

[decor]

One of my grandfathers was a time served engineer up in Glasgow and he became a boiler inspector for an insurance company; it was in this capacity that he travelled around the country.  If any boiler whatever job it was doing, whether being used in a factory, or to drive a train, or a tractor, or a crane, the insurance company stipulated that their boiler inspector was the first person to start up the boiler after it had been repaired.

In the early days boilers tended to explode due to a build up of steam pressure, thus rather dangerous to be near.   I've been told that there was a race for the first person to produce a fusible plug that would stop boilers exploding.

Interesting all the jobs there are out there! Thanks, Rena

[Rena]

Fusible plugs are for when the water level gets to low. Most boiler explosions were due to poor maintenance or because it was too easy to set the safety valves to a higher pressure than what they had been passed for.

I'm only going on what my father (d1980s), a mechanical engineer, told me about his boiler inspector father who died c1927.  His father was amongst hundreds who patented their own fusible plug/fuse, but which never got bought or used.   The favoured one being manufactured by Vulcan.