Took apart a 30 year old water wall tube and could not believe the scale difference
Pulled a section of tube from a unit up in Gary, Indiana that had been running since 1994 and the inside looked like a whole different pipe. The ID had built up maybe 3/8 of an inch of scale and deposit over those years, and the flow area was cut way down compared to a new tube sitting right next to it. We cut it lengthwise to show the crew and everybody just stared at it. Has anyone else kept an old section like this to show apprentices what happens when water treatment slips?
Used to think that scale buildup was kinda overblown honestly, like yeah it happens but how bad can it really get. Then a guy I worked with showed me a cutaway from a boiler that ran about 25 years and the wall of crap inside was so thick you could barely see daylight through it. Seeing that much flow area just gone really drove it home for me that water treatment is not some paperwork thing you blow off. Keeping a section like that is a smart move too, way better than any slide show for showing the young guys what's at stake. Might have to start saving a piece off the next job we pull.