BOILER REPAIR - REFRACTORY OM9210#25.

Boiler repair - refractory

1 Refractory repair
The furnace floor is lined with an insulating material (Verilite R6), close to the
casing covered with a layer of castable refractory (Plicast 31).
The refractory is made with expansion joints, which should under no circumstances
be blocked or filled on purpose.
Even though the refractory is made with expansion joints, it will tend to make
additional natural expansion joints, which will be seen as fissures. However, the
fissures will generally close when the boiler is put into service. Please note the
following guidelines when examining the fissures:
 white/light fissures, which are getting darker over the time and are closing when
the boiler is in service and opening in cold condition, need no further attention.
 dark/black fissures suddenly occurred, seen in cold condition and are not closing
when boiler is in service need to be repaired/filled up with refractory (Plicast
31).
All refractory subjected to wear will, eventually, need to be repaired. This can be
done as a temporary repair or on a permanent basis.

1.1 Temporary repair

Smaller areas can be temporarily repaired making use of the repair mix Plistix 14,
supplied separately with the boiler equipment.
The durability of such a repair depends on the location, but the more exposed to
heat, the shorter lifetime. Generally, it is recommended to replace a temporary repair
with a repair on a permanent basis within one year.
Temporary repairs in vertical places ought to be made “swallow tailed”, see Figure
1, if possible. This secures a better attachment to the existing refractory.

Sketch indicating a “swallow tail” repair

R e fra c to ry S w a llo w ta il
(fille d in w ith P lis tix 1 4 )
Figure 1 swaltail.cdr

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 BOILER REPAIR - REFRACTORY OM9210#25.0

The surface to which the temporary repair is performed, must always be clean, dry
and rugged.
Mixing instructions for the castable refractory appears from the instruction on the
plastic bucket.

Note: Plistix 14 must be applied to the site immediately when mixed.

The boiler can be lightened-up approx. 1 hour after the refractory has been applied.
The refractory needs no further time for hardening.
If the boiler is pressurized, the lighting-up should be started with the burner in “on”
position for one (1) minute and then in “off” for two (2) minutes, during the first
half (½) hour. Then it can be started up according to the ordinary lighting-up
procedure.

Note: Observe the safety rules regarding the refractory which can be seen on
the plastic bucket.

1.2 Permanent repair

Major repairs and renewal of temporary repairs shall always be carried out and
supervised by maker’s specialists, among other things securing that correct drying-
out time and lighting-up is observed.

1.3 Boilers with membrane furnace wall

The refractory applied to a damaged membrane furnace wall must be carried out as
shown in Figure 2.

Refractory applied to a membrane furnace wall

F urnace tub e

F aile d tube

P lica st 31

Figure 2 plugrefrac.cdr

Warning: Failed Y-anchors must only be replaced by Y-anchors made from

heat resistant steel. Y-anchors made from incorrect materials will
cause damage to the refractory.

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2 Maintenance of refractory

Note: The refractory should be inspected once a year for shape and wear. It is
recommended to carry out an inspection in due time prior to long repair
periods such as dry docking, etc. Should a repair be required castable
refractors and bricklayers can then be ordered on short notice.

If the refractory has been exposed to water, the refractory should be dried out as
soon as possible. The drying out can be done by hot air (approx. 50°C) or by
operating the oil burner.

Warning: However, if the burner is being used, the burner should be operated
with great care.

Warning: Generated steam evaporated from water absorbed into the

refractory might cause fissures and cracks when expanding, if the
heat input from the oil burner is too heavy.

2.1 Typical refractory data

Below in Table 1 is a list of typical refractory data shown.

Refractory data
Verilite R6 Plicast 31 Plistix 14
Al2O3 32% 44% 48%
SiO2 24% 46% 43%
Fe2O2 12% 1% 1%
TiO2 1.6% 1% 1.9%
CaO 23.3% 6.5% 4.8%
MgO 6.1% 0.5% 0.2%
Alkanes 1% 1% -
Na2O - - 0.1%
K 2O - - 0.2%
Operating range 100-1000C 20-1450C 100-1420C

Table 1

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