[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 46, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 46CFR61.05-10]

[Page 288-289]
 
                           TITLE 46--SHIPPING
 
   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 61_PERIODIC TESTS AND INSPECTIONS--Table of Contents
 
             Subpart 61.05_Tests and Inspections of Boilers
 
Sec. 61.05-10  Boilers in service.

    (a) Each boiler, including superheater, reheater, economizer, 
auxiliary boiler, low-pressure heating boiler, and unfired steam boiler, 
must be available for examination by the marine inspector at intervals 
specified by Table 61.05-10, and more often if necessary, to determine 
that the complete unit is in a safe and satisfactory condition. When a 
hydrostatic test is required, the marine inspector may examine all 
accessible parts of the boiler while it is under pressure.
    (b) The owner, master, or person in charge of the vessel shall give 
ample notice to the cognizant Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, so 
that a marine inspector may witness the tests and make the required 
inspections.
    (c) Firetube boilers which cannot be entered or which cannot be 
satisfactorily examined internally, all boilers of lap seam construction 
and all boilers to which extensive repairs have been made or the 
strength of which the marine inspector has any reason to question, shall 
be subjected to a hydrostatic test of 1\1/2\ times the maximum allowable 
working pressure. All other boilers shall be subjected to a hydrostatic 
test of 1\1/4\ times the maximum allowable working pressure.
    (d) In applying hydrostatic pressure to boilers, arrangements shall 
be made to prevent main and auxiliary stop valves from being 
simultaneously subjected to the hydrostatic pressure on one side and 
steam pressure on the other side.
    (e) If the marine inspector has reason to believe that the boiler 
has deteriorated to any appreciable extent under the bottom where it 
rests on saddles or foundations, he shall cause the boiler to be lifted 
to such position that it can be thoroughly examined, provided the 
examination cannot be made otherwise.
    (f) The marine inspector may require any boiler to be drilled or 
gaged to determine actual thickness any time its safety is in doubt. At 
the first inspection for certification after a firetube or flue boiler 
has been installed for 10 years, it shall be gaged to determine the 
extent of deterioration. Thickness will be measured at or near the 
waterline, at the bottom and at such other places deemed necessary by 
the marine inspector. Examination may be by drilling or a nondestructive 
means acceptable to the marine inspector. Prior to the use of a 
nondestructive method of examination, the user shall demonstrate to the 
marine inspector that results having an accuracy within plus or minus 5 
percent are consistently obtainable when using specimens similar to 
those to be examined on the boiler.
    (g) If the thickness is found to be less than the original thickness 
upon which

[[Page 289]]

the maximum allowable working pressure was based, it shall be 
recalculated. The thickness of the thinnest measured portion shall be 
used in this calculation. Either the design formulas given in this 
subchapter or the ones in effect when the boiler was contracted for or 
built may normally be used in this recalculation. In no case will an 
increase in the pressure allowed be made.

                             Table 61.05-10--Inspection Intervals for Boilers 1 2 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                           Any
                                                             Firetube      Watertube     firetube     Firetube
                                                            boiler [gE]     boiler      boiler for  boiler < 150
                                                              150 psi                   propulsion       psi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hydro Test:
    Passenger Vessel.....................................           2.5           2.5            1           2.5
    Other Vessel.........................................           2.5           5              1           5
Fireside Inspection......................................           1             2.5            1           2.5
Waterside Inspection.....................................           1             2.5            1           2.5
Boiler Safety-Valve Test.................................           1             2.5            1           1
Valves Inspection........................................           5             5              5           5
Studs and Bolts Inspection...............................          10            10             10          10
Mountings Inspection.....................................          10            10             10          10
Steam Gauge Test.........................................           2.5           2.5          2.5           2.5
Fusible Plug Inspection..................................           2.5  ............          2.5           2.5 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ All intervals are in years.
\2\ Where the 2.5-year interval is indicated: two tests or inspections must occur within any five-year period,
  and no more than three years may elapse between any test or inspection and its immediate predecessor.
\3\ Intervals for hybrid boilers are the same as for firetube boilers.


[CGFR 68-82, 33 FR 18890, Dec. 18, 1968, as amended by CGD 80-064, 49 FR 
32193, Aug. 13, 1984; CGD 83-043, 60 FR 24781, May 10, 1995; USCG-1999-
4976, 65 FR 6500, Feb. 9, 2000]