Free MA Boiler Operator Exam Flashcards

The Department of Fire Services, through its Boiler and Pressure Vessel Program in Stow. DFS administers both the licenses and the exams under M.G.L. c. 146 and 522 CMR. No third-party testing vendor is used.

Second Class Fireman, First Class Fireman, Third Class Engineer, Second Class Engineer, and First Class Engineer. Special-to-operate and special-to-have-charge licenses are issued separately for one named plant. Massachusetts has no fourth class engineer grade.

Operate any boiler or boilers under the engineer or fireman in direct charge (M.G.L. c. 146, § 49). The holder never has charge of a plant. It is the only grade with no endorsement requirement, and like the First Class Fireman it has no U.S. citizenship requirement (§ 50 applies that rule only to the engineer grades).

Have charge of and operate boilers whose safety valves are set to blow at 25 psi or less, or operate high-pressure boilers under the engineer or fireman in direct charge. The holder may also operate a third class plant under the engineer in direct charge (§ 49).

Boilers up to 150 horsepower in the aggregate when solid fuel is burned, or up to 500 horsepower when steam comes from liquid or gaseous fuel, electricity, atomic energy, or another heat source, plus engines of not more than 50 horsepower each. The holder may also operate a second class plant under the engineer in direct charge (§ 49).

Have charge of and operate a boiler or boilers, and have charge of and operate engines of which no one exceeds 150 horsepower, or operate a first class plant under the engineer in direct charge (§ 49).

Have charge of and operate any steam plant, with no horsepower limit. Qualifying routes are three years as engineer in charge of a plant with an engine or turbine over 150 horsepower, one and one-half years using a Second Class Engineer license, or three years on an equivalent Merchant Marine or out-of-state license (§§ 49, 50).

One year employed in a boiler or steam power plant as a steam engineer, fireman, control room operator, water tender, auxiliary operator, or engineer's assistant, or six months holding and using a Second Class Fireman license (§ 50).

One and one-half years employed in a boiler or steam power plant as a steam engineer, fireman, control room operator, watertender, auxiliary operator, or engineer's assistant; or one year holding and using a First Class Fireman license; or one year using an equivalent U.S. Merchant Marine license or a current third class license from another state (§ 50). The two-year, 50-horsepower engine route belongs to the Second Class Engineer grade, not this one.

An engineer or fireman holding a Massachusetts license of the same grade or higher, attesting to the applicant's experience and trustworthiness. Second Class Fireman and special-license applications need no endorsement. Willful falsification suspends or revokes the endorser's own license (§ 50).

Be at least 18 years old, be a U.S. citizen or have filed a declaration of intent if applying for a Third, Second or First Class Engineer license (§ 50 sets no citizenship rule for either fireman grade), and pass both a written and an oral examination. Form BPV-010 is mailed to the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Program in Stow with the processing fee, a photo or RMV photo release, and documented work experience, and it is sworn before a district engineering inspector.

First and Second Class Fireman $100 each, Third Class Engineer $100, and First and Second Class Engineer $150 each. Renewal is $90 for every grade. Special-to-operate and special-to-have-charge licenses are $100 new and $90 to renew.

Five years, with no renewal exam. Every fireman and engineer grade must complete 30 hours of approved continuing education during the term; special-license holders need six hours. A license not renewed by its expiration date becomes void and, after one year, is restored only by re-examination (522 CMR 18.00).

Each application entitles the candidate to one examination only, and no one may apply for a license of a particular class more often than once in 60 days (M.G.L. c. 146, § 57). A refusal, suspension, or revocation may be appealed within one week to a three-member board of appeal, whose decision is final (§ 66).

Locomotives, motor vehicles, approved turbine test stands, units in private residences, boilers in apartment houses of fewer than five units, equipment under U.S. jurisdiction, exclusively agricultural, horticultural, or floricultural use, units under nine horsepower, and boilers with an approved device limiting pressure to 15 psi (§ 46).

Nine to 250 horsepower requires periodic attendance. From 251 to 500 horsepower requires noncontinuous attendance. Plants of 501 horsepower or more require continuous attendance by a licensed operator (M.G.L. c. 146, § 46).

Only if the second plant is within one mile of the plant they are designated to be in charge of, or a licensed second or third class engineer or fireman is in attendance there and performs their duties under that engineer's supervision (§ 49).

It authorizes service at one named plant and no other. It cannot give charge of or permission to operate an engine over 50 horsepower or boilers exceeding 250 horsepower in the aggregate. It requires a written request signed by the plant owner or user and an oral exam given at the work site (§ 49).

In a manufacturing plant an unlicensed person may operate a simple non-condensing engine of not more than 150 horsepower under a licensed person on duty. In any plant, one unlicensed person may operate boiler or engine appurtenances under the personal direction of each licensed person (§ 46).

Internally and externally at least once a year in accordance with the NBIC, with the annual external inspection performed within six months after the annual internal inspection (522 CMR 2.06(2)).

A District Engineering Inspector of the DFS Division of Inspections (M.G.L. c. 146, § 6). Later annual inspections may be performed by a District Engineering Inspector or by an Authorized Inservice Inspector employed by an insurance company holding a National Board accreditation.

Posted in a conspicuous place near the boiler, protected from dirt and moisture, and always accessible to inspectors. An inspector who finds the boiler unsafe removes the certificate, and the boiler may not be operated until a valid certificate is reissued (522 CMR 2.06(3)).

At least seven years, at the location of the boiler. The Engineer in Charge signs the Engineer's Record Book daily and reviews the Operator's Log Book daily (522 CMR 2.02).

Appointment to or departure from the position, within seven days, in a format approved by the Chief. A reportable accident or incident must be reported to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency within 24 hours of the event (522 CMR 2.02).

They must follow NBIC Part 3 and be performed by an accredited "R" Certificate Holder. Signed National Board Form R-1 (repair) or R-2 (alteration) copies go to the Division of Inspections, and distributing the forms is the repair organization's responsibility (522 CMR 2.04).

At least once every two years, when the tank has a design MAWP greater than 50 psi, an internal diameter greater than six inches, and an internal volume greater than one cubic foot (522 CMR 1.04(3)(b)).

A boiler with steam above 15 psig, hot water above 160 psig, or hot water above 250°F. Anything at or below all three values is a Low Pressure/Heating Boiler (522 CMR 1.02).

Section I covers construction of power boilers, Section IV covers heating boilers, Section VIII covers pressure vessels, and Section IX covers welding, brazing, and fusing qualifications.

The 2021 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, the 2021 National Board Inspection Code (Parts 1 through 4), ASME CSD-1-2021, ASME B31.1-2020 Power Piping, and NFPA 85, 2019 edition (522 CMR 1.03).

From the manufacturer's nameplate, or by dividing steam output capacity by 34.5, Btu/hr input by 41,840, or Btu/hr output by 33,475 (M.G.L. c. 146, § 48; 522 CMR 2.06(7)).

A steel plate boiler built by an authorized manufacturer to the ASME Section IV rules for heating boilers but not stamped with the code symbol (522 CMR 1.02). It is a Massachusetts-only classification.

A repair restores a pressure-retaining item to a safe operating condition. An alteration changes the item as described on the original Manufacturer's Data Report in a way that affects its pressure-containing capability, including raising the MAWP or the design temperature (522 CMR 1.02).

At least one. A boiler with more than 500 square feet of bare tube water-heating surface, or an electric boiler over 1,100 kW input, must have two or more (PG-67.1). The safety valve is the last line of defense against overpressure.

Safety valve capacity must keep pressure from rising more than 6% above the highest pressure at which any valve is set, and in no case more than 6% above the maximum allowable working pressure (PG-67.2).

When the maximum allowable working pressure exceeds 400 psi. Below that threshold one gauge glass is acceptable. Under the code's conditions, two independent remote water level indicators may let one required glass be shut off but kept serviceable (ASME Section I, PG-60).

Measured bottom blowdowns per the water-treatment supplier's instructions, surface blowdown, water column blowdown, testing the low-water cutoff and feedwater regulator, operating safety valves manually on start-up, checking auxiliary lubrication, verifying ignition on start-up, and keeping the boiler room clean (M.G.L. c. 146, § 46A).

The maximum time a flame safeguard may take to close the fuel valve after it loses the flame signal. ASME CSD-1 limits main burner flame failure response time to four seconds on most automatically fired boilers. Massachusetts adopts CSD-1-2021.

Any device letting a steam boiler operate below 10% of its normal operating pressure, dual pressure controls on boilers operating above 15 psig, and manual safety-control bypass switches without dead-man capability. No such switch may be able to fail in the closed position (522 CMR 2.03(2)).

It must monitor at least steam pressure and water level and include a remote shutdown switch. Signals must be uninterruptible, and the system must include visible alarms and annunciators (522 CMR 2.03(3)).

It is a heat storage source pressure vessel that uses steam to strip oxygen and carbon dioxide from boiler feedwater (522 CMR 1.02). Removing dissolved oxygen is the first defense against pitting corrosion in the boiler and feedwater system.

Bottom blowdown removes sludge and settled solids from the lowest part of the boiler. Surface, or continuous, blowdown draws off dissolved solids that concentrate at the water line. Massachusetts requires both on the daily operator checklist in M.G.L. c. 146, § 46A.

Scale insulates metal from the water, so heat cannot pass into the water. Tube and shell metal overheats, loses strength, and can bag, blister, or rupture. Scale also wastes fuel by forcing a higher firing rate for the same steam output.

Boiler water carried out with the steam as moisture, solids, or foam. Common causes are a high water level, high dissolved solids, oil or organic contamination, and sudden load swings. Carryover fouls superheaters, valves, and turbine blading and can cause water hammer.

Mechanical deaeration still leaves a trace of dissolved oxygen, which is enough to pit metal. A chemical scavenger such as sodium sulfite consumes that residual oxygen, protecting the feedwater line, the economizer, and the boiler tubes.

Time, temperature, and turbulence. Fuel needs enough residence time in the furnace, a temperature high enough to sustain ignition, and turbulent mixing with air. Shorting any one of them yields incomplete combustion, carbon monoxide, smoke, and wasted fuel.

Excess air ensures every fuel particle finds oxygen, preventing carbon monoxide and soot. Too much excess air carries heat up the stack as dry flue gas loss, so operators trim air to the lowest level that still keeps combustion clean.

A purge rate of not less than 25% of full-load mass airflow for at least five volume changes of the boiler enclosure, with all fuel safety shutoff valves proven closed (the 'five minutes or five volume changes, whichever is longer' wording applies to components such as precipitators and to HRSGs, not to the boiler furnace purge). Single-burner boilers follow a different NFPA 85 rule: not less than 70% of full-load airflow for at least eight air changes, or four air changes for automatic firetube boilers. The purge clears accumulated fuel before ignition.

No. 6 is a heavy residual oil far too viscous to pump or atomize cold. Storage, line, and burner heaters bring it down to the viscosity the atomizer needs. No. 2 oil is light enough to burn without preheating.

Secure the fuel and shut the burner down. Never feed water into a boiler whose level is out of sight: cold water striking overheated metal flashes to steam and can rupture the boiler. Let it cool, then find why the level was lost.

Damp metal exposed to air corrodes quickly during an outage. Dry lay-up drains and dries the boiler and adds a desiccant. Wet lay-up fills it completely with treated, deaerated water held at high pH. Doing neither invites oxygen pitting.