9.4 The NC Uniform Boiler & Pressure Vessel Act (H1 Reference)

The North Carolina Uniform Boiler & Pressure Vessel Act

Reference Book N. The Board's Exam Reference Book List places the Uniform Boiler and Pressure Vessel Act on the Heating Group 1 lists only. The Board offers the Boiler Laws & Rules book as a free download for study, and notes that an exam copy is provided at the PSI testing center — study it, but do not plan to carry it in.

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1. Who Regulates Boilers in North Carolina

Three separate authorities touch a boiler on a North Carolina job, and confusing them is a standard exam trap:

The Commissioner of Labor adopts the rules, enforces them, inspects, issues inspection certificates, may enjoin violations in civil and criminal courts, and keeps the record of type, dimensions, age, condition, allowable pressure, location and last inspection date of every covered boiler and pressure vessel. The Commissioner appoints a Chief Inspector of the Boiler Safety Bureau. The rules are required to conform as nearly as possible to the standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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2. Statutory Definitions — High vs. Low Pressure

These thresholds are the same numbers that separate ASME Section I from Section IV work, and they decide the inspection frequency:

• High pressure boiler: "a boiler in which steam or other vapor is generated at a pressure of more than 15 psig or water is heated to a temperature greater than 250°F and a pressure greater than 160 psig for use external to itself." High pressure boilers include electric boilers, miniature boilers, high temperature water boilers, and high temperature liquid boilers (other than water).
• Low pressure boiler: "a boiler in which steam or other vapor is generated at a pressure of not more than 15 psig or water is heated to a temperature not greater than 250°F and a pressure not greater than 160 psig," including:
  • Hot water heating boiler — a low pressure boiler supplying heated water returned to the boiler from a piping system, normally used for building heat (the hydronic boiler of Chapter 9).
  • Hot water supply boiler — a low pressure boiler furnishing hot water for use external to itself.
  • Steam heating boiler — a low pressure boiler generating steam for building heat.

External inspection means an inspection of the external surfaces and appurtenances, and may entail shutting the unit down. Internal inspection means as complete an examination as can be made of the internal and external surfaces, which requires the unit to be cooled, drained and opened.

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3. Inspection Frequencies (13 NCAC 13 .0211)

This table is the highest-yield content in the entire Act:

Other operative provisions:

• Certificate basis: issuance of the inspection certificate for a high pressure boiler is based on the results of the internal inspection. If an inspector finds imminent danger during an external inspection, the inspector notifies the Chief Inspector under 13 NCAC 13 .0301(d).
• New-boiler substitution: in place of the first internal inspection of a new high pressure boiler, an inspector may conduct an external inspection where sufficient data can be gathered that way. This does not apply to relocated used boilers or where an extended certificate is requested.
• Inspector authority: inspectors may order coverings removed, internal parts removed, controls and safety devices tested or calibrated, and pressure tests performed whenever conditions warrant, and may require the boiler to be started to verify operating controls.
• Extensions: the Chief Inspector may extend an existing high pressure boiler certificate not more than 90 days past expiration, on written request supported by a commissioned inspector's external inspection report conducted no earlier than 60 days before expiration, containing a recommendation for extension.
• Method: inspections are conducted in accordance with the National Board Inspection Code.
• Reinspection: where a certificate cannot be issued, the boiler or pressure vessel is reinspected after the necessary repairs are made.

Who May Inspect

The Act recognises three inspector types: a Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspector or Deputy Inspector employed by the Department of Labor; a Special or Insurance Inspector regularly employed by an insurer authorized to write boiler and machinery coverage in this State; and owner-user inspectors, who inspect pressure vessels under an owner-user program. Note that inspection certificates are not required for pressure vessels inspected under an owner-user program.

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4. The Inspection Certificate

• G.S. 95-69.16: all boilers and pressure vessels subject to the Article shall be inspected and, on compliance, receive an inspection certificate. No boiler or pressure vessel may be operated without an inspection certificate, except pressure vessels covered by the owner-user exception.
• G.S. 95-69.18: it is a violation to operate without a valid inspection certificate, to operate out of compliance with the Article, or to operate after the Commissioner has refused to issue or has revoked the certificate.
• Civil penalty: a person who violates G.S. 95-69.18(a) or (b) is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each violation.
• The Commissioner may refuse to issue, revoke, suspend, or amend an inspection certificate.

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5. Exemptions (G.S. 95-69.10(b))

The Article applies to all boilers and pressure vessels constructed, used or designed for operation in the State — new and existing — unless specifically excluded. The exclusions a heating contractor meets in practice:

1. Boilers and pressure vessels owned or operated by the federal government, unless that agency requests coverage.
2. Pressure vessels for transportation or storage of compressed gases built to US DOT specifications and properly marked, maintained and requalified.
3. Portable pressure vessels used only for agriculture, or for pumping or drilling in an open field for water, gas, coal, gold, talc or other minerals and metals.
4. Boilers and pressure vessels located in private residences, or in apartment houses of fewer than six families.
5. Air tanks on vehicles licensed under substantially similar out-of-state rules and used in interstate carriage of passengers or freight.
6. Air tanks installed on railroad right-of-way used directly in train operation.
7. Small pressure vessels without a quick-actuating closure that do not exceed any of: 5 cubic feet and 250 psig; 3 cubic feet and 350 psig; 1.5 cubic feet and 600 psig; or an inside diameter of 6 inches with no pressure limitation.

Exam framing: a 250 MBH gas-fired hot water heating boiler in a single-family residence is a low pressure boiler and is exempt from the Act because of exclusion (4) — but installing or replacing it still requires a Heating Group 1 license under 21 NCAC 50 .0507. Move the identical boiler into a 12-unit apartment building and the exemption disappears: it becomes a covered low pressure boiler requiring an external inspection biennially and a valid inspection certificate to operate.

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6. Practical Compliance Sequence for an H1 Contractor

1. Verify the vessel is code-stamped. ASME stamping and National Board registration are what the inspector will check first; the last inspection certificate, the ASME data report and any National Board records are reviewed at inspection.
2. Install to the Mechanical Code and manufacturer's instructions. 21 NCAC 50 .0505(b) makes the State Building Code the minimum standard of competence for the licensee.
3. Notify for the installation inspection. A commissioned inspector inspects all boilers and pressure vessels at the time of installation and at regular intervals thereafter.
4. Prepare the unit properly. For an internal inspection the owner or user must cool, drain and open the vessel; no special preparation is needed for an external inspection.
5. Do not fire the plant without the certificate. Operating without a valid inspection certificate exposes the owner to the $500-per-violation civil penalty and exposes the contractor to a Board complaint for incompetence or misconduct.