Boiler feed water is the water pumped into the shell to replace what leaves as steam. The feed and condensate side runs near 100 °C across the pump, isolation valves, return lines, strainer and blowdown — many small bare surfaces.
Figures are for one boiler. Surface temperatures from a real FLIR survey of a UK commercial boiler house; CAD surface areas uplifted ×1.4 for bolts and irregular geometry; ISO 12241 steady-state (50 mm core, ambient 28 °C, air movement 0.5 m/s).
Drag-free toggle. Visible in this view: feed pump, globe valve, return lines, strainer and blowdown flanges — ~100 °C.3D model: Inzonex · equipment rights belong to the manufacturer
No single surface here is dramatic, but the feedwater set is a cluster of a dozen-plus warm bodies at ~100 °C — a pump casing, valves, a strainer, return runs and blowdown connections. Each is left bare because it is “small” and needs access.
Added together they are a continuous loss worth insulating, and every one of them needs to stay serviceable. Removable covers and pipe sleeves insulate the set while keeping seals, handwheels, unions and the strainer basket reachable.
| Element (this view) | Temp °C | Area m² | Bare W | Insulated W | Surface °C | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feed pump | 100 | 1.49 | 1,664 | 87 | 33 | −95% |
| Globe valve | 100 | 0.36 | 402 | 21 | 33 | −95% |
| Return lines ×3 | 100 | 0.81 | 905 | 48 | 33 | −95% |
| Feed piping ×8 | 100 | 1.20 | 1,340 | 70 | 33 | −95% |
| Filter / strainer | 100 | 0.36 | 402 | 21 | 33 | −95% |
| Blowdown flanges ×2 | 180 | 0.52 | 1,501 | 76 | 39 | −95% |
| Feedwater & blowdown side view, per boiler | 4.7 | 6,214 | 323 | ≤45 | −95% |
ISO 12241, 50 mm Inzonex modular core, ε(bare)=0.9, ε(jacket)=0.85, hconv at 0.5 m/s. Insulated figures are conservative steady-state.
The boiler feed pump body and its casing run near 100 °C. A removable cover insulates the volute while leaving the seal, bearings and coupling accessible for service.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
Feed-line isolation valve at ~100 °C — another small cast body left bare. A shaped cover insulates it without seizing the handwheel.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
Condensate and return runs at ~100 °C. Individually minor, but several short bare sections in the feed set add up to real continuous loss.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
Multiple short bare pipe sections around the feed set. Removable pipe sleeves insulate them and still allow union and flange access.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
The feed strainer body sits at ~100 °C and must open for cleaning — a textbook case for a removable, re-openable cover rather than fixed lagging.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
Blowdown connections see boiler-pressure temperature in bursts and are left bare for safety access. A removable shroud insulates the standing loss while keeping the valve operable.
Cover: Silicone shell + PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) · touch-safe design target ≤45 °C (ISO 13732-1 guidance)
Every module here re-opens for access.
Every surface on this view is covered by an Inzonex modular removable panel: a PAROC stone-wool core (50 mm) in a silicone outer shell — or a more durable PTFE shell as an option. The form-fitting build unbuttons for access and refits after each maintenance cycle. The outer surface drops to a touch-safe ≤45 °C.
Industries that run this boiler
Put in your boiler count, fuel price and running hours — get energy, £ and payback for the whole room.
Open calculator → CarbonEvery bare kilowatt is real fuel and real carbon. See the tonnes and the EU-ETS cost behind it.
Carbon hub → 3D modelRotate the Cochran model, toggle bare vs insulated, and jump to every other surveyed surface.
Open 3D model →The pump casing/volute can be insulated with a removable cover at ~100 °C, while the seal, bearings and coupling stay accessible. It removes a standing loss and a hot-touch hazard.
On the surveyed Cochran the feed pump, valves, returns, strainer and blowdown ran near 100 °C.
Individually no, collectively yes — a feed set of a dozen warm bodies is a continuous multi-hundred-watt loss, cut ~95% with removable sleeves and covers.
Selected readings from this boiler survey. This surface is the marked point.
Every figure on this page comes from the same chain: a radiometric camera reading of the surface, an area rebuilt in CAD from the surveyed machine, and an ISO 12241 calculation from those two. The instrument settings, the area allowance, the energy basis and the list of what was not measured are set out once, in full, on the method page.
| Survey | Cochran, feedwater and blowdown side. FLIR S62 Pro, emissivity 0.90, reflected 25 °C, 3 m, full radiometric correction. Peak on this view 180 °C. |
| Geometry | Rebuilt in CAD from the surveyed machine. This view carries 6 element group(s) and sheds 6.2 kW bare. The ×1.4 factor is a geometry allowance for bolts, seams and irregular surface — it is not a measured area. |
| Calculation | ISO 12241 steady state. Heat loss is calculated from the measured surface temperature and the modelled area — it is not metered. Full method, basis and limits. |
| Largest single item | Feed pump, 1.7 kW on this view. |
On a working Cochran package boiler the rear end plate and the economizer behind it run at 126–130 °C — FLIR-measured, bare. Together they are the sin…Open the measured page
→/ 02From the rear quarter the live-steam fittings come into view — check and main stop valves, the safety valves, the rear manhole, steam flanges and sens…Open the measured page
→/ 03The front door carries the burner and closes onto the furnace tube behind it — a 5.3 m² face at about 120 °C bare. It also has to hinge open for burn…Open the measured page
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