Hoses Used to Warm Equipment

Using a hose to pour water over certain equipment to warm the equipment or using a hose to route steam has also been successfully employed in many chemical plants. In a plant that required a small amount of chlorine gas from a ton cylinder, operators have poured warm water over the vessel to slightly increase the chlorine vaporization rate. This has worked well for years. 

However, there have been stories at inter-plant safety meetings that steam hoses created dangerous modifications. It seems that individuals who were unfamiliar with one-ton chlorine cylinder design placed steam hoses exhausting directly onto the portable cylinders to increase chlorine vaporization. 

A chlorine cylinder design includes three fuse plugs (which melt at 165° F or 74° C) in each end. The heat from steam reportedly melted the plugs and the chlorine escaped through 3/8-inch (0.9 cm) diameter orifices. (See Chapter 3 for details.) (A tragedy also occurred when a steam hose was used on an ice cream refrigeration unit in Chapter 4.) 

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Accident Involving Compressors, Hoses, and Pumps 153 Hoses Used to Warm Equipment... 

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