2015 Code of Virginia
Title 40.1 - Labor and Employment
§ 40.1-51.19:3. Inspection and testing

A. A hobby or model boiler shall be inspected every two years inclusive. It shall be the duty of the owner of any hobby or model boiler to obtain and display an inspection certificate. A hobby or model boiler can be placed in nonoperating status upon written notification to the chief inspector. Normal inspection procedures apply when reinstating the boiler.

B. The inspection of every hobby or model boiler shall include an examination of or for the following:

1. The fusible plug, if provided in the original design.

2. The safety valve or valves. Such valve or valves shall be (i) marked with an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) stamp, (ii) set at or below the maximum allowable working pressure, and (iii) sealed in a manner that does not allow tampering with the valve without destroying the seal. The requirement of clause (i) shall be waived for model boilers upon the passage of an accumulation test.

3. Internal corrosion.

4. Leakage.

5. The boiler power piping, up to and including the first valve.

C. A hobby or model boiler shall be subjected to nondestructive testing, at the owner's expense, to determine the maximum allowable working pressure in accordance with Boiler and Pressure Vessel Regulations ( 16 VAC 25-50-10 et seq.).

D. All hobby and model boilers shall pass a hydrostatic test. The pressure shall be at one and one-quarter maximum allowable working pressure, as determined by the inspection certificate and as deemed necessary based on inspections or other evidence. A hobby or model boiler that does not meet the requirements of the ASME code and is not registered in the Commonwealth shall, at the owner's expense, be tested to one and one-half times the maximum allowable working pressure for hobby boilers and twice the maximum allowable working pressure for model boilers and, to be operated, shall have a successful (i) for lap seam and nonstandard welded boilers only, complete radiographic or ultrasonic examination of the long or longitudinal seam; (ii) ultrasonic examination for metal thickness, and for the purpose of calculating the maximum allowable working pressure, the thinnest reading shall be used; and (iii) for hobby boilers with lap seam construction, dye penetrant or magnetic particle examination for cracks with an ultrasonic or radiographic examination of areas where testing shows possible cracks.

The requirements of this subsection for hobby boilers only testing to one and one-half times the maximum allowable working pressure or full radiographic or ultrasonic examination may be waived after the initial inspection if the inspector finds that the general standards of subsection B are met and the safety valve or valves are set at the maximum allowable working pressure determined by the following: calculations from the ultrasonic results or 100 pounds per square inch, whichever is lower. If a variance is requested for butt strap hobby boilers, the Commissioner shall not deny such variance request without a given, valid reason.

The requirements of this subsection for model boilers only for testing to twice the maximum allowable working pressure or full radiographic or ultrasonic examination may be waived after the initial inspection if the inspector finds that the general standards of subsection B are met and the safety valve or valves are set at the maximum allowable working pressure determined by the following: calculations from the ultrasonic results or 100 pounds per square inch, whichever is lower.

Any boiler which has been without a documented inspection within the past twenty years must have a two times maximum allowable working pressure hydro test prior to its operation.

E. Any hobby or model boiler holding a current out-of-state inspection certificate shall be accepted by the Commonwealth of Virginia, provided the inspection standards meet or exceed standards adopted by the Commonwealth.

1999, c. 335; 2000, cc. 879, 898.