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lfish: The difference is that one had the ocean for a coolant, and the other the atmosphere. Think of the difference between sticking your hand into a 350 degree oven (safe if you don't touch metal) and into a pot of 212 degree boiling water (not safe!). The ability of air to absorb heat, compared to water, is immense, so the size of the condenser becomes huge in order to get enough surface area, and fluid flow (thinking of air as a fluid) to achieve the same amount of cooling that could be accomplished in a steamship with something between the size of a refrigerator and a small walk-in cooler. Steamships from a very early date were condensing, and if operating in saltwater also had evaporators to supply make-up water as well as potable water. As steamships age they develop leaks, losing pure water to the atmosphere, and then the ability of the evaporator to keep up with the demand for water becomes the key to keeping the boiler lit and having steam to turn the screw. Loosing the evaporator on a steamship with a heavy demand for makeup water can literally mean the death of the ship, if it happens to be in shoaling waters with an onshore wind at the moment the evaporator craps out. More than one large ship has been lost from want of makeup water. <br /> <br />Almost every railroad operating through desert regions had to treat boiler water to remove alkali, along with many other roads. UP, SP, Santa Fe, D&RGW, WP, and T&P all spent immense sums installing and operating water treatment plants, and washing and maintaining boilers to remove mineral deposits. They were all glad to be rid of that albatross when diesels arrived. <br /> <br />OS
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