(1) Each boiler or pressure vessel used or proposed to be used within this state, except boilers or pressure vessels exempt under KRS § 236.060, shall be thoroughly inspected as to their construction, installation, and condition as follows:
(a) Power boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection annually which shall be an internal inspection where construction permits; otherwise it shall be as complete an inspection as possible. Such boilers shall also be externally inspected while under pressure if possible;

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 236.110

  • Administrative regulation: means an administrative regulation adopted by the department and filed and approved in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A that is designed to ensure the safety of boilers and pressure vessels that affects or may affect property rights of a designated class of owners, or designed for the prevention of loss or damage to property, loss of life, or personal injury from boiler or pressure vessel explosion or from certain indicated hazards related thereto. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • ASME: means American Society of Mechanical Engineers. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • boiler: shall include fired units for heating or vaporizing liquids other than water where these units are separate from processing systems and are complete within themselves:
    (a) "Power boiler" means a boiler in which steam or other vapor is generated at a pressure of more than fifteen (15) pounds per square inch gauge. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • Boiler inspector: means a duly authorized employee of the department who is charged with the responsibility of inspecting boilers and pressure vessels and with the enforcement of the state boiler laws. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • boilers: means and includes a closed vessel in which water or other liquid is heated, steam or vapor is generated, steam is superheated, or in which any combination of these functions is accomplished, under pressure or vacuum, for use externally to itself, by the direct application of energy from the combustion of fuels, or from electricity, solar or nuclear energy. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • Department: means the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. Source: Federal Reserve
  • Owner: when applied to any animal, means any person having a property interest in such animal. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Pressure vessel: means a vessel in which the pressure is obtained from an external source or by the application of heat other than those vessels defined in subsection (1) of this section. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • Special boiler inspector: means any person employed by an insurance company authorized to insure boilers and pressure vessels in the Commonwealth and who holds a commission as provided in KRS §. See Kentucky Statutes 236.010
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(b) Low pressure steam or vapor heating boilers, hot water heating boilers, and hot water supply boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection biennially; said inspection shall include internal inspection where construction permits. External inspections shall be required where construction does not permit internal inspection;
(c) Pressure vessels shall be inspected at time of installation to ascertain that they are in conformance with KRS § 236.040. Subsequent reinspections, if any, shall be set by administrative regulation of the department;
(d) A grace period of two (2) months beyond the periods specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection may elapse between inspections;
(e) The department may at its discretion permit longer periods between inspections;
(f) All new boiler or pressure vessel installations to be used within this state, excepting boilers or pressure vessels exempted under KRS § 236.060, shall be inspected during the installation period to ascertain that all pressure piping conforms to the requirements of KRS § 236.040. A certificate of inspection may not be issued on any new installation until these requirements are fulfilled;
(g) It shall be the responsibility of the installing contractor to request the above inspection by notifying the boiler inspection section that the installation is ready for inspection. Notification shall be accomplished prior to covering of any welded or mechanical joints on pressure piping or valves by insulation, paint, or structural materials. The contractor shall provide ready access for the inspector to all parts of the piping system;
(h) Inspection of pressure piping shall apply only to new boiler, pressure vessel, or new pressure piping system installations, or reinstallations, or installation of secondhand boilers (as defined under “Boiler Rules and Regulations”). No annual or biennial reinspection shall be required once the system has been approved;
(i) “Existing installations,” as applied to inspection of piping systems is defined as any boiler and piping system completed and approved for operation prior to July 1, 1970, or pressure vessels and associated piping systems completed and approved for operation prior to July 15, 1980.
These existing installations shall not be subject to the foregoing piping inspection unless adjudged patently unsafe for operation by a boiler inspector holding a commission issued by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, or by an owner‘s piping inspector, when authorized. If an existing installation is so adjudged, the owner or user shall be granted full rights of appeal as set forth under KRS § 236.150;
(j) If an existing installation undergoes extensive overhaul or more than fifty (50) linear feet of pressure piping requires renewal or is added to the existing system, the entire system of piping carrying pressure emanating from the boilers shall be subject to inspection and shall be brought up to standards required by KRS § 236.040;
(k) The installing contractor of a piping system carrying pressure emanating from a boiler or pressure vessel subject to inspection under provisions of this chapter, shall pay to the department, upon completion of inspection, fees in accordance with a schedule established by the department;
(l) Operation of a pressure piping system in conjunction with a boiler or pressure vessel, either of which has not been inspected and approved as set forth above, shall be subject to fines and penalties as set forth in KRS
236.990; and
(m) For any boiler or pressure vessel used by a utility to generate power, and operating under a certificate issued pursuant to KRS § 278.020, if the boiler or pressure vessel is inspected by a special boiler inspector pursuant to this section, the inspection interval shall be extended to eighteen (18) months.
(2) The inspections required in this section shall be made by a boiler inspector or by a special boiler inspector, except that all new installations shall be inspected by a boiler inspector employed by the department. However, an owner’s piping inspector may inspect new, repaired, and replaced ASME standard process piping.
(3) If at any time a hydrostatic, pneumatic, or any other nondestructive test shall be deemed necessary for ascertaining acceptability of a boiler, pressure vessel, or associated piping, the same shall be made by the contractor or owner-user, whoever is responsible for the condition, and be witnessed by a boiler inspector, special boiler inspector, or owner’s piping inspector in authorized locations.
(4) All boilers to be installed in this state after July 1, 1970, and all pressure vessels installed in this state after July 15, 1980, shall be inspected during construction as required by the applicable rules and regulations of the department by a boiler inspector authorized to inspect boilers and pressure vessels in this state, or, if constructed outside of the state, by an inspector holding a commission from the national board as an inspector of boilers and pressure vessels.
(5) No person shall willfully falsify any statement designed to secure the issuance, renewal or reinstatement of a certificate of inspection. Violation of this subsection shall subject such a person to the penalties stated in KRS § 236.990.
Effective:June 29, 2017
History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 94, effective June 29, 2017. —
Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 12, effective July 12, 2012. — Amended
2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 524, effective July 15, 2010. — Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 207, sec. 12, effective July 15, 1980. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch.
384, sec. 98, effective June 17, 1978. — Amended 1970 Ky. Acts ch. 246, sec.
5. — Created 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 11.