Klinger Gauge Glass
and Gasket Parts Supplier
Level gauge glasses, KLINGERSIL gasket sheet and piston valve parts from the Austrian KLINGER Group, read from the gauge, the sheet print and the valve body, so the line names what is fitted rather than what the word Klinger suggests.
KLINGER items that reach a parts request
The KLINGER Group is based in Gumpoldskirchen, Austria, and traces its start to the workshop Richard Klinger opened in 1886. His level gauge for steam boilers came first, Klingerit gasket sheet followed in 1898, and the asbestos-free KLINGERSIL sheets later took its place. On a ship the name turns up on three kinds of item: gauge glasses and level gauges, gasket sheet and the joints cut from it, and valves. The sheet grades below appear both in KLINGER's own range and in independent supply listings.
Reflex and transparent level gauges
KLINGER level gauges show the liquid level in boilers and vessels through flat glass. A reflex gauge has one grooved glass, with the liquid dark and the steam space bright; a transparent gauge holds the medium between two plain glasses; a bi-colour gauge shows steam and water in two colours. The gauge type decides the spare: the glass, its gaskets and, on a transparent gauge, the mica shields.
Flat gauge glasses
A flat gauge glass is identified by three things: reflex or transparent, the cross-section letter and the length. Type A and type B are the DIN 7081 cross-sections, made by several glass makers, so the letter alone does not make a glass a KLINGER one. The gauge glass size finder turns a letter and a length, or a measured glass, into a request line.
KLINGERSIL C-4400
The general-purpose KLINGERSIL grade: aramid fibres bound with NBR rubber, used on oil, fuel, water, steam and gas joints, and bought as sheet or as cut joints. A request names C-4400 because that is the grade on the drawing or printed on the old sheet, and another grade is not put in its place without saying so.
KLINGERSIL C-4430
A KLINGERSIL grade of synthetic and glass fibres bound with NBR, which KLINGER offers for hot water and steam as well as oils and fuels; bought as sheet or as cut flange joints. Its number is close to C-4400 and the two are easy to mix up on a requisition, so the line copies the grade exactly as printed, including any word after the number.
Piston valves
KLINGER also makes piston valves. A piston valve shuts with its piston sitting between an upper and a lower valve ring, so the rings, and the piston if its face is scored, are the usual spares. They are ordered for the valve type and size marked on the body, not for a valve of the same bore from another maker.
Klingerit
Klingerit was KLINGER's first gasket sheet and was made with asbestos; KLINGERSIL replaced it. A drawing or spare list that still names Klingerit is never filled with asbestos sheet: the joint is matched to a current asbestos-free grade, put on the line as a checked alternative and confirmed before the quote.
What brings a KLINGER item onto a parts list
Most requests start from something the watchkeeper can see: a level that is hard to read, a joint that weeps or a valve that will not hold.
Level line fading
Boiler water slowly attacks the grooved face of a reflex glass, and the sharp line between water and steam turns grey. KLINGER itself rules reflex gauges out for some duties, high-pressure steam among them, and such boilers carry bi-colour gauges or transparent gauges with mica shields instead. Say which gauge the glass sits in before a glass is quoted.
Glass clouding on the medium side
Where steam, hot water or alkaline water touches a plain glass, a mica shield on the medium side protects it. A clouded glass that ran without mica, or a cracked shield, puts both glass and mica on the request, and the line says which of them was fitted.
Joint weeping at a flange
A cut joint that weeps after a hot spell has often lost its bolt load or met a medium its grade does not suit. State the medium in the line and whether the joint sat on steam, oil or water, so the grade on the new line fits the duty instead of repeating an old choice.
Passing when shut
A piston valve that lets the medium by when shut, or weeps at the top, points to its valve rings. The ring set is ordered for the valve type and size on the body, and the piston goes on the same line if its sealing face is scored.
KLINGER items on RFQ lines
Listed by item: the glass, its gaskets, the mica and the gauge body are separate lines, and each names the gauge it belongs to.
- Flat gauge glasses, reflex or transparent, by type letter and length
- Glass gaskets for the gauge, listed with the glass they seal
- Mica shields for transparent glasses on steam, hot water or alkaline duty
- Complete level gauges of the same type where the body is worn out
- Gauge cocks and shut-off valves on the level gauge, from their own marking
- KLINGERSIL sheet by grade, including C-4400 and C-4430
- Joints cut from KLINGERSIL sheet to a drawing or to the old joint
- Valve rings and pistons for KLINGER piston valves
Reading a KLINGER item before a line is quoted
Glass, sheet and valve are each read from their own marking. These details make the request quotable without anyone guessing:
- Maker name as marked on the glass, the gauge plate or the sheet print: KLINGER, a national KLINGER company or another maker
- Glass type: reflex (grooved face) or transparent (plain faces), and the cross-section letter; the gauge glass size finder checks letter and length
- Glass length as measured or as stamped, and the gauge model from its plate
- Duty at the gauge: boiler water, steam, fuel or another liquid, and whether a mica shield was fitted
- Gasket sheet grade exactly as printed, such as KLINGERSIL C-4400, with the medium on the joint; elastomer letters such as NBR are explained in the elastomer code reader
- For a spiral wound joint rather than a sheet joint, the colour code read with the spiral wound gasket reader
- Valve type and size as marked on the body, and the fault: passing when shut or weeping at the top
- Photographs of the gauge plate, the ends of the glass and the print on the sheet
How a KLINGER request is worked
Every line is handled as a genuine part or a checked alternative, confirmed before the quote. The review starts from the marking, because the word Klinger on a requisition says less than it seems.
Glass by type and length
A gauge glass is matched by reflex or transparent, its cross-section letter and its length, all read from the gauge. A glass offered as a Klinger type is checked for who made it before the quote calls it KLINGER.
Mica by duty
A mica shield goes on a transparent glass where the medium attacks glass: steam, hot water, alkaline water. For a reflex glass the glass makers' advice differs, so the gauge maker's own drawing decides.
Sheet by grade name
Each KLINGERSIL grade stands for itself. C-4400 is quoted as C-4400; if the joint needs another grade, it goes on the line as a checked alternative with the reason stated, never as a silent swap.
No asbestos sheet
Old lists that name Klingerit get a current asbestos-free grade, chosen for the medium on the joint and confirmed with the superintendent before the quote.
Klinger gauge glass and gasket parts — questions from the ship
Is every "Klinger glass" made by KLINGER?
Not necessarily. The same flat glass types are made by several glass makers, KLINGER among them, and a gauge of one make can carry another maker's glass. The glass type and size are read from the gauge, the maker from the marking on the glass, and the offer says plainly whose glass it is.
Can KLINGERSIL C-4430 be sent where C-4400 is listed?
Not without saying so. Each grade is quoted under its own name. If C-4430 or another grade suits the medium better, it goes on the line as a checked alternative for the owner to accept, confirmed before the quote.
Our spare list still says Klingerit. What is offered?
Klingerit was made with asbestos, and asbestos sheet is not supplied. Send the medium and the joint drawing or the old joint; an asbestos-free KLINGERSIL grade is proposed as a checked alternative and confirmed before the quote.
Does a transparent gauge glass need a mica shield?
Where steam, hot water or alkaline water reaches the glass, yes: the shield sits on the medium side. Say whether the old glass had one. For a reflex glass, follow the gauge maker's drawing.
Are the glass gaskets included with the glass?
Only when asked for. Gaskets and mica shields are separate lines; list them next to the glass with the gauge type, and the gauge glass size finder writes the glass line itself.
Is Vessel Core connected to Klinger?
No, and there is no agreement of any kind. Vessel Core holds no distribution, representation or partnership agreement with Klinger, and quoting a component against one of its designations implies no approval by the maker and no claim of interchangeability.
Start with the gauge, not the name.
Send the gauge plate, reflex or transparent, the type letter and length of the glass, and whether a mica shield was fitted. For sheet, send the grade as printed; for a valve, the type and size on the body.
