🔍 Key Concepts

• How hardness and chlorides get into boiler feedwater • What a leaking condenser tube allows to mix with condensate • How evaporator priming and bilge leaks into feed tanks would change water quality readings

💭 Think About

• For each option, ask: would this allow saltwater, dirty water, or impurities to enter the boiler feedwater system suddenly? • Which sources would bring in both minerals (hardness) and chlorides at the same time, and could this happen as a sudden event? • Is there any option that clearly would NOT match the symptom of a sudden rise in both hardness and chlorides?

✅ Before You Answer

• Compare source of contamination for each choice: seawater vs freshwater vs bilge mixtures • Decide whether each situation would cause a gradual change or a sudden spike in readings • Verify which options could reasonably increase both hardness and chloride content together, not just one of them