A dryback boiler has a rear wall that is lined with refractory, a wetback boiler has a rear wall that is jacketed by water. Because of this fact, wetback boilers typically boast higher efficiency than dryback boilers as the heat from combustion goes directly into heating water instead of refractory. Wetback boilers are also more forgiving with load changes as the reversal chamber of the boiler is totally submerged in water creating an even heat transfer on the intermediate tube sheet to furnace joint.
