There is no substitute for regular boiler maintenance when it comes to keeping your commercial boiler in tip-top condition. While it may seem like an added expense, preventative boiler maintenance tips and practices could reduce boiler emergencies and costs and increase the lifetime value of your equipment.
If your company can establish routine boiler maintenance into its policies and procedures, then there will be both short and long-term benefits for your business. Above all, maintenance ensures the boiler is always running at full efficiency, reducing your energy bills. The following are ways that preventative maintenance will help you avoid costly repairs.
Daily Inspections
There are several things that you should inspect daily to ensure your boiler system is running smoothly, including:
1. Air vents tend to suffer from regular blockages of one type or another, which will heavily impact the boiler’s efficiency. To avoid this from happening, conduct regular inspections to ensure no dirt, ice, snow, or debris accumulation.
2. Boiler’s sight port and examine the flame for any evidence of damage or possible soot.
3. Exhaust temperature, boiler temperature, and boiler pressure to ensure all readings are within the desired range.
4. Water softener, de-alkalizer, and chemical feed system to ensure it meets required levels of salts and chemicals. The boiler water should never be allowed to fall below the minimum level.
5. Display panel for error or service codes.
Boiler Maintenance Tips – Monthly
In addition to these daily checks, monthly maintenance ensures you incur fewer costs when you need boiler repair since boilers inevitably malfunction at some point. Include:
- Combustion air piping and flue gas vent piping
- Relief valve discharge pipe and boiler relief valve
- Check the burner for irregular flame pattern or color, the burner’s pilot tube for pilot ignition, and burner valves for wear and proper action
- Operating and modulating controls for proper set point
- Lights and alarms for proper function
- Take water samples for comparison to the manufacturer and local chemical expert to ensure the levels are within the desired range
Quarterly or Seasonal Servicing
General quarterly preventative maintenance inspection items include:
- Boiler hydronic piping for leaking
- Burner flames for appearance changes
- Condition of wiring and switches
- Gaskets on front and rear doors and replace as necessary
- Water levels using low water cutoff devices to make sure they are within Manufacturers recommended levels
- Operation and safety controls
- Clean and reinstall the plugs in the control piping
- Reset combustion using a combustion analyzer to read oxygen, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide emissions
Annual Boiler Maintenance Tips
The night before your maintenance appointment, isolate and lock-out / tag-out gas, water, steam, and electrical services. This will allow the boiler to cool appropriately. If time allows, begin draining the boiler and note the color of the water for any irregularities. Items to examine:
- Heating system
- Venting system for deterioration, corrosion, blockages to ensure pipe and joint connections are secure
- Auxiliary systems which provide fuel, air, water, or chemicals to the boiler
- Metal for oxygen corrosion and waterside for heavy scaling on tubes, tubesheets, and shell
- Refractory for cracks, patch and wash coast as required (1/8″ or less is acceptable)
- Water pH levels
- Gas and safety valves
- Control settings, then test the safety and operating controls
- Electrical connections and wiring
Boiler Repair and Maintenance
In the meantime, the experienced technicians at Bay City Boiler are prepared with thorough boiler maintenance tips to ensure your system is ready for these inspections. Contact us today to schedule a preventative maintenance appointment.