It has been all over the news that natural gas prices have been climbing steadily. Unfortunately, California is always at the top of the list for having some of the highest prices in the country. This means that your commercial boiler system is more costly to run and will increase your boiler service cost over time.
To offset these increased operating costs, maintaining your commercial or industrial boiler is the answer to help it run more efficiently. Read on to learn about boiler service cost and how maintenance helps save money. You will also find information about the recommended maintenance protocols you can conduct yourself regularly, and what professional boiler servicing can accomplish for you.
Boiler Service Cost: How Does Preventative Boiler Maintenance Save You Money?
Industrial boilers are expensive assets, and they’re crucial to your facility. Avoid costly repairs by maintaining your boiler with preventative inspection and service. Some ways that this is accomplished is by preventing:
Fuel Overuse
If your equipment is not functioning properly, it will use more fuel, which will increase your monthly bills.
Minor Problems Becoming Major Problems
If you don’t perform routine maintenance, this can lead to costly repairs or even boiler downtime and the need for a complete replacement.
Outages and Loss of Revenue
When you experience an outage due to delayed maintenance, your company will likely lose profits.
Safety Hazards
Regular maintenance can reduce the risk of fire, pressure explosion, and carbon monoxide buildup by ensuring that devices are clean and functional.
Recommended Boiler Maintenance
Not performing ongoing maintenance will affect your boiler service cost in the long run. Here are some ways you can maintain your boiler yourself by performing these daily checks:
- Locate water leaks, obstructions, or unusual vibrations in your boiler equipment and its piping.
- Check the ventilation system to make sure that it is not blocked.
- Look for any signs of damage or soot in the flame.
- Check the temperature of your exhaust, boiler, and pressure.
- Verify the levels of salts and chemicals in the water softener, de-alkalizer, or chemical feed system.
- Make sure the display panel is not showing any error or service codes.
- Perform a blowdown of the boiler and water column by opening the bottom blowdown valves and column drain valves.
Quarterly, Seasonal, and Annual Maintenance
Bay City Boiler is prepared with thorough boiler maintenance checklists to ensure your system operates optimally and to reduce your boiler service cost. Below are some of the items on our checklist.
- Checking the boiler hydronic piping for leaking
- Inspecting the burner flames for appearance changes
- Making sure the condition of wiring and switches is optimal
- Checking the gaskets on front and rear doors and replacing them as necessary
- Checking the venting system for deteriorations, corrosion, and blockages to ensure pipe and joint connections are secure
- Metal for oxygen corrosion and waterside for heavy scaling on tubes, tube sheets, and shell
- Ensuring the refractory does not have cracks
- Maintaining water pH levels
- Checking the gas and safety valves
The Importance of Boiler Combustion Tuning
Combustion tuning also helps ensure efficient use of gas and compliance with emissions rules. A boiler’s combustion is integral to its ability to generate heat. It needs an annual inspection by a qualified engineer or technician who will ensure it runs safely and efficiently. You’ll also want to keep an eye on the firing rate, which can be adjusted using regulator settings on the motorized gas valve during regular tune-ups. If airflow gets blocked while you are burning fuel, your boiler won’t work as well at generating heat due to improper combustion of the flame. This will also affect your boiler service cost.
Need a Maintenance Plan? Bay City Boiler Can Help
Not all boiler technicians are familiar with the proper way in which burners should be tuned. Luckily, Bay City Boiler has a maintenance plan in place. Preventative maintenance customers receive an annual health report, services performed, and recommendations to maintain optimum performance. Ask us about our uptime maintenance program – designed to prevent costly downtime and reduce your boiler service cost! Call us 24/7 for Emergency Services.