Best Practices for Boiler Maintenance

Do you take care of your boilers, with a regular maintenance program? If not, you should. Boilers, like cars or any other mechanical devices, are subject to wear and tear. They need adequate maintenance, to ensure that they don’t break down because if they do, it’s guaranteed NOT to be at a convenient time to repair it. Waiting until something breaks down before repairing and maintaining it, always ends up costing you far more money, unhappy residents, higher labor rates, etc. because it’s usually during peak service demand, or in the middle of the night, or on a weekend. Usually, you end up in scramble mode trying to fix a problem that could have been avoided with regular care. Providing regular maintenance programs to your customers, is also a good way to build long-lasting customer relationships and add a consistent revenue stream for your business.

Annual maintenance and monthly water quality checks can prevent premature malfunctions and potential boiler breakdowns caused by poor water quality, leaks or water pressure. Any boiler’s functionality can be easily compromised and impact energy efficiency which creates a large bill for your customers.

So, what are some best practices to keep boilers operating in peak condition? Here are 8 annual maintenance steps you can take to help maintain energy efficiency and extend the life of your boiler.

1. Replace all parts affected by wear and tear, every year!

Our PK annual maintenance kit includes all parts that need to be replaced, including gaskets to re-seal the combustion inspection covers that you need to remove in order to clean the fire-side. Right now, we’re offering a limited time 20% discount on our Patterson-Kelley Boiler Annual Maintenance Kits (part #BP-0000-0345) until September 15th. 2018. Order yours today.

2. Inspect the fireside of the heat exchanger

After 2,500 hours of operation, or at least once a year, you should inspect the fire-side of the heat exchanger. You can access the fireside by removing the inspection covers. Any fireside fouling should be removed by using clean out tools and water washing the fireside surface. A thin coat of mineral oil can be used on an aluminum boiler to help minimize potential fouling in between annual maintenance checks. Verify that no debris came loose and fell to the bottom, potentially clogging the air path.

3. Remove the burner, thoroughly wash and clean the mesh

This should be done even if the burner appears to be clean. After washing the burner; reinstall it and use the fan test option to blow dry the burner. DO NOT fire the burner while wet.

4. Replace old igniter, flame rod and gaskets

These parts are included in your maintenance kit. It is important that you DO NOT reuse old gaskets.

5. Select the righT Water Treatment to Prevent Scale

Water side scale is equivalent to having a thin film of insulation between the furnace gases and boiler water. It can drop a boiler’s efficiency by as much as 12% – 21%.

6. Re-start the equipment and adjust combustion using a calibrated analyzer

A water tube manometer will be necessary to check for proper draft readings.

7. Inspect electrical connection for corrosion

Condensation can cause corrosion on the electrical connections of a boiler. Check for broken or cracked fusers and replace anything that looks questionable, then test the unit. It is also important to ensure that the electrical connections are tight.

8. Clean the condensate trap

Once again, the condensate produced by condensing natural gas boilers is corrosive. The condensate trap must be cleaned annually and inspected for potential leaks.

You can also download this checklist from Patterson-Kelley on how to design the system to ease annual boiler maintenance.

Mechanical Equipment is your local Patterson-Kelley representative, and you can call us anytime if you have questions, concerns or would like to order a Patterson-Kelley Boiler Annual Maintenance Kit. Call before September 15^th to get 20% off!  800-355-7061.