The average factory boiler will last about 20 to 25 years. However, it’s possible to extend the lifespan of your boiler if you put in the necessary effort. Here are three tips for ensuring that you get the most out of your factory boiler.
Routine Professional Maintenance
A commercial boiler should have routine inspections and maintenance performed by a local professional in your area. This should be done at least once per year. While having your staff take care of cleaning and other maintenance needs, you must bring in a professional that is certified to work with your boiler. They will provide a visual inspection of all the surfaces where heat is exchanged. They’ll look for things like debris, damage, corrosion, and scale. They’ll evaluate the condition of your fuel pump and other boiler components. If parts need to be replaced or are close to the end of their lifespan, a professional certified to handle your boiler can tell you.
Institute a Water Treatment Plan
Your boiler contains water inside. Through regular use, the water will be filled with a wide range of nasty contaminants. Some of which include gasses, dissolved minerals, and particulates. These can drastically reduce the lifespan of your boil. The dissolved minerals will accumulate on the heat-transfer surfaces inside of your boiler. This leads to unwanted scaling which can reduce the efficiency of your system. The dissolved gasses can cause corrosion of the unit.
To institute an adequate water treatment plan, you need to add chemical additives to dissolve the impurities. This works to neutralize the contaminants and keep them from getting attached to the heat-transfer surfaces. You’ll want to add these additives to your feed water tanks for easy application. By monitoring the quality level of your water, you can ensure that your boiler lasts.
Consider Retrofitting
When it comes to commercial boilers, you don’t always have to upgrade to a brand new boiler to get modern updates. Rather, retrofitting is a practice that allows your old boiler to be brought up to current building codes and technology. This typically results in not only a safer working boiler, but one that lowers both emissions and energy costs.
Keeping your factory boiler around for a long time is likely a priority. These commercial boilers are cheap and extending the life of your existing boiler in any way possible is necessary to save your business money. The above three practices are ones that should be done routinely to ensure that you get the most out of your existing boiler system.
Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing.