Glossary of
Boiler-Related Terms

Calculations & Conversions

Frequently
Asked Questions

Boiler Care

Boiler Primer

Powerhouse Equipment provides planned maintenace services for a number of industrial and commercial boiler installations. Although each installation is unique there are some common maintenace steps that our service group follows.

Powerhouse Equipment provides planned maintenace services for a number of industrial and commercial boiler installations. Although each installation is unique there are some common maintenace steps that our service group follows.

• Open front and rear doors. Clean fireside suraces as required.
• Inspect all refractory.  Patch and wash coat as required.
• Inspect all gasketing on front and rear doors and replace as neccessary.
• Seal and close front and rear doors properly.
• Remove low and auxiliary low water cut off controls, clean and inspect, then re-install using new gaskets
• Remove plugs in control piping, inspect, clean and re-install
• Remove all handhole and manhole plates. Flush boiler with water to remove loose scale and sediment
• Replace all handhole and manhole plates with new gaskets
• Open feedwater tank manway, inspect and clean as required
• Replace manway plate with new gasket
• Clean burner and burner pilot
• Check pilot electrode and adjust or replace
• Clean motor starter contacts and check operation
• Make necessary adjustments to burner for proper combustion and record all results in service report.
• Perform all flame safeguard and safety trip checks and record results in report.
• Check all handhole plates and manhole plates for leaks at normal operating conditions
• Troubleshoot any boiler system problems as requested by on-site personnel

Winter is coming and so are the demands placed on upon your boiler system. To ensure that your boiler system is operating efficiently and safely Powerhouse recommends that a qualified boiler service technician open your boiler for a inspection. The fireside and the water side will require cleaning. When reassembling your boiler use new gaskets. Also clean and inspect your low water cutoff. Check all safety devices, including safety relief valves, flame safeguard checks and a leak test on all safety shut-off valves.

Note: If the use of fuel oil during the cold winter months has been an issue in the past, consider using a winter mix fuel oil. During cold weather #2 oil looses its viscosity and does not flow as freely as in the warmer months. The winter mix fuel has additional additives such as kerosine to increase the viscosity of the oil without loosing the btu content.

General Checklist of items to Inspect, clean, repair, or replace as needed:

Unless your boiler receives water of proper quality, the boiler's life will be needlessly shortened. A steam plant's water supply may originate from rivers, ponds, under ground wells, etc.  Untreated water contains dissolved minerals, gases and particulates. The removal or otherwise 'treatment' of each of these is critical to efficient boiler operation for different reasons.Each water supply source requires an independent analysis. Depending upon this analysis, various pretreatment methods may be employed to prepare makeup water for your boiler feedwater system.

Suspended solids represent the undissolved matter in water, including dirt, silt, biological growth, vegetation, and insoluble organic matter.

When minerals dissolve in water, ions are formed. The sum of all minerals or ions in the water in the total dissolved solids or the TDS.

Iron can be soluble or insoluble. Insoluble iron can clog valves and strainers and can cause excessive sludge build up in low lying areas of a water system. It also leads to boiler deposits that can cause tube failure. Soluble iron can interfere in many processes, such as printing or the dying of cloth. In domestic water systems, porcelain fixtures can be stained by as little as 0.25 ppm of iron.

Water Hardness is the measure of calcium and magnesium content as calcium carbonate equivalents. Water Hardness is the primary source of scale in boiler equipment.

Silica in boiler feedwater can also cause hard dense scale with a high resistance to heat transfer.

Alkalinity is a measure of the capacity of water to neutralize strong acid. In natural waters, the capacity is attributable to bases, such as bicarbonates, carbonates, and hydroxides; as well as silicates, borates, ammonia, phosphates, and organic bases. These bases, especially bicarbonates and carbonates, break down to form carbon dioxide in steam, which is a major factor in the corrosion of condensate lines. Alkalinity also contributes to foaming and carryover in boilers.