CHICAGO — “It’s very easy not to think about a boiler until something goes wrong.”
This statement from Daniel Orr, general manager, National Combustion Co. (NATCO), is an unfortunate truth and a reminder to industry members that ignoring or overlooking this central piece of equipment can only have negative consequences for a laundry/linen plant.
Like much of the other technology that makes a plant run, boilers must be thoroughly monitored and maintained by any business that relies heavily on their safe and smooth operation.
American Laundry News consulted a number of boiler manufacturers that have advice for operators on how, when and why to give a boiler proper TLC, not only for safety reasons, but for overall plant efficiency.
REPLACING A BOILER
Everyone wants to avoid the unthinkable: a sudden boiler failure that wreaks havoc on operations. So how will operators know when is the best time to replace an old boiler?
“Typically, customers do not realize when the boiler needs to be replaced until they have a leak in the vessel or an inspector tells them the vessel is wearing thin, [which] forces them to replace the boiler,” says Mike McLean, laundry/drycleaning sales manager at Fulton Boiler Works. “By then, most customers are at the mercy of whoever has boilers in stock.”
Talk to an expert you trust, such as a licensed mechanical contractor, especially if you don’t have a strong mechanical background, Orr advises.
And while many boilers will last as long as 40 or 50 years, Josh Reasoner, South regional sales manager at Hamilton Engineering, says newer technologies often need more maintenance, and a service tech might be able to help you plan for upgrades or even replacement.
Michael Leeming, national sales manager, Parker Boiler Co., comments that sometimes it’s more economical to simply re-tube a boiler, where applicable. “If it’s a fire tube boiler, you can roll new tubes into it. And that could be 20-25% the cost of a new boiler,” he says.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
For those interested in investing in a new boiler or in related technology, recent innovations are playing their part in improving boiler maintenance, safety and ease of operation.
“What people seem to want more is to be able to look at the boiler status from anywhere—either their computer or their phone, and there seems to be more of a request for that technology at the bigger industrial plants,” says Leeming.
Economizers for capturing heat from exhaust gases, especially in the case of steam boilers, are helping to increase efficiency, says Reasoner. He adds that monitoring and controls on modern equipment can help create a more integrated system.
“Boiler innovation has mostly been concerned with improving high-efficiency boilers, or condensing technology,” says Orr. “The other source of innovation has been on the controls front, by having boilers use controls that learn to anticipate demand loads and operating accordingly.”
Among recent innovations, McLean lists burners with low-NOx emissions, timer and conductivity controls for blowdown, and lead lag controls for multiple boilers.
Owning and operating a boiler is a huge responsibility. But since the boiler is a driving force behind operations, it’s in operators’ best interest to invest the necessary time and energy for regular maintenance tasks, safety checks and parts upgrades and replacement.
“A lot of times, laundries only have one boiler, and if that’s the case, it’s really critical that they take care of that boiler, because if that boiler’s down, the whole plant is down,” Leeming says.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].