Steam Boiler Treatment and Maintenance: Tips To Save Money/Energy and Avoid Service Disruptions 

Medical centers, commercial buildings, industrial sites and residential apartments can all save money and energy and help prevent service disruptions with proper steam boiler treatment and maintenance for their water system. Proper maintenance can help extend the lifespan of the boiler, which is no small expense to replace. Depending on size, a large, high-capacity commercial boiler can cost upwards of a million dollars. 

While maintenance is important for boilers in all of these locations, medical facilities face additional hurdles, particularly as it pertains to regular chemical treatments of steam boilers. Surgical centers must consider sterilization requirements for instruments and equipment, requirements that aren’t common in commercial and industrial facilities. 

These seven tips can get the building maintenance/facilities manager on the right track to help optimize steam boiler efficiencies:  

1. Regular inspections: Steam boilers should be inspected on a regular basis by a trained and qualified technician to ensure that they are operating safely and efficiently. These inspections should include a visual inspection of the boiler, as well as checks of the controls and safety devices.  
2. Cleaning: Boilers should be cleaned regularly to remove soot, scale, and other types of buildup that can reduce their efficiency and increase the risk of problems.  
3. Water treatment: The water used in a steam boiler should be treated to prevent the buildup of scale and corrosion. This can be done with chemicals or with a filtration system. ChemREADY provides boiler water treatment chemicals and solutions customized to each individual system. Our Ultra-Concentrated Boiler Water Treatment chemical blends supply supply the effectiveness you need without the bulk. The Ultra-concentrated product, with 90-98% active ingredients, is packaged in one-gallon containers. Effective steam boiler treatment chemicals will typically include:   
   • pH adjusters 
   • Corrosion inhibitors 
   • Oxygen scavengers 
   • Boiler shutdown 
4. Monitoring and adjusting water levels: The water level in a steam boiler should be monitored regularly to ensure that it is at the proper level. If the water level is too low, the boiler could run dry and be damaged, while a water level that is too high can cause problems with the pressure relief valve.  
5. Testing safety devices: The safety devices on a steam boiler, such as the pressure relief valve and low water cut-off, should be tested regularly to ensure that they are functioning properly.  
6. Checking and adjusting boiler components, and adjusting as needed to ensure adequate flow or operations, such as:  
   • The burner should be producing a clean stable flame
   • The fuel supply should provide a consistent flow of fuel to the burner
   • The air supply provides sufficient airflow that allows the burner to operate properly
   • Sufficient draft is essential to remove flue gases from the boiler
7. Lubrication: The moving parts of a steam boiler, such as the pump and motor, should be lubricated regularly to ensure that they are operating smoothly and efficiently. 

When it comes to steam boiler maintenance, building managers don’t have to go it alone. Find a trusted partner with a depth of industry experience to help manage the job, like ChemREADY. We supply total water treatment service and equipment service management for heating and cooling systems. Various program levels help you adjust system service to best suit your facility. Free up your staff to concentrate on other vital work. Call ChemREADY today to ask about our steam boiler maintenance services.