Homes have been using central heating system for a long time now. Homeowners find the boilers very useful especially during cold days where people need warm water and hot air to fight off the cold. The design and construction of boilers are pretty complex for ordinary people. The availability and its functionality are considered critical for those who manufacture it. Boilers don’t easily experience damages especially if regular check-up is done. However, for those who don’t conduct check-ups and maintenance to their boilers, it might be prone to the following caused of damage.
- Fuel Explosion
One of the most dangerous things that could happen to a boiler is the explosion of its furnace. The causes of fuel explosion are fuel-rich mixtures, poor atomization of oil and improper purge. In the fuel-rich mixture, unburned fuel can build and once it ignites, it explodes in a rapid manner. The fuel-mixtures allow the accumulation of these fuels. Another reason why boilers blow up is because of the poor atomization of oil which results to unburned oil puddling on the floor. Once the oil is plugged, an improper purge of it can result to another explosion.
- Low Water Conditions
The furnace temperature can exceed 1,800 degree Fahrenheit; it can withstand this temperature because of the presence of water in the tubes. Imagine if the water condition becomes low, it will literally melt the steel tubes. Fortunately, modern boilers have automatic low-water trip swatches. The old boilers don’t have these so you should be really careful, or better yet upgrade. So when you don’t have swatches, do not install on your own. Call a gas engineer Birmingham to install it for you.
- Poor Water Treatment
The water in the boiler should be treated to protect it from these things to happen: corrosion and solid deposit buildup. Proper feed water treatment is important. Compare a pot of boiling water on the stove and your boiler. Residue is visible on the pot, depending on the amount of solids in the water. Imagine that your boiler is a really huge pot.
It the residue is unchecked, it will damage the boiler. The boiler relies on the water. Without the water, nothing can protect the steel boilers from the furnace’s temperature that exceeds the tube’s melting point. The layer inside the tube caused by the residue will enable the water to remove heat from the tube, thus leading to overheating and even explosion.
- Improper Warm-up
An improper warm-up of the boiler can cause severe damages to a boiler. The boiler undergoes start-up, operation then shut down every time it is used. It causes stress to the boiler, that’s why maintenance is really important. A boiler is subject to failure and fatigue when it goes from not functioning to full functioning operations. So it’s recommended to have a slow transition between the cycles so the boiler can prolong its life.
- Impact Damage to Tubes
Not every part of a boiler is created equal. The failure of one tube will cause you a lot of money. Impact to tubes is done through mechanical cleaning of the buildup, repairs to other tubes, soot blower alignment, and corrosion.
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