AERCO Boiler Maintenance: It's Like Changing the Oil and Rotating the Tires

Ever since I got my first car, my dad has lectured me about the importance of proper maintenance.

“Change your oil every 3,000 miles. And don’t use the cheap stuff – buy the good oil and filters.”
“Rotate your tires – we paid for the good ones so keep them rotated and they’ll last longer.”
“Check engine lights don’t come on for no good reason. It could be a $5.00 fix but if you ignore it, it could turn into a $500.00 fix.”
“New wiper blades are way less expensive than an insurance deductible from a car accident, you know.”

Luckily, my dad cares enough about me and the safety of my vehicle to remind me to keep it maintained. And, while I sometimes roll my eyes at him and dread the hassle and expense of the maintenance process, he is completely right. My first car lasted 10 years. But only because it was taken care of from the day it came home with me.

"Yeah, yeah," you may be thinking. "That’s a sweet little story but how is that at all related to boilers? Boilers aren't cars!" Simply put – it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about cars, boilers, water heaters, or even your body, everything needs maintenance in order to function properly. Specifically, we’re going to talk about how AERCO boilers and water heaters need to be properly maintained if they are to function at their highest level of efficiency.

No one’s lying here – AERCO units aren’t exactly cheap. But when they are looked after and taken care of, that money spent on the unit will pay off. I think of it like a nice house – why would you buy your dream home and then never clean the place or let that one bad spot on the roof get worse and worse? A simple fix at the onset of the problem (or even before there’s a problem) will prevent costly repairs and hassle. These units are very finely tuned and, when they are allowed to get out of whack, it can be a headache to get them back on track. That headache can be avoided with AERCO’s annual and 24-month maintenance kits.

AERCO estimates that less than half of their customers perform preventative maintenance. However, if you go ahead and order the kits, the likelihood that you'll do the maintenance increases.

The annual maintenance kit consists of the Spark Ignitor, Flamer Detector and condensate trap orifice and o-ring. The estimated labor time for the maintenance kit is about 30 minutes.
The 24-month waterside/fireside inspection kits consist of everything in the annual maintenance kit along with gaskets/seals needed to inspect the fireside and waterside. The labor time is 30 minutes plus about one to two hours for the waterside/fireside inspection.

Keep your boilers running smoothly and treat them like you would your vehicles. You'll be glad you did in the long run when those boilers are still operating efficiently many years from now!

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