Boilers form the heating and domestic hot water foundation for most educational, commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities. And when a boiler goes down, it is never good news for building owners or the maintenance department who want to keep occupants comfortable.
It turns out that many manufacturers offer master classes to certify technicians on the start-up, operation and maintenance of boilers. But, if you have your own contractors or on-site maintenance department, why should you spend extra money on hiring an outside technician?
There are several reasons you may need to contact a certified master technician for your installed boilers.
- Verify proper equipment installation. These installations can be tough. And it’s easy to miss something. A certified master technician has a trained eye to not only spot common installation problems but also those minor issues that may cause trouble down the road.
- Help with start-ups. Starting a boiler isn’t a matter of just throwing a switch. There are a series of procedures that must be performed exactly as specified and in the correct order to ensure that the equipment runs properly. Failure to follow appropriate start-up procedures can ruin a boiler or may even have disastrous ramifications like a fuel explosion.
- Modern equipment is sophisticated. Gone are the fully mechanical boilers of old. Today’s systems have intricate control panels. They can be daisy-chained with primary and secondary operational functions. Your maintenance personnel, while extremely competent, may simply not be familiar or experienced with today’s complicated boiler systems.
- Preventive maintenance is critical. Manufacturers sometimes suggest that certified technicians perform the necessary 12-month and 24-month preventive maintenance. You want your boilers to run as long and as efficiently as possible. So do the equipment manufacturers.
- Your maintenance staff is busy. In many buildings, the maintenance staff is doing all it can to do the required regular and emergency maintenance on all of the other equipment in your building. Hiring a certified technician ensures that the required work is performed without impacting the rest of your building maintenance.
These are just a few reasons to hire a certified technician for your boilers to keep them running efficiently for many years into the life of your building. Consult with your local manufacturers rep to see if they have certified technicians on staff to assist you with your boiler maintenance needs.
Blog photo from HPAC.com.