How to Clean Industrial Boilers – Checklist Download
We’ve covered cleaning your facility’s cooling system in our Spring Cleaning Checklist posts. Now it’s time to address cleaning boilers and heat exchangers.
Fortunately, Goodway makes it easy for you to start today. Below are two printable cleaning checklists to get the ball rolling:
Checklist 1: “How to Clean Industrial Boilers”
Checklist 2: “How To Clean Heat Exchangers”
(Note: You must provide your email address to get access to each checklist.)
We’re writing a series of blogs to explain each checklist in more detail. This first post in the series addresses industrial boilers. The second post will discuss cleaning heat exchangers. We’ll address the importance of cleaning these systems and reference the checklists, including what tools/products you need to get the job done right.
Here’s more about this week’s topic – cleaning industrial boilers:
The U.S. Department of Energy has released a tip sheet addressing energy efficiency for boilers. The agency’s data shows fuel consumption may increase by up to 5% because of scale. Preventing scale build-up can result in substantial energy savings. Both firetube and water-tube boilers can experience build-up and reduced efficiency. Proper testing and regular cleaning reduces fuel consumption and allows systems to operate more efficiently. Higher efficiency and a clean system reduce the cost of repairs and lengthen the system’s lifespan.
How often you should clean your boiler depends primarily on the environmental conditions affecting your system. Regularly testing your boiler’s efficiency is the best way to understand how often cleaning is needed. Rising stack temperatures indicate a dirty system. Testing can also identify other problems including fouling on the exchanger, dirty burners, improper firing ratios and impingements on the flame. Goodway’s Stack Efficiency Tester measures stack temperatures, O2 and CO. The device calculates CO2 along with excess air and combustion efficiency.
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends a visual inspection whenever boilers are shut down. A video scope shows you what’s there and helps you determine if all the scale has been removed during the cleaning process. Remove scale with acid cleaning or through mechanical means, according to the U.S Department of Energy. Use one of our cleaning tools to loosen deposits.
Choose from a variety of brushes and scraper tools to attach to our cleaning tools to remove everything from light to thick deposits. Our liquid descaler breaks up tough deposits from water tube boiler tubes. One of our popular items is our descaler equipment with pH analysis. It automatically descales while monitoring pH. As more chemicals are needed the equipment injects more, until the boiler is clean.
The “How To Clean Industrial Boilers” checklist explains the step-by-step tube cleaning process in more detail. As an additional tip, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends consulting with your local water treatment specialist to consider modifying the feedwater treatment.
With Goodway’s boiler tube cleaning technology, it can take as little as an hour to descale a boiler. Goodway is a global leader in boiler cleaning technologies. We use the latest technologies and innovations to bring you the cleaning tools that enable the fastest cleaning process for boilers.
Next Steps:
- Download the “How to Clean Industrial Boilers” checklist.
- Subscribe to our blog to receive the full blog series via email and stay informed about the latest HVAC news and insight.
- Stay up to date on facility maintenance tools such as chiller tube cleaners, boiler tube cleaners, hose/pipe cleaners, descaler systems, industrial vacuums, commercial pressure washers, and drain cleaners.
Thomas Clarence
I thought it was interesting when you explained that regularly testing a boiler is the best way to know how often it needs to be cleaned. I would say that the best way to keep a boiler in good shape would be by hiring a professional repair service to inspect it on a weekly basis. A professional would be able to detect minor defects and issues that could grow into larger problems that could cause damage.
Megan Alder
I am interested in knowing how does the heating process of an industrial boiler works, and also how often it needs to be cleaned. It’s interesting to know that how often an industrial boiler needs to be cleaned primarily depends on the environmental conditions affecting your system. If I ever need to buy one of these items, I will make sure we regularly test it so that we know how often cleaning is needed.