Importance of High-Pressure Steam Boiler Preventative Maintenance for Healthcare Facilities

July 30, 2024 / PHCM Team / Comments Off on Importance of High-Pressure Steam Boiler Preventative Maintenance for Healthcare Facilities

When Failure is not an Option: High-Pressure Steam Boiler Preventative Maintenance for Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare Facilities Boiler PM

Table of contents

High Pressure Steam Boiler Preventative Maintenance for Healthcare Facilities- Why it Matters

Healthcare Facilities are among the most critical of all facilities in our society. You cannot afford to be down. Failure truly is never an option. Yet so many pieces of equipment, especially those that are not patient facing, are run on a “run to failure” model. How many times have you been told by your executive management that there’s “no money” for whatever it is that you have asked for? Yet, when that piece of equipment fails and the cost to repair or replace is minimum 3x what you asked for, the money suddenly appears? Everyone is unhappy when this happens. no one wins.

Solutions for Healthcare Facilities- Steam Boiler Preventative Maintenance – Daily and Weekly Checklists

Our goal is to help spread the word about the importance of preventative maintenance and avoid the situations like the one mentioned above. Taking care of your boiler room equipment can prolong the life of your equipment and prevent these dire failure situations from happening. Now more than ever it is of the utmost importance to keep your equipment from failing. Supply chain issues, resource restraints, manpower, rising costs, and shortages have extended lead times and off the shelf equipment availability. So even if you wanted to pay 3x you may not be able to find the equipment you need in the event of a surprise failure due to lack of attention.

Enough of the doom and gloom- lets get into it. Following are some basic guidelines and checklists that you can share with your team to keep your facility in fighting shape.

The most effective way to ensure the continuous, efficient operation of your equipment is to put eyes on it regularly. Therefore, we have created this guide to facilitate daily and weekly visual inspections. Regular visual inspections combined with adherence to a regular preventative maintenance plan will help to keep your equipment in optimal condition.

These daily and weekly checks do not replace regular preventative maintenance appointments. Rather, utilize these checks as a supplement to your regularly scheduled preventative maintenance. By using this checklist, you have the opportunity to catch potential issues as early as possible. Identifying potential issues early and resolving them promptly will save you time, money and headaches down the road.

It is important to realize that the frequency of inspection will depend on variable conditions such as load, fuel, system requirements, boiler environment (indoor/outdoor), etc. This is a general list that you can customize based on your specific equipment and environment.

Daily Steam Boiler Inspection/Maintenance Tasks

  • Check water level                                                             
  • Check combustion visually                                      
  • Blow down boiler                                                     
  • Blow down water column                                     
  • Record feedwater pressure/temperature                    
  • Drain gauge glass                                                    
  • Record flue gas temperature                                           
  • Record oil pressure and temperature                    
  • Record gas pressure                                                     
  • Treat water according to est. program                   
  • Record atomizing air pressure                       
  • Observe response to flame failure.                 
  • Observe operating control /high limit control           
  • Bottom Blowdown- remove sludge sediment       
  • Observe Refractory cone- any broken chunks          

Weekly Steam Boiler Inspection/Maintenance Tasks

  • Inspect burner                                            
  • Inspect for flue gas leak                            
  • Inspect for hot spots                                
  • Check cams                                                     
  • Check for tight closing of fuel valve                     
  • Check fuel and air linkage                               
  • Check indicating lights and alarms                   
  • Check operating and limit controls                
  • Check safety and interlock controls                  
  • Check for leaks, noise, vibration                         
  • Check for any unusual conditions, etc.              
  • Check low water cutoff operation                           
  • Remove rust/dirt from boiler mud leg or drum
  • Verify burner cuts off @ low water                         
  • Check all phases of the control circuit                
  • Check burner manual shutoff valves                    
  • Want to implement this at your facility?

Use this document to create your own internal daily equipment checklist.  Click here

Need more guidance? Give us a call and we can help you create a plan that works for your specific facility and equipment. Click here to schedule your personal equipment assessment.

Need to schedule preventative maintenance or repairs? Click here to submit your request or Call us at 800.707.9242 or email us anytime.

Resources

We have created the following downloadable resources for you to use.

About Powerhouse Combustion & Mechanical Corporation

Powerhouse is the premier full-service provider of Mechanical and Combustion Services in Southern California. We specialize in turn key Boiler/Burner equipment sales and installation throughout California and Nevada. Our mission is to focus on our client’s best interests at all times. In doing so, we provide exceptional service and value. Our staff is trained to service/ repair virtually every type of equipment in the boiler room.

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Healthcare Facilities Boiler PM