In the current economic conditions, the cost of replacing entire heating systems can be prohibitive. Facilities managers are faced with difficult decisions regarding the most cost effective method for overcoming failing old heating systems. There are several issues when it comes to changing the entire heating system.

A common problem is that when the boiler plant is nearing the end of its life, the distribution system still appears to be OK. However there are always concerns about dirt being transferred from the existing system into new boiler plant.

The whole system including the boiler can be changed or a retrofit new boiler can be installed and connected onto an old system. Replacing the whole heating system is however very costly and, if the rest of the building isn’t being refurbished, it can create all sorts of problems with closures due to structural work or removal and replacement of pipe work.

Associated closure of buildings during refurbishment or replacement boiler plant can now be avoided by using a temporary portable plant room.

Adding a new boiler onto an old system can cause problems; damage to the new boiler can be caused by the detritus and deposits contained in the old system. There is a strong possibility that an older system will not have benefited from water treatment, dirt or air separation units. Older boilers therefore would have been exposed to progressive corrosion, resulting in large deposits of debris most of which is likely to be ferric in nature. When the system is drained down the silt and magnetite dries out; these deposits then turn it into a fine dust similar to talcum powder. This isn’t too much of a problem in older boilers, which tend to have large, low velocity waterways; however, with the installation of a new boiler this can cause major problems.

The fine powder gets distributed when you refill or flush the system and is then free to flow into the new equipment such as pumps and valves. The silt can also combine with the salts in the refill water and bake hard in the waterways of the new boiler plant. Being magnetic, the silt can clog around the armatures of canned rotor pumps and cause them to seize. Connecting the old system to the new boiler can also cause damage to or failure of the boiler’s heat exchanger; deposits act as an insulator, and the metal of the heat exchanger will retain the heat instead of passing it into the water. The lining of debris that would be left in the heat exchanger of the new boiler will reduce the efficiency of the new boiler. 

The old system can be separated from the new boiler plant by using a plate heat exchanger. The heat exchanger will create a barrier between the old system and the new boiler thus creating a new environment on the primary side of the heat exchanger onto which the new boiler is installed. By separating the new boiler plant from the old system you enable the water to be treated on boiler side, which will extend the life of the new boiler, as well as enabling you to use a modern high efficiency sealed and pressurised boiler.

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