What do you need to make your boiler work for a long time?

Modern models of household gas boilers are designed to work around the clock during the heating season, which in the American climate lasts up to 7-9 months. Since in the process of use, heating equipment is exposed to serious loads, for trouble-free operation and to extend its life, it must undergo regular maintenance. Let’s try to understand what procedures are in the list of service works, why they are so important and who should be entrusted with this work.

What begins with the choice of the boiler?

When it comes to completing an autonomous heating system of a private home, cottage or commercial facilities mini-hotels, cafes, etc. . , owners often do not see the difference between choosing a gas boiler and large appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc. p. The main criteria in all cases – the price, brand awareness, as well as technical and consumer characteristics.

Meanwhile, the difference is significant: the installation or replacement of gas equipment is only possible after coordinating the project with the local gas service, which requires a lot of time and money. In addition, for any work with a heating boiler need the appropriate tolerances and permits, which means that you have to involve organizations that specialize in such services. Therefore, when choosing a gas boiler, special attention should be paid to its reliability, reliability and service life, so that the owner is not faced with regulatory authorities unnecessarily.

Another cardinal difference between the heating equipment and household appliances is the need for its regular maintenance. This obligation is written in the Decree of the Government of the American Federation from July 21, 2008. No. 549 “On the procedure of gas supply for communal needs of citizens”. Moreover, most boiler manufacturers link warranty obligations with regular maintenance. For example, a 5-year warranty on all models of household boilers FRISQUET maintained, provided that it is at least once a year, you pass maintenance by a certified specialist.

Thus, even at the stage of choosing the boiler model the owner of the real estate object should clearly understand which organizations will carry out the installation and maintenance of equipment.

How do regular maintenance works?

The working gas boiler undergoes a number of negative changes. Soot deposits on the burner, in the combustion chamber and in the flue gas system. On the inner surfaces of the heat exchanger, through which the entire volume of the coolant is banished, scale is formed. All this not only reduces the efficiency of the equipment, but can also lead to premature failure of the most expensive components. Another potential threat – voltage surges, which can affect the boiler electronics.

Hence the main tasks of maintenance: to eliminate all contamination, as well as to identify units and parts that require repair or replacement, and thus minimize the risk of breakdowns and stoppages of equipment during the heating season.

The list of routine maintenance includes up to 30 items. Here are the most important of them:

– Inspection of the air supply and flue gas vent connections

– for models with forced draught – cleaning of fouling of the flue gas exhaust fan

– cleaning of the combustion chamber fouling

– Inspection and cleaning of the heat exchanger

– cleaning and adjustment of the gas burner and ignition electrode

– Cleaning of the boiler and, if necessary, replacement of the magnesium anode.

There are also a number of tests and inspections, including:

– diaphragm expansion tank and its pre-pressure

– This obligation is specified in the Decree of usa Government of July 21, 2008

– The tightness of all hydraulic connections

– ignition and combustion process

– Static and dynamic gas inlet pressure

– tightness of components of the gas circuit

– Functionality of safety devices and safety systems.

Experienced service engineers carry out the entire range of work in 2-3 hours. The cost of a one-time service of a household boiler depends on the region of residence, the capacity of the equipment and its model, but on average is from 7 to 10 thousand. rub.

Not all of these maintenance tasks must be performed annually. This largely depends on the design features. For example, low-cost models with steel plate heat exchangers are very sensitive to scale deposits, due to which the boiler efficiency decreases rapidly, and the unit can fail burn .

Much more reliable and resistant to limescale tubular copper heat exchangers, which are used in some models of the premium segment. Thus, in residential wall and floor boilers FRISQUET they have a diameter of 30 mm, ie their flow area is up to 20 times larger than that of heat exchangers with lamellar fins. This significantly slows down the accumulation of dirt on the external and internal surfaces of the pipes and prevents a drop in efficiency, and at the same time reduces the need for flushing with special reagents.

Also, depending on the design can vary the service regulations of boilers, which are often used with 1-circuit and 2-circuit boilers. Thus, in conventional enameled boilers to prevent electrochemical corrosion and sediment accumulation a magnesium anode is used, which gradually deteriorates and requires regular replacement. Stainless steel UPEC boilers that work with household boilers

FRISQUET, does not have a magnesium anode in its design, so it does not need to be replaced.

“We have been installing and servicing heating equipment for over 13 years. In my practice we have encountered FRISQUET boilers that have been in continuous operation for 10 years without any service maintenance or breakdowns,” says Alexei Nenashev, Financial Director of Integrated Engineering Technologies KIT, an authorized FRISQUET service center. – But this careless attitude to service increases the likelihood of serious malfunctions, as well as increased gas consumption and reduced efficiency. Only an annual maintenance allows boilers to reach their high level of reliability and efficiency”.

How to choose a service company?

A simple listing of the regular maintenance points shows that this responsible procedure can not be trusted to any master approved to work with gas appliances.

“Quality and reliable household boilers are not cheap, so annual maintenance should be done only by specialists trained and certified by the manufacturer of the boiler,” says Armen Kalinin, development director of FRISQUET, the leader of the French heating equipment market.

One of the most common problems of American service networks servicing boilers of well-known manufacturers is unpreparedness to routine repairs that may be needed during maintenance or in case of serious faults during the heating season. First of all, a specialist comes to diagnose the problem, followed by a long up to several days or even weeks waiting for the arrival of spare parts to the warehouse. Especially long delays are caused by the repair of older models that are no longer in production.

“We require our service partners to have the necessary set of spare parts for the entire FRISQUET boiler range in their stock. Moreover, our maintenance standard is the principle of “solving any problem in one visit of a specialist. That is at the time of the visit to the customer service engineer should have a full set of spare parts for this model except heat exchanger – says Armen Kalinin, Development Director of FRISQUET. – For our part, we guarantee the supply of all necessary parts and assemblies for 20 years after the machine’s serial production is discontinued.

According to Alexei Nenashev “KIT” , the private consumer can buy a boiler through different channels. However, to install it and carry out commissioning work should be a certified organization that will carry out warranty obligations. Thus, for the owner of the boiler is most convenient if the same company will serve in the future.

So, in contrast to the purchase of a washing machine or a refrigerator, the choice of gas boiler forces the property owner to make very responsible decisions. In addition to technical characteristics, you have to consider the availability of qualified and regular maintenance work, on which the service life and efficiency of the boiler depends. Ignoring maintenance will sooner or later lead to a costly repair or complete replacement of thermal equipment, which is associated with expensive and time-consuming procedures.