As our industry grows more complex, the role of the service technician becomes more challenging. After having a career as a service technician, contractor, and now as a member of the Heating Solutions Sales tech team, I appreciate the struggle a field tech can have when faced with multiple manufacturers offering a wide variety of …Read More
Gas Adaptive Combustion: Advanced Technology for Condensing Boilers
By Jerry King, Technical Sales Support Specialist for Heating Solutions Sales Company (HSSC), representing U.S. Boiler Company A Brief History Gas adaptive combustion was developed in Europe. In 2001, the first condensing boiler with a gas adaptive valve was introduced. This technology was developed to address the widely different BTU content of the fuel supply …Read More
Boiler Servicing: Safety Considerations for the New Year
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company Welcome to another edition of US Boiler Report Tech Tips. We’re glad you’re here to join us. After closing out 2021, 2022 seems ready to offer no shortage of challenges. In this Tech Tip article, our goal is to help you avoid or eliminate practices …Read More
A Power Quality Primer for Service Technicians (Part 2 – Everything Else)
By Dana Lilly, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company A Power Quality Primer for Service Technicians Part 1 was a brief discussion of the most damaging and most common power quality issue, the voltage transient or spike. At the risk of oversimplification, part 2 will lump together all the other potential power quality …Read More
Avoid Mad Max and Make Max Boiler Steam!
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company We hope you all are as excited as we are about the release of the new SteamMax boiler! As with all our products, we strive to assist contractors before, during and after the installation. This month’s tech tip is a brief synopsis of the information …Read More
A Power Quality Primer for Service Technicians (Part 1: The Transient)
By Dana Lilly, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company As a qualified service technician, you are no doubt familiar with basic electrical circuitry and the testing of voltage, continuity, or amperage draw. Generally speaking, that’s all you’ll need to know 98% of the time. So why go into a discussion about power quality? …Read More
The Importance of Clean Combustion/Intake Air
By Jerry King, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company Just like our bodies need an adequate source of clean air to function properly, so does a boiler. Its peak performance depends on clean fresh air that is free from chemicals and pollutants. A boiler requires oxygen to burn the fuel it uses to …Read More
Choosing the Right Size Circulator for the Job
By Rick Johnson, Applications Engineer for U.S. Boiler Company Remember when installing a boiler was easy? You put the boiler in place, hooked up some pipes, put a couple of circulators in place and turn on the switch. Not so much anymore. There are several variables to be mindful of when installing a hydronic system. Today …Read More
It Ain’t What You Don’t Know – Boiler Water Quality Review
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company Two young fish were swimming along one day and happened across a much older fish swimming towards them. As they passed, the older fish smiled and said, “Hey boys, how’s the water?” The two younger fish glanced at each other and swam past. A …Read More
Primary/Secondary Piping of Cast Iron Boilers: Should We Do It?
By Rick Johnson, Applications Engineer for U.S. Boiler Company As the condensing boiler market continues to grow, contractors are becoming more familiar with the requirement of primary/secondary piping. They are also starting to understand why and how p/s piping works. There is one reason… protecting the boiler! Condensing boilers have very low water content, which makes …Read More
Oil’s well that ends well! Oil system servicing and diagnostics.
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company We will open this month’s article by saying “ALWAYS CHECK FOR LEAKS ON ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE!!” Having said that, while oil burner technology has certainly advanced since the introduction of the power oil burner, some of the basic premises which are critical to clean …Read More
Strainers for Hydronic Applications
By Rick Johnson, Applications Engineer for U.S. Boiler Company I’ve never used a strainer before… why do I need one now? It’s a good question and one that most technicians have asked themselves at one time or another. Just because you haven’t used one in the past does not mean you did not need one. Have …Read More
Tips for a Successful High Efficiency, Condensing Boiler Installation
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company A successful high efficiency, condensing boiler installation starts with proper planning and proper boiler sizing. Yes, this means you must complete a thorough heat loss calculation. I often ask in training seminars, “Is it more important to properly size a cast …Read More
A Man for All Seasons
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company Good morning, this is Tom. How can I help you? “Yeah, I got one of your Burnham boilers here we would like some help with.” Sure, what model are you working on? “It’s an old P205.” Thanks. And the serial number? “653729xx” What’s going …Read More
Educate Homeowners Prior to Installation
By Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist for U.S. Boiler Company Homeowner – “I wish I never bought this boiler!” Contractor – “I wish I never took this job!” How could a perfectly engineered job conclude with this conversation? Sadly, this conversation takes place much more often than it should. The worst part is that a …Read More
Controlling Multiple High Efficiency Boilers with Energy Management Systems
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company As many of you are aware, we can operate up to 8 high efficiency boilers in a lead/lag system with just a boiler enable to the master boiler and a handful of Cat-5 cables. There is much more to this story. …Read More
WOAH! Is that hot water boiler sized properly?
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company The phone rings and the voice on the other end of the line says, “This is Mr. Homeowner, and I’d like an estimate on a new boiler… when would you be available to give me a quote?” You show up for …Read More
Steam Boiler Skimming
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company Skimming a steam boiler is the process of removing any oil from the water volume. If not completed properly, the presence of oil can cause the boiler to surge, as the water’s ability to flash to steam is affected. While U.S. …Read More
Hydronics 101 for Homeowners
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company In our quickly changing industry, it can be a continuous struggle to keep up with advancing technology, trends and codes. And if you – who spends every day doing it – feel a bit overwhelmed at times, how do you think …Read More
Is My Boiler Too Small?
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company If a client’s home is not as warm as they want it to be on extremely cold nights, they may question: “Is my boiler too small?” Do not automatically blame the boiler size. Another issue or a mix of several …Read More
That Dreaded Combustion Test
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company It is late in the day, you’re tired, hungry, dirty and looking forward to going home and spending time with the family over a cold beer. Before heading home, you take a few minutes and marvel at the heating masterpiece you …Read More
Alpine Multiple Boiler Installations
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company Some large homes and many commercial boiler applications will include installations of multiple boilers. The Alpine high-efficiency condensing boiler will allow up to eight boilers to be piped and wired together, all controlled by a single master boiler. The master can …Read More
The Proper Disposal of Boiler Condensate
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company The decision to install a high efficiency, modulating, condensing boiler inevitably leads to some responsibility regarding disposal of condensate. While visiting jobsites to assist contractors, I’ve seen a multitude of ways that condensate is removed from the boiler room to be …Read More
U.S. Boiler Company’s Condensing Evolution
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company You may not realize it, but as heating contractor, you have a tremendous influence in what our company makes. A good example of this can be found in how our condensing boiler line has evolved over the past twelve years. In …Read More
Tips For A Successful Cast Iron Water Boiler Installation
I will always preach that a successful cast iron water boiler installation begins with proper planning. I worked for an oil company for 20 long years, and 9 years of that I was a Service Manager. During this time, I came across many problematic jobsites. I would evaluate the installation issues and try to figure …Read More
Tips for a Successful Steam Boiler Replacement
U.S. Boiler’s technical service line receives many calls throughout the year from contractors, distributors, and our factory sales reps pertaining to multiple boiler installation scenarios. In fact, some of the Beck Tips I write about stem from these calls and questions. This month, I will address a call we receive a lot. The conversation goes …Read More
“Outdoor Reset Doesn’t Work Here!”
By Ron Beck, Outside Technical Advisor and Manager of Training for U.S. Boiler Company What??? I hear this often. I also hear, “It gets too cold here for outdoor reset” or “I love OD reset, but I don’t understand how to adjust it”. I even hear “I always get complaints from my customers that the …Read More
Sizing a Steam Boiler
By Ron Beck, U.S. Boiler Company Last month we discussed sizing a hot water boiler with a heat loss calculation. Unlike a hot water boiler, a steam boiler is sized by determining the square foot of radiation connected to the steam system. Once that’s been determined, you can accurately select a boiler that’s large enough …Read More