Boiler Maintenance: Have Your Boiler Checked Before Winter Arrives

Maintaining the boiler for New York City residential and commercial buildings is always a must for landlords and property managers. However, the end of the summer is the most important time of year on the boiler maintenance schedule. Here are four reasons why you should be sure your boiler has been checked before winter arrives (single-family homeowners, you should heed this advice as well).

Catch Wear and Tear from the Previous Season

Keep small problems from becoming bigger ones

Maintaining your building’s boiler is similar to performing regular upkeep on your car or even on your own body. When you catch small problems early, you can keep them from becoming more serious ones later. And we all know bigger problems are likely to cost far more time and money.

What typically causes boiler problems? It’s usually wear and tear from the previous season, especially if your boiler provides both heat and hot water for the property.

When Calray Boilers conducts regular boiler maintenance calls, we go through a checklist to significantly reduce the likelihood that your boiler will have problems later in the season. This is just like getting a tuneup on your car or going for an annual physical with your medical doctor.

What is included as part of that routine maintenance?

• Checking for leaks
• Combustion analysis
• Valve tests
• Assessment and recalibration of controls
• Checking low water cut-off
• Inspection of electrical terminals
• Examining chimney and flues
• Tuning for performance

Prevent Tenant Disruptions and Complaints

Don’t wait for an emergency to act

The worst thing you can do as a landlord or superintendent is to wait until you have a major problem with your boiler to take action. Like that strange noise in your vehicle or a pain in your stomach, boiler issues rarely go away on their own.

If you wait too long, your boiler could malfunction or stop operating completely. This not only puts building staff in danger; it creates a situation where your tenants may be forced to go without heat or hot water. This kind of disruption to home or business life means you’ll be deluged with calls and complaints at all hours of the day and night—definitely a situation you want to avoid for all involved.

How do you know if your boiler might need a repair or replacement?

• No heat or hot water
• Firing at wrong intervals
• Overly high utility bills
• Buildup of carbon monoxide
• Water leaking
• Age

Watch for these signs, or anything else that seems amiss, and don’t hesitate to call in the pros for help. Worn gaskets or pinhole-sized leaks in your boiler tank should also prompt a call to your boiler experts.

You can also do the following on your own to help stave off boiler problems:

• Check temperature levels
• Regularly flush and drain low water cutoffs
• Keep an eye out for leaks
• Evaluate burners and combustion for carbon monoxide or soot buildup
• Teach maintenance staff about what is normal and what is abnormal for your unique boiler system

Create a Time Buffer for Boiler Maintenance Parts and Repairs

Give yourself a window to avoid urgency

It’s not uncommon to need new boiler parts or a repair when a problem is discovered during routine maintenance. Depending on your boiler, you may need to have parts shipped or custom tooled for you. That could take time, as can replacing parts and performing repairs.

Do yourself a favor and create a buffer of time, so your boiler repairs and replacements never become urgent. When you attend to small problems early on, you may still be able to run your boiler or switch to an auxiliary boiler while you await new pieces or even a new boiler entirely. You won’t be stuck shutting down the whole system or at risk of it failing completely. You’ll also have a better choice of parts and replacement models earlier in the season before stock runs out.

Maximize Availability of Boiler Experts

Don’t be caught waiting during the busy season

Just like parts and replacement boilers, boiler experts become less and less available as the winter season progresses. When you schedule boiler maintenance before the onset of cold weather, they’ll have more schedule openings. You won’t be getting last pick of the appointment book or worse, trying to make an emergency appointment because your boiler has quit working.

Want to avoid a catastrophe with your boiler and get ahead of winter? Schedule your boiler maintenance checkup with Calray Boilers today. Call us at 212-722-5506 or use our online form to make an appointment. We’re happy to answer all your questions and make sure your boiler is in tip-top condition before the busy season finds you stranded.