Boiler Blog | Nationwide Boiler Inc.

In a time as challenging as what we are facing today, giving back is more important now than ever. Non-profits are being hit hard; annual fundraisers are being cancelled or postponed and donations are lacking due to the financial struggles of the economy. In fact, the team at Nationwide Boiler had to make the unfortunate decision to postpone the 40^th Anniversary of our Charity Golf Tournament, an event that now raises an average of $50,000 each year. In 2019, the total raised was split between the ABMA Scholarship Fund and Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area.

Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area is one of the largest and most productive chapters nationwide. In 2019, they granted 347 wishes for local kids with critical illnesses and assisted with a record-breaking 110 wishes for kids from across the world. Since March, the organization has had the painful task of communicating to families that over 80 wishes are on hold until it is safe to commence.

As CEO Betsy Biern stated, “We’re far from alone in experiencing unprecedented challenges during this global pandemic. In a way, the entire world has become a wish family—we’ve received a terrible diagnosis and must put ordinary concerns aside as we face a new and sometimes terrifying reality. During a time like this, I take even more inspiration from our wish kids and their extraordinary resilience. Like them and for them, we will move forward with as much courage and grace as possible under the most difficult of circumstances. There simply is no other option.”

While the organization is currently postponing wishes, they are still taking and processing wish referrals and have definite plans to grant those waiting wishes. They are even looking into ways to grant children’s true wishes virtually.

With the tournament cancellation a reality, we at Nationwide Boiler were determined to find a way to continue our tradition of giving back. Two months after the original scheduled event and time spent analyzing the effects of the pandemic on our business, Nationwide Boiler is excited to be in the position and able to donate $10,000 to Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area. Furthermore, three companies who committed early on to sponsoring our tournament have also chosen to contribute their funds, bringing the final endowment to $12,000. A big thanks to Alzeta, DJ Conley, and Wilkinson Companies! If you are interested and able to help support the cause, too, visit www.sf.wish.org.

Nationwide Boiler’s 40^th Annual Charity Golf Tournament is now scheduled for May 6 – 7, 2021 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. We will resume with our “Back to the Eighties” theme as planned, and all funds raised will be in support of both the ABMA Scholarship Fund and Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area.

If you are interested in attending our tournament next year, contact our Tournament Chair, Chelsey Ryker, at golf@nationwideboiler.com to be included in our invite list.

Routine maintenance on your boiler is a critical component for proper and efficient boiler operation. One of the main factors to improper maintenance that can also lead to boiler failure is not understanding the concept of blowdown. In this month’s Boiler Basics 101, we will be going over what blowdown is and how it will help improve your boiler’s health.

When boiler water turns to steam, solids from the water are left behind. The blowdown process involves partially draining the boiler to remove the sludge those solids create. If these are not removed, boiler performance will be reduced and ultimately, it can lead to boiler failure.

Industrial boilers have three types of blowdown procedures:

• Low Water Cutoff
  This blowdown procedure should take place after every shift. The water column must be kept clean to ensure the water level in the gauge glass accurately represents the water level in the boiler. Regular checks on the boiler verifies that the low water cutoff is operating correctly and cleans it out.

• Bottom Blowdown
  Bottom blowdown is done by manually opening a set of two valves that drains water out of the bottom of the boiler. The purpose of the bottom blowdown activity is to clean out solids that accumulate at the bottom of a firetube boiler or in the mud drum of a watertube boiler. Solids are pushed through a blowdown separator designed to take water from the boiler during blowdown and reduce it to atmospheric pressure for disposal. During this process, steam is rapidly separated from blowdown water and vented out the top of the blowdown separator. From there, the cooled blowdown solids can be safely removed from the boiler.

• Continuous Blowdown
  The purpose of the continuous blowdown is to help control the water quality in the boiler; the more impurities and the more chemical treatment required, the greater the amount of blowdown required. It is a procedure facilitated by a pipe entering the upper section of the boiler, typically located in the steam drum of a watertube boiler or the upper steaming portion of a firetube boiler.

The continuous blowdown process is generally automated and does not require much manual interaction, like with bottom blowdown. When operating continuous blowdown, adjust the valve to maintain the recommended boiler water dissolved solids level. This helps control the dissolved solids in boilers that are operated at a steady load.

It is important to consider proper blowdown procedures to keep the water piping clean and the boiler in working condition. 

Be sure to check out our previous Boiler Basics 101 blogs and stay tuned for the next edition!

Summer is officially here, typically a season jam-packed with tradeshows and conferences for Nationwide Boiler. With effects of the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way many businesses and organizations operate, event coordinators have had to make tough decisions to either cancel, postpone, or reorganize and host their events on a virtual platform. As they say in show business, “the show must go on!”, and we are happy to announce that Nationwide Boiler is participating in two virtual tradeshow events this summer. 

This is the first year that Nationwide Boiler is participating in the Downstream Conference, originally scheduled to be in Houston this month. The show has gone virtual and we are excited to be participating in our first virtual event along with more than 50 other companies.  

Downstream will be hosting new remote virtual access Q&As, breakout sessions, workshops, and audience polls, accessible right from your computer. The tracks being offered are focused on the latest services and technology solutions that will benefit across your entire plant lifecycle. Come and join us on June 9-11 for an opportunity to connect with fellow attendees and potential new partners. And the best news yet, registration is free! Sign up today and visit all of the virtual exhibitors to be a part of this exciting new virtual tradeshow experience.

Every year, IDEA hosts an industry-wide conference that deals with topics of relevance to its members which includes general sessions, seminars, workshops, user groups and event-specific breakout groups. Although originally planned to take place in Washington DC, IDEA2020 has moved to a virtual platform.

On June 24, join IDEA members and professionals in the district energy, CHP and microgrid industries as we all come together to share experiences, explore new solutions, and learn from each other. IDEA2020 Virtual Town Hall provides the ideal space for industry leaders, energy and environmental experts and business partners from around the globe to discuss the "New Vision for District Energy".

Nationwide Boiler will be part of the virtual exhibition this year and we are ready to discuss how we can support your next project. You can view our company profile under the virtual exhibition, and be sure to join in during the live panel discussions on June 24!

The tragic events of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected many, placing people and businesses out of their normal operating procedures. Individuals typically have routines consisting of a normalized work schedule, personal or family responsibilities, and hobbies or other choice activities, in addition to the drudgery like laundry and cleaning the bathroom. All these activities fall into day to day life. Businesses have routines as well. Monday morning sales meetings, Thursday weekly training sessions, safety meetings, sales calls, purchase order acknowledgements, payroll and other various activities that make the work world turn.

What should be done during an “upset” condition?  Risk management in both our personal lives and work obligations needs to be a frequent topic. We must combine the worlds of our personal lives and our work lives because the reality of this “upset” condition impacts both.

As a rental boiler and related equipment supplier, in addition to a full-fledged engineering and procurement company, Nationwide is essential to keeping North America operating at survival capacity.  Our customers producing food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and heat for hospitals and correctional facilities need us to be ready and available to continue to operate.

We also have the fiduciary responsibility to our employees to keep them healthy. In the office we are maintaining the required distance between people. We are washing down high contact areas; employees are even working from home. In the shop, where we work on the equipment that generates steam, feedwater and emissions control, the team is twice as vigilant. Management must lead the team to help them do the job while maintaining their own health and safety. Good planning of where equipment is placed for maintenance while rerouting higher foot traffic areas for items like parts, welding machines, tools, etc. are all considerations thought through to keep the machine turning and our people safe.

So, the question, “Can a boiler rental company work from home?” is not that simple.  Yes, sales, engineering, marketing, and accounting can do much of their work outside of the building. Boiler mechanics, testers, painters, QA and safety, in addition to leadership, needs to be hands on. There are gloves on those hands and masks on those smiles, but even in Silicon Valley there is no app for that.