Boiler Blog | Nationwide Boiler Inc.

When winter comes along, freeze protection should be a major consideration for any boiler owner or renter. Protecting your boiler from freeze damage is simple: enclose, insulate, and/or heat trace. If you continue operations as usual and allow your boiler to be exposed to near or below freezing temperatures, you will have a high probability of costly damage and system failures.

Below are a few reminders on the proper steps to take when it comes time to protect your temporary or permanent boiler system from the cold climate.

  - Enclose both the front and rear of the boiler, or build a full temporary enclosure, and utilize an external heating source.
  - Install the proper heat tracing (steam or electronic) and insulation to all of your main lines and piping components, regardless of if the
    boiler is in operation or not. This includes the following lines:
   
Sensing lines
          - Auxiliary low-water cut-off
          - Water column
          - Level control blowdown
          - Main and continuous blowdown, depending on length of piping runs
  - During non-operation times, drain and fill all sensing lines with a 50/50 water/glycol solution, making sure to re-connect each line.
  - When an extended downtime is expected, completely drain the boiler and all stagnant water lines.

In addition to the recommendations above, use sound engineering calls when it comes to deciding the correct freeze protection measures. And if you happen to have damage this winter, we have your back with a rental boiler to get you by during the repairs!

Nationwide Boiler is actively monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and has enacted a semi-remote protocol to help “flatten the curve”. Please understand that we are still fully operational and able to support the many essential industries that we serve, including our hospitals and medical care facilities / suppliers, food processors, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper plants, manufacturing, and electrical power generation facilities. Rest assured that if an emergency need arises and a rental boiler is required quickly, we will be able to fulfill any request as we would on a typical operating basis.

Our sales, engineering and marketing teams are working remote and are fully accessible via email and phone calls. Our accounting team is working diligently to continue the functions necessary for day-to-day operations, and we have a partial shipping and receiving protocol in place with employees available on stand-by if a piece of equipment needs to get serviced and ready to ship out. At our offices, we have implemented additional measures as recommended by the CDC and the federal government, including a higher focus on cleaning and sanitizing commonly touched surfaces and the practice of social distancing. Lastly, we are restricting all non-essential travel and will carefully review and approve any essential travel to continue providing service and support.

We at Nationwide Boiler realize that this global situation affects many business and individuals, and we are here to provide as much support as possible while practicing the necessary measures to slow the outbreak. Our customers depend on us, and we will not let you down even in these uncertain times. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates via our social media channels as they arise.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns: info@nationwideboiler.com.

Located in Lathrop, CA, the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy is a Community High School run by the California National Guard in partnership with the San Joaquin County Office of Education. Part of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP), the Academy was founded in 1993 to assist students in enhancing life skills, education levels, and employment potential.  This military-style program houses, feeds, and educates 16 to 18-year-old young adults that were unable to complete high school due to varying unfortunate circumstances. The program allows students to earn 65 High School credits while developing leadership, job, and academic skills, while improving self-esteem, pride, and confidence.  

With the school year coming to an end and graduation quickly approaching, The Academy set up a trip for a group of students working to complete their high school credits, and Nationwide Boiler was honored to participate. The goal of this field trip was to educate the graduating class on the many different education, trade, and career opportunities available to them once they step out into the real world.

The first stop of the day was San Jose State University, where they toured the campus and the new $130M recreation center. After experiencing lunch like a college student in the Student Union, they headed north to Nationwide’s shop in Fremont. Upon arrival, the students congregated on the patio to hear a warm welcome from President & CEO, Larry Day, and Vice President, Michele Tomas. The group was then taken on a tour of our 26,000 sq. ft. shop, where day-to-day activities include; boiler maintenance, welding, painting, electrical work, fabrication, equipment assembling, and other technical skills.

Nationwide Boiler’s Shop & Service Managers, Andrew Horne and Michael Rosmando, educated the students on the basics of a boiler system, and walked them through the different trade skills and career opportunities available not just here at Nationwide, but from other companies in similar and varying industries. Many of the students were interested in welding, electrical, and accounting careers. Who knows… we may have just met future Nationwide employees!

At Nationwide Boiler, we feel strongly about training and educating our youth so that we are able to successfully sustain our business and industry for future generations, and we are happy to have had the opportunity to be a part of this inspiring program. Thank you to Todd Robinson and the NGYCP for providing young adults with an opportunity that will help them secure their futures.

Recent studies show that companies are restructuring their culture, steering away from the competitive work environment with minimal employee recognition, and shifting towards adapting a more team-centric and collaborative working atmosphere.

Nationwide Boiler is proud to say that we have always been a company that encourages team building, and are more than happy to recognize and reward our employees as they excel in their position. In fact, in addition to 5-year length of service awards that are presented at our annual Christmas party, we recognize employees who make a big impact with our ‘Big Kahuna’ award at each quarterly birthday celebration.

To encourage camaraderie throughout our company, Nationwide Boiler coordinates multiple events for employees to take part in. This year we have a total of 6 sporting events in the lineup, including soccer, baseball, and college football. The next game we are looking forward to is the Oakland A’s vs. Texas Rangers, and of course, we will be rooting for the A’s! We also coordinate multiple barbeques & dessert socials throughout the year to satisfy our many food lovers and celebrate certain events. Most recently, we held our Independence Day barbeque the week of July 4^th. We had grill masters, Larry Day and Michele Tomas, cook up some delicious burgers and hotdogs; while Holly Lepo spoiled us all with her famous and delicious chili, yum! We can’t wait for the next one.

In addition to being sports enthusiasts and foodies, we also like participating and getting in on the action. We recently hosted a bowling lunch at our local bowling alley, Cloverleaf Family Bowl. The group was split into 8 teams (with fun, creative team names), in a competition to win the title of Nationwide Boiler’s 2019 Bowling Champions. In the end, Team Vapor & Team Combustion went head to head, but Team Vapor came out on top. Congratulations to Tim McBride, Phil Blake, Nic Petty, and Sandy Nevels. Let’s see who will take home the title at our next bowling event!