Boiler Blog | Nationwide Boiler Inc.

Nationwide Boiler is fortunate to have closed on another record year in 2022 for rental and sales volume. Looking back at our customer base, it is extraordinary to see how many industries and manufacturing processes utilize steam. We worked with customers from roughly 15 different industries to supply reliable temporary boilers, new and used boilers and related equipment for permanent applications, the CataStak™ SCR system for single-digit NOx performance, and custom control systems and fuel skids from our Controls Division in Washougal.

The food processing industry pulled ahead this year as our largest industry served. Steam is used for many purposes in the food and beverage industry including heat, sterilization, food processing and preparation of sauces/flavors, canning, cooking, curing, and drying. We have annual rental customers in the food processing industry to support their seasonal increased steam demand needs. We also had a large number of projects with chemical & manufacturing companies, pulp and paper facilities, and oil & gas refineries. Steam is used for process heating, drying or concentrating, steam cracking and distillation in these industries. Other prominent customer groups included energy and power generation, colleges and universities, aerospace, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and textile mills.

In terms of geographical location, Nationwide Boiler supplied equipment to customers in locations spanning more than half of the states in the country, but also to customers outside of the U.S. As we like to say, Nationwide Boiler is not just ‘nationwide’, but ‘worldwide’, and this year we had the pleasure of supplying equipment to customers in Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea and Israel. Plus, we had our first equipment sale to a refinery in Kazakhstan - two (2) 75,000 lb/hr, 750 psi high-pressure saturated steam package boilers that will be utilized for process heating needs.

Steam continues to be a powerful source of heat and energy and is utilized in a wide variety of industries all across the globe. Nationwide Boiler is proud to be ending on a high note again this year, as we strive to continue our legacy of providing reliable temporary and permanent boiler solutions with “...Integrity, Dependability, and Real Customer Service.”

Check out our December 2022 edition of the Steamlines Newsletter to learn more about what's happening at Nationwide Boiler Inc. 

Higher capacity, smaller footprint, lower thermal NOx, and a lower rear wall temperature – all in one, newly patented boiler design! Superior Boiler’s DFW package watertube boiler is a game changer, and our exclusive partnership provides Nationwide Boiler with the rights to promote, market, and sell this unique boiler design to customers worldwide!

Our team participated in the initial development of this innovative boiler design led by Superior's engineering team; Nationwide Boiler already has DFW boilers operating in our rental fleet and we have sold multiple units to customers in North America. The value of this design to the rental boiler market is massive – we can now offer a larger capacity system that can travel legally over the road, with the same level of permits as a boiler that is typically 10% smaller in capacity. Plus, it offers a unique solution to customers with a requirement for high-capacity steam but a small space available for the boiler system.

Nationwide Boiler’s President and CEO, Larry Day, along with Superior Boiler’s President, Doug Wright, participated in an exclusive interview with Today's Boiler Magazine to provide in-depth details about this exclusive design and partnership. Check out the article from the Fall 2022 publication to learn more about the DFW boiler partnership and benefits of the new design.

If the DFW Boiler sounds like a fit for your facility or your next project, give us a call today at 800-227-1966.

Nationwide Boiler's 41st Annual Charity Golf Tournament was held early this summer in May. We are happy to report another success with nearly $54,000 raised in support of the ABMA's Randy Rawson Scholarship Fund and Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area!

After two years without our "normal" in-person event, our group was welcomed back to Pebble Beach with some surprisingly sunny weather and it was a great time had by all. The event began with a practice round at the Spyglass Hill Golf Course followed by tournament play at the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links. Golfers and guests visited from across the US and Canada to support this worthwhile cause.

Our team worked hard to raise funds through various sponsorship opportunities in addition to raffles, an online auction, and other fundraising activities throughout the two-day event. A big contgratulations to our tournament winners this year: Allison Day (Nationwide Boiler) for the Women’s Division, Miles Freeman (HTS, Inc.) for the Handicap Division, Jordan Cole (Cole Industrial) for the Callaway Division, and Jake Cushard (Nationwide Boiler) who took home this year's Low Gross trophy. 

Thank you to everyone who participated, sponsored, or donated to support our end goal of raising money for the ABMA Scholarship Fund and Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area. Save the date for next years event: May 10-11, 2023 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. 

 Check out our Facebook page to see additional photos from the event!

Last month on the Boiler Blog, we focused on increased efficiency through the use of O2 trim. This is an easy, cost-effective addition to a boiler system with multiple added benefits. There are, however, additional ways to increase the efficiency of your steam plant even further. A Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) controls a motor’s speed by varying the frequency supplied to it, and VFD’s can help achieve significant electrical power savings when added to your boiler.

To illustrate the benefits of VFDs, take the power usage of the fan. A combustion air fan on a boiler typically uses a large amount of energy. For example, a 125,000 pph boiler can have a fan motor as large as 300 hp. While the actual power usage would typically be less than the rated size of the motor, when operating 24/7/365 at full load and assuming an electricity cost of 8 cents/KW, the cost of electricity can be upwards of $150,000 - just for the combustion air fan! 

The use of VFDs will provide the most savings for boilers that have an average annual operational load of less than 100%. In fact, if your average boiler load throughout the year is 50%, or half load, you could save ⅞ ^th the fan power. This means that with the use of a VFD, the fan would require a fraction of the typical amount of energy used when running your boiler at full load. Generally speaking, if your boiler is operating at half load the fan will also operate at half speed.  According to the fan laws, fan power is related to change in fan speed to the 3^rd power.  When operating the fan at half speed, the change in power is (½)³ or ¹/₈^th the power!  This is where the power savings would come from and why it would be most beneficial to utilize a VFD for scenarios where the boiler system operates more consistently at half load.

Let’s look further into the reason behind using 50% fan speed for 50% boiler load. When running your boiler at half load, the air flow requirement will also be reduced by half (assuming the burner excess air stays the same).  Since the fan laws state that air flow changes linearly with fan speed, that means that at 50% fan speed (or RPM), the flow would be 50% of full load.  For the static pressure requirement, the fan pressure is closely related to the square of the change in boiler load.  So, at 50% load, the static pressure change would be (½)² which also matches the fan laws which state change in fan speed changes fan static by the square.  You’ll notice that if you multiply the flow and static changes together (i.e. ½ * (½)²) you get ⅛ ^th which is the same number for the power savings.

If a VFD is not being used, the alternate device is likely a line motor starter. With a motor starter, the fan is always running at full speed. At 50% load, the air flow is about half but the static pressure requirement typically increases due to the closing of the air dampers (which are used instead of a VFD to control the flow).  That said, with a standard motor started, the overall fan power requirement stays about the same regardless of whether the boiler is operating at half or full load.

Stay tuned for our next Boiler Blog for additional educational topics, Nationwide Boiler news, and more!