Natural gas trains and combustion analysis are critical to many facilities’ daily operations of burners and boilers. This equipment’s maintenance, cleaning, and repair are essential for employee safety, efficiency, and profitability. Any facility with major heating components like production facilities, schools, hospitals, and industrial, manufacturing, and food production plants with boilers and burners should conduct at least an annual maintenance/safety inspection.
Through a series of safety and control devices, gas trains ensure safe and efficient combustion for your facilities’ burners and boilers. A properly operating gas train will achieve this by modulating gas flow to the burner for appropriate combustion and utilizing components to shut the burner down safely should a failure occur.
Understanding the importance of routine inspections and maintenance for gas trains is necessary to prevent potential explosions, injuries, and property damage.
BENEFITS OF AN ANNUAL INSPECTION
Gas trains require regular inspection and maintenance by highly trained, experienced professionals. Insurance agencies, equipment manufacturers, and even national standards often require annual testing, preventative maintenance, and combustion analysis, including ANSI, ASME, NFPA, and NEC. According to the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, 83% of boiler accidents are due to human error or lack of knowledge.
It is important to schedule and perform gas train inspections for several reasons:
- Reliability of equipment
- Lack of downtime
- Insurance compliance
- Gas savings
- Safety of your people and facilities
“When running production, you need to plan maintenance for your equipment. Otherwise, your equipment will plan the maintenance for you when you least expect it,” said Nick H., Regional HVAC Operations Manager.
By not maintaining your equipment, there’s a higher probability of failure. Incorrectly vented valves, relief devices, regulators, and pressure switches can fail to respond properly upon use or not react at all. Control valves and linkages may loosen with cycling, or debris can accumulate in fans, burners, and air piping, which alters air-to-fuel ratios and reduces energy efficiency.
TESTING, ASSESSMENT, AND MAINTENANCE
When Bassett Mechanical inspects your facility’s natural gas train, we will do regular maintenance, inspection, and testing on all system parts. You will also receive documentation, which may be required for your insurance or auditing process. Managers can also use the documentation to compare the equipment’s condition with previous inspections.
When you’re running production, you need to plan maintenance for your equipment, otherwise, your equipment will plan the maintenance for you when you least expect it.
We inspect safety interlocks, shut-off valves (SSOV), low and high gas pressure switches, fuel regulators, flame color and shape, strainers, burners, burner management systems (BMS), gauges, and monitoring devices. Upon inspection completion, the customer will receive a comprehensive checklist detailing the components’ pass/fail readings. If there are components that fail, our experts will provide recommendations and solutions to help ensure the equipment is functioning properly with limited disruption.
Combustion analysis of the burner is also a great way to ensure your heating equipment operates safely and efficiently. Preventative maintenance and gas train inspection, including combustion analysis, allows Bassett Mechanical service technicians to identify and address burner safety concerns, including blocked venting, carbon monoxide, and improper combustion. A combustion analysis will also help our technicians determine if any burner air and gas mixture adjustments are needed. This ensures your burners perform efficiently, saving on facility costs and wear and tear on equipment, extending its useful life.
Your biggest defense and vital part of staying safe is investing in a comprehensive preventative maintenance program. Investing in a preventative maintenance agreement with a service provider is an important decision and can significantly impact the future of your equipment. Preventative maintenance will help with system reliability, extend the life of your equipment, provide energy efficiencies, and protect your investment.
LEAVE IT TO THE EXPERTS
We understand the importance of ensuring the optimal performance of your system and facility. Our highly trained service technicians with extensive industry experience can complete our gas train inspections.
After the inspection, you’ll receive documentation that your equipment is working efficiently and properly, documentation that complies with insurance companies, and, most importantly, peace of mind that your most important asset, your people, are safe.
Failure to inspect and maintain gas trains in proper working order could result in equipment downtime and dangerous conditions for your people and facility. Don’t wait for a near-miss to get your inspection scheduled. Call our experts today!
