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Boiler install in Colorado? and optional needs...

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  • Boiler install in Colorado? and optional needs...

    So I got quotes on boilers and other items for boilers. I have a 15 bbl brewhouse coming. The HLT, MT and BK are all steam jacketed. My first problem is finding an installer in Colorado Springs. My 2nd problem is understanding why I need some of these "optional" items. Thus here are some questions. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

    1. Does anyone know who to call for boiler installation in Colorado Springs? I keep getting people who only do house boilers for radiant heat etc...
    2. Do I really need a blowdown tank? Can I just blow off the scale building stuff down the drain every couple months?
    3. Do I need water softener system? I guess the person who installs in Colorado Springs would be better to answer this. But I think our water is not very hard at all here.
    4. Do I need a chemical feed system? The PH of the water here is around 6.7. What does it hurt to have lower PH?

    I asked some of the other breweries in Colorado Springs and got dead end information. For example, one said they used Brown's and Browns said they did not do the work for them. The other said they would not recommend the company who installed theirs, so I wont bother asking that installer.

    Also, I realize that some of these questions sound terribly ignorant. But that is what I am when it comes to boilers and steam heating.

    Thanks,
    Pete

  • #2
    Boiler Operation

    Originally posted by SB Brewer View Post
    So I got quotes on boilers and other items for boilers. I have a 15 bbl brewhouse coming. The HLT, MT and BK are all steam jacketed. My first problem is finding an installer in Colorado Springs. My 2nd problem is understanding why I need some of these "optional" items. Thus here are some questions. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

    1. Does anyone know who to call for boiler installation in Colorado Springs? I keep getting people who only do house boilers for radiant heat etc...
    2. Do I really need a blowdown tank? Can I just blow off the scale building stuff down the drain every couple months?
    3. Do I need water softener system? I guess the person who installs in Colorado Springs would be better to answer this. But I think our water is not very hard at all here.
    4. Do I need a chemical feed system? The PH of the water here is around 6.7. What does it hurt to have lower PH?

    I asked some of the other breweries in Colorado Springs and got dead end information. For example, one said they used Brown's and Browns said they did not do the work for them. The other said they would not recommend the company who installed theirs, so I wont bother asking that installer.

    Also, I realize that some of these questions sound terribly ignorant. But that is what I am when it comes to boilers and steam heating.

    Thanks,
    Pete
    See and read former threads on Boilers in the forum.
    For install you need an HVACR or Plumbing outfit that has experience running and installing boilers for industrial applications. I have never heard of a blowdown tank by that name. Sometimes flash separators are used before entering the drain system. Blowdown has to be done DAILY. You do need a chemical feed system and your parameters for TDS, Conductivity, PH, and so forth need to be read at least once a week. We are living in an age when the art of steam boiler install and operation is being mostly lost along with the guys who know how to do it well.
    AS an example, 2 commercial outfits in this town would not " touch " the last 10 HP boiler install we needed to do for the Distillery. Also no one in Grand Junction was interested in the least in coming out for such an affair.
    I designed the system, ordered all the parts, and we got an HVAC Shop to sign on for the install under my direction. While they had the necessary licensing, they did not have any experience with Steam systems. So yes its way hard to find the expertise needed to do it correctly, and there are all manner of half-ass, semi dangerous systems running out there all over creation. I have one in another location that was set up wrong from the get go. Some configuration errors can fly, and others not at all.
    Another thing that can complicate matters is the decline in Engineering skills on the Vendor side. I got a brand new pump station from Weinman with totally undersized impellers installed from the factory, tthe factory having been given ALL the necessary design parameters for supplying the correct pump performance on such a small and simple system.
    The basics are actually simple, but getting it all together is not. If you are in Colorado we are not that far away in real terms. You are welcome to tour out plant for a walk through on how I run steam.
    There are a couple of shops I buy from in Colorado with some guys who are also pretty good at steam engineering and they will offer design assistance.

    Star
    Last edited by Starcat; 02-22-2018, 07:44 AM.
    Warren Turner
    Industrial Engineering Technician
    HVACR-Electrical Systems Specialist
    Moab Brewery
    The Thought Police are Attempting to Suppress Free Speech and Sugar coat everything. This is both Cowardice and Treason given to their own kind.

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