Boilers freezing

North Carolina has endured several weeks of extremely cold temperatures. As a result, we've gotten numerous reports of boilers and piping freezing across the state. Frozen water inside your boiler system can obviously lead to serious damage as water expands as it cools. Ice can clog or bust pipes. Furthermore, for smaller boilers, if water inside the boiler has frozen overnight or over the weekend, the damage caused can be catastrophic.

Suppose a boiler has frozen through. Steel does not handle freezing temperatures well. When the burner is fired, there is no moving water inside the boiler to absorb and transfer the heat. The rapid heating of the frozen steel can cause it to shatter like glass. The physical damage caused by a frozen boiler can equal damage caused by low water conditions.

To help prevent your boilers and boiler piping from freezing this winter when temperatures reach below 32F, keep the boiler room roll-up doors and man doors closed as much as possible to keep temperatures higher inside. Ensure that louvers are properly adjusted as well to reduce drafts. If you have uninsulated water piping running outside the building, you may want to insulate the them.

By protecting your boiler room equipment from freezing, you can help avoid unexpected repair costs this winter. Should you have any problems or damage caused by water freezing in your boiler, please don't hesitate to call us at (919) 832-1665