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September is here and heating season is closer than it looks. This month we are leading with the fall startup campaign because October is not the time to find out your boiler has a problem. We also have a Sellers Manufacturing deep dive, new puzzles with a gold heat exchanger trophy on the line, and a product spotlight on pre-season pump service. Thanks for reading and please schedule your inspection now while we still have availability.
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Featured Article
GP Energy Products • Fall Startup Campaign
The commercial boiler pre-season startup checklist: what to verify before heating season begins.
October is not the time to find out your boiler has a problem. The service schedule fills up fast and the options for addressing a problem narrow significantly when the building needs heat. The facility managers who avoid emergency service calls in January are the ones who scheduled their pre-season inspection in August or September.
The full checklist covers burner and combustion, safety controls per ASME CSD-1, heat transfer surfaces, breeching, water treatment and system chemistry, expansion tank and system pressure, and controls and building automation interface verification. Every item is manageable now. Some of them become emergencies in October.
Read the Full Checklist →
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From the Brands
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GP Energy Products
Boiler water treatment before heating season: what the chemistry needs to look like before the first firing.
A boiler that is mechanically sound and chemically neglected develops scale, corrosion, and oxygen pitting on a schedule that is invisible until the damage is done. Four checks before the first firing.
Read More →
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Merion Pump
Pump pre-season checks: what to verify on commercial hydronic pump systems before heating season starts.
The boiler gets inspected. The pump system that moves the water from the boiler to every terminal unit usually does not. Bearings, seals, alignment, strainers, and VFD fault history all need attention before heating season.
Read More →
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HX Coils
Face and bypass coils for precision temperature control: when a standard heating or cooling coil is not the right answer.
Operating rooms, cleanrooms, and pharmaceutical manufacturing spaces require temperature control that water-side coil modulation alone cannot deliver. Face and bypass is how it is done.
Read More →
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FabPro Systems
Outdoor mechanical enclosures: what to specify when there is no mechanical room.
It is not a shed with equipment in it. The structural design, weatherproofing, combustion air, enclosure HVAC, and code compliance all need to be specified correctly before fabrication begins.
Read More →
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Ask the Team
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Q
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We keep putting off the pre-season inspection because the boiler has been running fine. How do I make the case internally that we should spend the money now?
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A
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The boiler running fine is not evidence that everything is fine. It is evidence that nothing has failed yet. The safety controls that have not been tested since last season may have drifted. The heat transfer surfaces may have scale accumulation that is reducing efficiency without producing any visible symptom. The water chemistry may have shifted during the idle period. None of these announce themselves until they become a problem.
The internal case is straightforward. A pre-season inspection costs a defined amount and takes a scheduled window of time during a period when the boiler is not needed. An emergency service call during January costs significantly more, takes the boiler offline when it cannot be taken offline, and in some cases results in temporary heat loss that affects occupants, production, or operations. The inspection is insurance against the scenario where the problem that was developing silently becomes a crisis at the worst possible time.
ASME CSD-1 also requires that safety controls be tested and documented at defined intervals. If that documentation does not exist for this season, the facility has a compliance gap regardless of how well the boiler appears to be running. That is often the argument that moves the internal conversation from optional to required.
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Product of the Month
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Merion Pump Pre-Season Service
Commercial hydronic pump system inspection and verification • Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland
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Bearing Inspection
Temperature and noise assessment during operation. A bearing identified in September is a planned replacement. Missed in September it is an emergency in January.
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Mechanical Seal Check
Inspection for weeping, staining, and mineral deposits that indicate a seal progressing toward failure before heating season load hits.
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Laser Alignment Verification
Alignment shifts as bases settle and piping loads change. Laser verification documents the current condition and corrects it before heating season.
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VFD Diagnostics
Fault log review, cooling system check, and setpoint verification. A fault that recurs regularly indicates a developing problem nobody has addressed.
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Strainer Service
Element inspection and cleaning. Iron oxide scale in the strainer means corrosion somewhere in the system that needs investigation, not just a clean strainer.
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Schedule Now
Available now across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The calendar fills up in October. merionpump.com
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Code and Standards Update
State Boiler Inspection Requirements
What Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland require for commercial boiler inspections.
Each state in our territory has its own boiler safety inspection program administered by the state labor or public safety department. Pennsylvania requires annual inspections of commercial boilers by a licensed boiler inspector, with certificates of inspection issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. New Jersey's boiler inspection program is administered by the Department of Community Affairs and requires annual inspections for most commercial boilers. Delaware and Maryland have comparable state inspection programs with annual inspection requirements for commercial and industrial boilers.
The state inspection is a legal requirement, not a substitute for the owner's pre-season maintenance inspection. The state inspector confirms that the boiler meets the minimum safety requirements of the applicable code. The pre-season inspection confirms that the boiler is operating correctly and efficiently, which the state inspection does not cover. Facilities should confirm that their current boiler certificates are valid before heating season begins and that any deficiencies identified in the last state inspection have been addressed.
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Delaware Department of Labor, Maryland Department of Labor. Requirements vary by boiler type, pressure, and age. Verify current requirements with your state boiler inspection office.
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From the Field
September is the window. October is not.
The GP Energy and Merion Pump service teams have availability now for pre-season boiler inspections and pump system checks. By October that availability is compressed by everyone else who waited. By November the heating season is already making demands on equipment that has not been verified. The facilities that come through heating season without emergency service calls are the ones that scheduled in September. Reach out this week and we will get it on the calendar.
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We're Hiring
Know someone who belongs on this team?
GP Energy Products Group is growing. If you know someone with the right background for commercial and industrial boiler service, repair, or technical sales, we would appreciate the introduction. Current openings are listed at the link below.
View Open Positions →
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Meet the Team
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Regina McHale
Service Support • GP Energy Products Group
Gina joined GP Energy Products Group in December 2019 and has been a steady presence in the service department ever since. Her day covers a lot of ground: customer calls, technician schedules, invoicing, attendance records, supply orders, and anything else the service team needs to keep moving. She is the person who makes sure the coordination that happens behind the scenes actually happens.
Before joining the team Gina spent years in banking, working her way from the controller's area to Executive Assistant for a President and CFO, and eventually to Branch Manager and Assistant Vice President. She made the move because she wanted to work directly with people. That instinct shows up every day in how she handles the phone.
Outside of work Gina recently became a swim coach, working with children with disabilities, adults learning to swim for the first time, and swimmers looking to refine their technique. If patience and compassion are what it takes to coach that group well, she has been building those qualities for a long time.
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