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Issue 03 is here. This month we are featuring the Unilux watertube boiler, introducing the Cougar USA Elite Level Control Panel, recognizing two people who did exceptional work in the field, and answering the boiler replacement question more facility managers should be asking before something breaks. Thanks for reading.
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Featured Article
GP Energy Products • Product Guide
The Unilux 5-pass watertube boiler: built for applications where fire tube runs out of answers.
Fire tube boilers are the right answer for a lot of commercial applications. But fire tube has a ceiling. Capacity, pressure, thermal stress tolerance, long-term durability. Those limits start to matter when the building is large, the load is heavy, and the expectation is that the boiler plant will still be performing correctly twenty years from now.
The Unilux 5-pass watertube starts at 85% standard efficiency, reaches usable heated water in under fifteen minutes, covers 1,250 to 29,000 MBH, and carries a 25-year thermal shock warranty. GP Energy Products represents Unilux.
Read the Full Article →
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From the Brands
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GP Energy Products
Boiler service and repair in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
What the service process looks like, what information helps the team respond faster, and why the pre-season inspection before heating season is the conversation to have now.
Read More →
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Merion Pump
The Riello RTC condensing boiler: high efficiency at commercial scale.
94% AHRI efficiency. Up to 98% at peak. 10:1 turndown. Zero minimum flow. 3,000 to 10,000 MBH. The condensing boiler argument at the scale that matters.
Read More →
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HX Coils
Steam coil vacuum breakers: what they do, why they fail, and how to specify the right one.
Steam coil freeze damage is one of the most expensive and most preventable failures in commercial HVAC. The vacuum breaker is what prevents it and the component most commonly missing or incorrectly installed.
Read More →
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FabPro Systems
Single-point utility connections: why they matter and how to specify them.
One power connection. Defined piping tie-ins. One BAS interface. The consolidation that reduces installation complexity is a design decision that needs to be in the spec before fabrication begins.
Read More →
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Ask the Team
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Q
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My boiler is getting older but still running. How do I know when it is time to start planning for a replacement rather than continuing to repair it?
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A
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The honest answer is that most facilities wait too long. A boiler that is still running is not the same as a boiler that is running well, running efficiently, or running safely. Age alone is not the deciding factor, but it is a signal worth paying attention to when it starts compounding with other things.
The clearest signs that planning should start: repair costs that are climbing year over year, parts that are becoming difficult to source, efficiency that has declined from what the boiler was designed to produce, and a control system that is no longer compatible with the building automation infrastructure around it. Any one of those is worth a conversation. All of them together is a clear signal.
The other factor is lead time. A well-specified boiler replacement, particularly at larger capacities, can take months from the initial conversation to an installed and commissioned system. Facilities that start planning when the boiler is still running have options. Facilities that start planning after the boiler fails are making decisions under pressure with limited choices.
If your boiler is more than 20 years old and you have not had a recent assessment, that is where to start. Reach out to the GP Energy team and we will give you a straight answer about where things stand.
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Product of the Month
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Cougar USA Elite Level Control Panel
PLC-based level control for tank fill and monitoring applications • Available through Merion Pump
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Control Type
PLC-based with digital touchscreen display
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Application
Tank fill and level monitoring with continuous level transmitter input
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Key Features
Configurable alarm and control points • Discrete and analog outputs • Custom control sequencing • Dead front construction
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Interface
BACnet MS/TP • Touchscreen displays system status, alarm conditions, and set points
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Certifications
UL 508a listed • UL 698a listed
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More Information
cougarusa.com →
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Code and Standards Update
ASME CSD-1
Boiler safety control testing requirements and what they mean for annual maintenance programs.
ASME CSD-1, Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers, governs the design, installation, and required testing of safety controls on commercial and industrial boilers. The standard requires that safety controls including low water cutoffs, high limit controls, and flame safeguard systems be tested at defined intervals and that test results be documented.
Many facility maintenance programs include annual boiler inspections but do not include the specific safety control testing and documentation that CSD-1 requires. As state boiler inspection programs become more rigorous, facilities that cannot produce documented safety control test records are increasingly finding themselves out of compliance at their annual inspection. If your maintenance program does not currently include CSD-1 safety control testing and documentation, the pre-season inspection window before heating season is the right time to address it.
Source: ASME CSD-1, Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers • asme.org • Verify current edition applicability with your authority having jurisdiction.
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From the Field
Fall is closer than it feels in July.
The window between now and the first cold snap is shorter than it looks on the calendar. Boiler startups, pre-season inspections, safety control testing, pump system checks, coil assessments. The work that gets scheduled in July and August gets done before October. The work that waits until September competes with everything else that is also waiting until September. The GP Energy and Merion Pump teams are available now. Reach out and let us help you get ahead of it.
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We're Hiring
Know someone who belongs on this team?
GP Energy Products Group has opened a careers section on the website. 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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Service & Repair Division • Team Spotlight
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Work Worth Recognizing
Above and Beyond
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Joe Pinkney
Choice Med Waste Boiler Startup
Joe brought diligence and real professionalism to the Choice Med Waste commissioning. He completed the full boiler startup, made the required wiring modifications, ran a successful boilout, brought the unit up to full load, and trained the CMW team to operate it. Start to finish, done right.
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"We love Joe. He's a very good guy."
Matt Georgov, CEO, Choice Med Waste
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Sage Loitfellner
Sparger Tube Fabrication
Craftsmanship gets noticed. The weld on the sparger tube is excellent work, the kind of quality that speaks for itself and represents the division well.
Recognized by Gene Grady, Service & Repair Division. Let's make sure our people know they are appreciated.
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