Why do I need a service for my Biomass boiler?
You need to Service your boiler, fuel feed system (augers, conveyors) and ancillary items at the correct intervals to ensure the whole system operates as it was designed to do.
A properly maintained biomass boiler system is essential for:
Maintaining high combustion efficiency
Maintaining the correct emissions
Maintaining high reliability
REASON 1. Maintaining high combustion efficiency
The boiler Efficiency will decrease over time as soot builds up on the heat exchanger surfaces . Whilst the boiler has automatic heat exchanger cleaning system, which will normally manage the majority of the cleaning, during the survice we will ensure the cleaning mechanism is working correctly and has no blockages.
Fig 1: Illustrates how the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers changes over time
REASON 2. Maintaining the correct emissions
Particulate (dust), NOx (Nitrous oxide), and CO (Carbon Monoxide) emissions can all increase if the boiler combustion is not optismised properly. For stable and low emissions all the combustion components need to be working correctly. As the combustion components (steel grate elements and refractory bricks) begin to wear then this will affect the emissions on the service visit. We will assess the wear level of these items and make any recommendations for replacements where required.
REASON 3. IMPROVING Reliability
Components used in biomass systems are in constant contact with moist wood and are subjected to very high temperatures in the combustion area. Some components wear over time, similarly to those on your car such as tyres, brake pads and brake discs. These components on your car have a wear ‘tolerance’ and should be replaced before they wear beyond the minimum level.
Once a component has worn beyond the recommended minimum level the subsequent wear is accelerated and the chance of breakdown due to failure is imminent. Once this does happen it will often also cause a failure in surrounding components which hugely increases the cost of replacement. Usine the car analogy, by not replacing the brake pads in time you may also need to replace the discs.
How often should I service my biomass boiler?
The total operating cost of a boiler is the sum of the servicing costs and the breakdown/repair costs. There is always a trade off between them. The graph below shows how the repair costs are high if there is insufficient servicing. Conversely, if the boiler is serviced too often then the total costs are very high despite a greatly reduced repair bill. There is a happy medium, the “Optimum range”, where the servicing does improve the reliability significantly without huge monthly costs.
Fig 2: Trade off between SERVICE costs and REPAIR costs
Myriad has found that for a typical boiler used for space heating a building the best service frequency is normally once per year. However, there are a number of factors that need to be considered to ensure this frequency is correct:
No. of hours a day the boiler is running
Fuel quality
Level of in-house maintenance
1. Number of hours a day the boiler is running
If the boiler is working for more than 10 hours a day then we would recommend increasing the number of major services in the year. Also, if the boiler is used during the warmer summer months as well as during the winter than we would recommended an increase in servicing again according to the following table. The table below provides a guide on the number of major services reccommended:
Typical application |
No. of hours a day |
No of months a year |
No. of major services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space heating | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| High duty space heating | 16 | 6 | 2 |
| Process heating 24/7 | 24 | 12 | 3 |
2. The type of fuel you are burning
If you are burning clean ‘virgin’ wood then the above frequencies will be adequate. However, if you are using waste wood or wood with a lot of ash or has a propensity to produce clinker, then we may recommend the frequencies are increased further. Materials that produce a lot of clinker include those with high quantities of bark or elements of green and leaf matter or wood with waste elements such as MDF or chipboard.
Boiler |
Service |
|---|---|
| Clean ‘virgin’ wood | Standard |
| Material with high ash/clinker content |
Standard x 1.5 |
3. The level of in-house servicing
Biomass boilers require regular ongoing attendance to ensure smooth running. If they are completed by the site staff then it may reduce the need for the major services. Where there is an on-site service resource capability Myriad can provide a Technical Oversight Visit to check over the boiler ensuring the cleaning is completed correctly. We will undertake an inspection and test of the boiler system to ensure everything is functioning properly.
Although the principles of biomass combustion are similar between each of the boiler manufacturers every biomass boiler make will have a different design, different controller etc. This means that you should ensure that your service company is trained on your particular boiler. Myriad engineers regularly service over 28 different boiler makes and have been trained by the manufacturers to ensure the service is completed correctly.
What does a professional BIOMASS service entail?
A Myriad full service includes not only a thorough clean of the boiler but also a 65 point check that covers every element of your boiler system. We also offer minor services which are typically undertaken in between the major services to ensure everything is on track. Minor services are typically used when boilers are working for very long hours or where the customer is burning more difficult fuels.
Reputable biomass servicing companies should also normally offer bolt-on service options that cover other elements of your system, for example:
Flue cleaning
Heat meter compliance
Fuel store maintenance
Boiler remote monitoring
Fuel monitoring and management
Your biomass boiler heating system needs to be correctly maintained. Doing this means you will save on your heating bills, and makes sure you're earning your Renewable Heat Incentive payments.
Myriad can offer you five different annual service contract options. Each of our service contracts can be tailored to meet your specific needs.
Check out our other Biomass Services below for the bolt-on options we can offer to effectively maintain your heating system.
Typical Myriad 65 point check
| Biomass Boiler Servicing Checklist & Areas | |
|---|---|
Biomass Boiler System Area |
No. of Checks |
Fuel storage and transport to the boiler |
10 |
Combustion chamber |
16 |
Heat exchanger |
10 |
Control cabinet |
8 |
Flue gas fan system and filtration |
10 |
M&E peripherals |
3 |
Software update |
1 |
Combustion and flue gas emission check |
1 |
Safety system function check |
6 |
| Areas and numbers of biomass checks | |
Fig. 3: Maintain good records: Service Sticker attached to biomass boiler
Further notes on service methodology:
The kWh generated from the heat meter is collected during the service visit. We can therefore report on the average % uptime of the boiler. This will enable us to determine if your service frequency is correct or if it needs to be increased/decreased.
Following every visit you will be provided with a written report that provides a full account of all the activities undertaken including recommendations for further works.
A record sticker will be left on the boiler for easy reference.
boiler owner / site operator actions
In association with the client, the biomass service engineer will guide the client as to what tasks are required to be completed by the site operator. Where possible this will be presented in graphical form as a sticker on the side of the boiler for very easy reference, see image below for an example:
Fig. 4: Regular checks required on a biomass boiler system
What is the cost of a biomass boiler service?
We often find we are competing with “service companies” who are a lower cost than Myriad. This may look like a good deal for the customer, but when we look at the detail of what they are actually doing we often find that the majority of the tasks they are doing is simply cleaning the boiler. Remember, a clean boiler is not necessarily a well serviced boiler.
Ask your service Provider what they will actually do during the service. If they major on the cleaning then you have to ask yourself if they really understand biomass or whether they are just providing cleaning service?
A full major service for a biomass boiler is a significant piece of work. The service should take the following length of time for automatic feeding boilers. Log boilers will take considerably less time due to the lower level of complexity. The table below provides an indicative ‘time allowance’ for a given size of boiler:
| How much time does it take to service a biomass boiler? | |
|---|---|
Biomass Boiler Size |
Time Allowance |
|
½ day |
|
1 days |
|
1-2 days |
|
2-3 days |
|
Bespoke: Time depends upon type of fuel storage, fuel transport, operation duty (hrs/day), fuel type etc. |
| Biomass boiler sizes and corresponding service time allowance | |
The indicative times above include adequate time to run the boiler up and optimise the combustion after the service works are completed and also run an FGE (flue gas emission) test.
We hope you have found this guide helpful. We aim to keep improving it, so please feel free to reach out and let us know if it has not answered one or more questions you may have: service@myriadservice.co.uk
If you would like to request a quotation from Myriad to service and maintain your biomass boiler system, please complete this form: