Staying warm in northern climates is an issue of survival. For large institutions such as hospitals, universities, and other commercial facilities, this puts a burden on those responsible for maintaining boilers for facility heating. To guard against worst case scenarios, a wet layup with corrosion solutions company Cortec Corporation Boiler Iguana or the Boiler Turtle provides a level of protection for redundant boilers without constant monitoring. Cortec thus recommends proper preservation of redundant boilers to ensure quick, corrosion-free startup in a heating emergency.
It is common to keep redundant boilers in the state of wet layup — sometimes on low fire — at large institutions. This saves time in the event of planned maintenance or an emergency outage because workers do not have to wait as long as normal to refill the boiler and heat many gallons of water.
Maintaining high sulphite levels and a high pH is a common practice for protecting redundant boilers from corrosion during wet layup. But this approach requires frequent monitoring, with workers taking water samples, testing them, and adding chemicals as much as 3-5 times a week. It is easy to neglect such a tedious task, leading back to the corrosion-related problems the facility manager was trying to avoid. Furthermore, this approach protects boiler surfaces in direct contact with the water, but not those where moisture can condense in the headspace above the water.
Cortec Boiler Iguana thus reportedly offers an alternative to traditional methods of corrosion protection for boilers on standby. This ready-to-use waterborne corrosion inhibitor can be used in operating hot water systems that reach up to 150°C, making it applicable to boilers kept on low fire. It does not require frequent monitoring — periodic checks to make sure inhibitor concentration stays at the proper level as the boiler loses water. Another advantage is that Boiler Iguana is said to contain contact and vapour phase corrosion inhibitors, which protect the boiler both below and above the water level. Application is as easy as adding the Boiler Iguana liquid to the boiler feedwater or condensate system, pumping it to the boiler, and shutting the openings. Boiler Iguana is also said to be typically compatible with other water treatment chemistries, so there is no need to drain the boiler before bringing it back online, helping workers get the backup heating system running on short notice. The Boiler Turtle is similar and can be used for wet layup of boilers that need to remain filled but do not need to be kept on low fire.
