As one of the oldest types of heating systems, boilers use either steam or hot water (At Gary’s, we only work on hot water) to warm up interior spaces. Maintenance requires routine boiler service, ideally before the cold winter months begin to avoid emergency repair calls. If you have a boiler at home, knowing the following parts and how they work can help you to better handle or prevent breakdowns in the system.

What Are the Components of a Boiler?

1. Burner

Whether your boiler runs on hot water or steam, it always comes with a burner. It is a critical component that triggers combustion reaction within the heating system by combining the fuel source and air to burn. Boilers typically run on either oil or gas. In Fairbanks, boilers will typically run on oil, which is what we specialize in and work on. 

2. Combustion Chamber or Firebox

The combustion chamber, also known as the firebox, is where the fuel gets burned. Often made with cast iron, the temperature inside can get high quickly because of the burning. Afterward, the heat produced gets transferred to the heat exchanger.

3. Heat Exchanger

As another main part of a boiler system, the heat exchanger moves heat to warm the water inside the boiler’s water tank, making it boiling hot or converting it to steam. In a hydronic heating system, pressurized heated water or steam moves through a piping network to the radiators or baseboard heaters.

4. Supply & Return Lines

Supply and return lines are a series of pipes that move hot water or steam throughout the heating system. However, they work differently, and supply lines distribute the heated water or steam to radiators or convectors while return lines bring the cooled water back into the tank for reheating.

5. Circulator Pump

Since heated water or steam won’t move on its own, the circulator pump helps push them out of the boiler and into the distribution system. It allows produced heat to circulate and reach the distribution points efficiently. 

6. Safety Controls

Since boilers are inherently hazardous because of high temperatures and pressure, they come with various controls to ensure safety. Aquastats monitor water temperature to signal when the burner should stop combustion, while a safety valve opens up to prevent pressure from building up inside the boiler. Have a boiler service technician regularly check these to reduce the risk of accidents.

 

For a top-notch boiler service, turn to the professionals at Gary’s Repair and Burner Service. Proudly serving the community in and around Ester, AK, they offer maintenance, repairs, and installations of boilers and furnaces, no matter the size, make, or model. Call (907) 474-0736 for emergency boiler service or furnace repair, or visit the website to learn more information.