How to Properly Shut Down a Boiler

Here at ChemREADY, we know how important it is to properly maintain boiler systems and keep your boiler operating at peak efficiency. How to shut down a boiler is very important, boilers are often damaged by improper shut down. When drained hot, the residual heat in the boiler furnace can cause warpage of tubes or tube sheets, causing leaks and requiring tube rolling. The residual heat can also bake soft sludge into scale. If cold water is used for cooling, warpage, strain and leaks can result.

Boilers are often damaged by corrosion during out-of-service periods.  Idle boilers are very vulnerable to attack when air (21% oxygen) contacts moist metal surfaces. To prevent corrosion, the boiler metal must be protected by either keeping the surfaces completely dry or excluding all air from the boiler by completely filling it with properly treated water. Because of variations in boiler design, there is no single, detailed procedure that covers all steps in boiler lay-up. (The mechanical aspects of lay-up procedure are important and they vary). The basic principles in protecting boilers against corrosion, however, will be covered below.

Learn About Lay Up Chemicals

How Do I Turn Off My Boiler?

Shut them down following these simple steps to ensure the longevity of your equipment life:

1. For scheduled shut down, double the normal blowdown rate for two weeks preceding shut down and increase the sludge conditioner dosage to 1 1/2 to 2 times normal.

2. After the boiler has been taken out of service, blowdown several times from all blowdown outlets, including headers, making up with hot deaerated feedwater. Follow the boiler manufacturer’s instructions for taking the boiler out of service. Never use cold water to cool the boiler as leaks in rolled joints will develop. When the boiler is cool enough to get into the furnace, drain the boiler.

3. To prevent suspended matter (sludge) in the boiler water from baking on the tubes, never drain water from a hot boiler. Never drain the water from a hot boiler and let it dry out without thoroughly washing it. Start washing down as soon as the water has drained away from the tubes. Flush out all feed and control lines to remove any sludge accumulations.

4. Flush the water-side surfaces thoroughly with a high-pressure hose and inspect to determine whether further cleaning is needed before lay-up. All soot, fly ash, and slag should be cleaned off the fireside surfaces at the first opportunity. These deposits can foster severe corrosion on the fireside. For corrosion protection, the fireside can be coated with light oil after cleaning.

Storage Options

There are two basic ways of laying up boilers: wet and dry.  In storing a boiler dry, trays of moisture-absorbing chemicals are distributed in the boiler drum (or drums), and the boiler is sealed. This removes the moisture and prevents premature wear on the boiler tubes that may cause future pitting and leaks. The alternate method, wet storage, involves forcing air out of the boiler by completely filling it (to overflowing) with water that has been specially treated.  Nitrogen gas under a slight pressure can also be used to displace air and “blanket” the boiler open surfaces.  Special consideration should be given to protecting superheaters during lay-up, particularly the non-drainable type, see your operating manual is this is your case.

The choice between the wet and dry methods of lay-up depends to a great extent on how long the boiler is to be out of service. Dry lay-up is preferable for long outages.  The wet method has the advantage of permitting the boiler to be returned to service on reasonably short notice.  It is preferable that a boiler be drained, flushed and inspected prior to any lay-up.  When time does not permit this, however, the boiler may be stored wet without first draining it.  In this case the chemical treatment for lay-up is injected into the boiler just before it comes offline.

Dry Lay Up Procedures

Closed and Dry – The following steps should be taken in laying up a boiler closed and dry.

1. After the boiler has cooled, drain the unit completely.

2. Flush thoroughly and inspect. If cleaning is needed, this should be done before the boiler is laid up.

3. Dry thoroughly, giving special attention to drying out superheaters. Circulated warm air may be used in drying the metal. All valves must be tightly closed to ensure that no water or steam enters the boiler.

4. Place quicklime (not hydrated lime) or commercial grade silica get in trays and distribute in the boiler drums. The trays should be placed so that air may circulate underneath. For fire tube boiler, place a single tray on top of the tubes or in the bottom of the shell. (Use at least 7 lbs. or lime for each 1000 lb./hour steaming capacity).

5. Seal the boiler very carefully, blanking off all openings through which air or steam might enter.

6. After every two months of lay-up, open the boiler, inspect the moisture absorbing chemical (replacing it when necessary), and reseal.

Open and Dry – The following steps should be taken in laying up a boiler open and dry.

1. After the boiler has cooled, drain the unit completely.

2. Flush thoroughly and inspect. If cleaning is needed, this should be done before the boiler is laid up.

3. Dry thoroughly, giving special attention to drying out superheaters. Circulated warm air may be used in drying the metal. All valves must be tightly closed to ensure that no water or steam enters the boiler.

4. Open all openings to allow a free flow of air.

5. The boiler should be inspected for condensation weekly.

6. Small heaters, heat lamps, or pilot flames can be used to maintain the boiler above the dew point.

Wet Lay-Up Procedure

The following procedure covers the storage of a boiler using a wet lay-up procedure.

1. At least 30 minutes before the boiler comes offline, add the following chemicals. When the boiler is to be drained and inspected first, the chemicals should be added, in solution, as it is being refilled with water. It is most important that the chemicals be well distributed in the boiler water.

When the boiler is refilled, start a light fire to provide circulation of the chemicals. We reccomend:

• BOILER AID 385 is a 90% active Ultra-Concentrated All-N-One Tannin/Reducing Agent based Steam Boiler Treatment, based on world-wide proven tannin & reducing agent chemistries, forms a molecular bond with iron to defuse corrosive oxygen from the metal surface.
• BOILER AID 386 is a 90% active Ultra-Concentrated Tannin/Reducing Agent based Humidification or similar Steam Boiler Treatment where NO amine compounds are required. BOILER AID 386 reduces corrosion from dissolved oxygen entrained in boiler feed water. When maintained in its proper control range BOILER AID 386 alleviates the significant corrosion problems and failures associated with oxygen pitting in boilers. BOILER AID 386 based on world-wide proven tannin & reducing agent chemistries forms a molecular bond with iron to defuse corrosive oxygen from the metal surface.

2. Fill the boiler to the top of the drum, blanking off outlets as necessary to avoid flooding the steam line or the superheater. A simple device that can be used to ensure that the boiler is completely full is shown in the image.

3. Alternatively, maintain a positive pressure of 5 psig of nitrogen using a cylinder and a two-stage regulator.

4. Test the boiler water each week or two to make sure the proper levels of sulfite and caustic are being maintained. Add additional chemicals as needed.
wet boiler layup diagram

What Boiler Products Should You Use

For boiler treatment, we recommend our Boiler Aid series. Our Boiler Aid series is a blend of complex polyphosphates, dispersants and sludge conditioners for the treatment of boilers against scale.  It precipitates the sludge and disperses it for removal by blowdown and, at the same time, converts the calcium to calcium phosphate.

Boiler Aid 385 is a 90% active Ultra-Concentrated All-N-One Tannin/Reducing Agent based Steam Boiler Treatment. Boiler Aid 385 based on world-wide proven tannin & reducing agent chemistries forms a molecular bond with iron to defuse corrosive oxygen from the metal surface.

Returning Idle Boilers to Service

With boiler stored dry the normal start-up procedure can be followed. One precaution, however, is to make sure all of the moisture-absorbing chemicals are removed. If there has been any spillage, it should be cleaned up.

With wet storage, the water is merely partially drained and made up to the operating level with feedwater. This dilutes the chemical residuals. How much feedwater dilution is needed depends on the level of dissolved solids that a particular boiler can tolerate during operation.

When superheaters are stored wet, they should be drained (or blown out with air) as much as is possible before the start-up. Careful firing (as soon as possible after air blowing) is then required to completely dry out the superheater before normal operation.