Ready to roll
May 1st 2011 To mark the 25th anniversary of its mobile industrial boiler
hire service in the UK, Peter Baldwin,MD of Byworth Boilers,
discusses the concept with IP&E
Q Back in the 1980s what inspired the
concept of putting industrial boilers 'on
wheels'?
A Boiler Hire had been around for some
time but always involved static boilers which
were craned into position then piped up to
ancillaries and services and finally sheeted
with tarpaulins from the weather. The
installation was time consuming and cost
companies a lot of down time if it was a
breakdown situation. By installing the boiler
plus connected oil and feedwater tanks into a
fully secure and weatherproof trailer, the
whole unit could be delivered and connected
up to site services in one day. For emergency
situations this was a godsend to many
companies.
Q What prompts companies to hire?
A The mobile hire boiler concept arose from
the need to tackle emergency situations
where perhaps the site boiler needs
structural repair, often as a result of poor
water treatment, or a disaster such as a
factory fire. However nowadays there are
many situations where a hire boiler is ideal.
Special projects such as R&D. One
leading manufacturer of process machinery
that runs on steam hires a steam boiler to
test the machines.
A boiler replacement programme is another
example – during the building of an energy
centre at a major regional hospital an integral
part of the project was the hire of three
steam boilers to keep services running while
the old coal-fired boilers were removed and
replaced by new boilers.
A need for extra seasonal capacity such as in
the horticultural industry may be another
reason to hire or,more commonly, when the
existing boiler is the wrong size. Many process
plants have old boilers which are now too big
for the demand. With the price of fuel today it
is very expensive to keep these running;
sometimes it can prove cheaper to hire in a
boiler of the correct output. The reduction in
fuel costs may outweigh the hire cost.
Q How long can you rent a boiler?
A Well anything from the minimum 2-week
period to indefinite rental. One of the UK's
largest airports rented high pressure hot
water boilers for more than 10 years.
Q What is the advantage of rental over
purchasing?
A For many reasons not all businesses have
the budget for capital expenditure so boiler
rental can be a very cost effective means of
having steam or hot water on site with no
worries about service and maintenance.
Q What plant can be hired?
A There are broadly two types of industrial
boiler, hot water and steam. Hot water rental
boilers may be used for heating purposes
only or have the facility to produce clean hot
water for washing purposes. Steam boilers
range from 500kg/h to 16000kg/h and with
multi boiler installations available no
demand is too big.
Q What format options are available?
A I believe the most versatile hire boilers are
trailerised and containerised units which can
be quickly transported and installed on site.
By contrast, bespoke plant can also be
produced to suit a special project or a
customer's particular application.
Longer term rentals are increasingly being
satisfied by self-contained boiler houses. This
is a purpose-built boiler house fully installed
with a boiler and all ancillary services and
can be supplied flat-roofed or in a modular
building with pitched roof. For larger
contracts which demand more than one
boiler, modular buildings can be constructed
on site around skid mounted plant.
Q What's next?
A The next big change will be fuel.With gas
and oil prices increasing dramatically and
the Government committed to reducing CO2
emissions in the next decade and beyond, the
move to renewable sources of fuel such as
biomass to generate energy is inevitable.
Hiring boiler plant to run on an
alternative fuel such as wood pellets takes
away the risk element and allows flexibility
later to change fuel.
Q What recent financial developments have
there been?
A To help drive the move to renewable energy
the Government recently announced the
much anticipated Renewable Heat Incentive
(RHI) tariffs which will help reduce running
costs by providing rebates for energy users.
Additionally an operating lease will bridge
the gap between hiring and purchasing.
Brand new bespoke plant can be leased over
a term and includes the worry free back-up
of a servicing package – all this without
capital outlay. More articles from Byworth Boilers: | 
