How Much Space Should Be Between Boilers?
When determining how much space should be between steam boilers, serviceability should be at the top of your mind. Sure, you want to save space, but you also want to make sure you have plenty of elbow room to service your boiler properly.
One of the most crucial factors that will determine how you space your boiler units is whether your boiler system is being installed in a new construction facility or an existing building that is being retrofitted.
While a new construction gives you a lot of control over how much space you need to accommodate your boilers, a retrofit project requires you to work around what you have been given. If you’re dealing with a newly constructed facility, boilers can actually be installed before being closed in later by a wall or ceiling. Retrofitting an existing facility for a new boiler does not have this luxury, which is why large boiler installation may require opening existing walls and ceilings, maneuvering the boiler system into place, and then closing the boiler room back up. For some retrofits, you may even need to expand an existing room if your new boiler system is larger than your previous one or if you foresee needing to add another unit to your modular boiler system later down the road.
Of course, depending on the boiler you choose, making renovations to accommodate a retrofit may not even be necessary. At Miura America Co., Ltd, our low-volume water tube pressure vessels boast ultra-compact footprints and do not require tube pull-space or door-swing space. These are flexible, space-saving qualities that make them outstanding options for retrofits.
Miura’s LX series, in particular, offers the greatest space savings and boiler room design flexibility — our LX-200 is capable of fitting through a standard doorway. While we consider our LX boilers to be the ultimate space-saving solution, our EX boilers are nothing to laugh at either. Unlike conventional firetube boilers, our EX boilers are designed to stand upright and occupy 33% less floor space than traditional fire tube boilers.
Best of all, figuring out how much space to have between Miura boilers is simple. That’s because Miura boilers allow for “zero-side clearance” in cases where space is at a premium. Typically, it’s recommended that boilers be placed far enough apart so that they can be easily serviced by technicians, but this often means sacrificing precious floor space. Having zero-side clearance means that a boiler may be placed directly against another boiler unit while remaining easily accessible for maintenance work.
Whether you need to install boilers in a newly constructed facility or in an existing facility that requires a retrofit, choosing a modular water tube boiler system by Miura will ensure that you have plenty of room to meet your current steam needs, as well as plan for the future.
