Out-of-Hours Steam Boiler Repair Gets a Production Facility Running Again

When steam supply is essential to production, an intermittent boiler shutdown can disrupt the entire operation. AH Control recently attended an emergency call-out at a production facility where repeated shutdowns were causing steam pressure to fall and forcing production to stop.

The steam boiler was fitted with Autoflame MM MK8 combustion controls, an Autoflame Exhaust Gas Analyser (EGA) and O₂ trim. We attended out of hours to investigate the fault, complete the necessary work and return the boiler to service.

Steam boiler and associated control panel at the production facility before the work.

Identifying the fault

Investigation identified a faulty voltage conditioner within the controls’ 240 V supply circuit.

No spare voltage conditioner was available on site, so the faulty component was removed from the supply circuit as part of the remedial work.

Voltage conditioner identified as faulty during the investigation.

Internal view of the faulty voltage conditioner.

The customer also requested replacement of the existing MM MK8 controller using a new spare held on site. We removed the original controller and installed the replacement before undertaking full recommissioning.

Original Autoflame controller before replacement.

Original MM MK8 controller connections during replacement work.

Configuring the replacement controls

Installing the new controller was only one part of the work. It also needed to be configured and commissioned for the site’s boiler and production requirements.

We set the site- and application-specific options and parameters, then completed combustion curve commissioning across the firing range to establish efficient and reliable operation.

This was followed by commissioning of the air sensor, gas sensor and fuel flow functions. The final commissioning stage covered O₂ trim with the Autoflame EGA system.

Testing and returning the boiler to service

Once commissioning was complete, we tested boiler operation and completed safety system checks before returning the plant to service.

The customer was able to resume full production, with no further issues reported following the work.

Replacement Autoflame MM MK8 controller in operation following commissioning.

Specialist support when production depends on steam

This project brought together electrical fault finding, combustion controls replacement and full boiler recommissioning during an out-of-hours emergency.

For the customer, the result was a return to full production after intermittent shutdowns had repeatedly interrupted their operation.

AH Control provides specialist commercial and industrial heating and combustion services, including boiler fault finding, controls commissioning and emergency breakdown support.

Experiencing repeated boiler shutdowns or steam supply problems? Email contact@ahcontrol.com to discuss your site’s requirements.