Avoid the ostrich syndrome by being proactive in research and repair of your heating system

The ostrich is the largest living, flightless bird in the world, native to Africa. This distinctive bird is also unique in its physical appearance; it has a long skinny neck, long bony legs and a huge feathered midsection. Although the ostrich often weighs 300 lbs., it has the ability to run at maximum speeds of about 45mph - faster than any bird on land. The kinesics of this exceptional bird is where the term ostrich syndrome was derived. It is the belief that when pursued, the ostrich hides its head in the sand and believes itself to be unseen or invisible. In other words, it is when we deny or refuse to acknowledge something that is blatantly obvious as if our heads are in the sand like an ostrich. Although we may not feel there is any likeness in our characteristics to an ostrich, it is very possible at some point in our lives we may have inadvertently exhibited the ostrich syndrome. To ensure ourselves that we will not fall into this category, as fall approaches, we need to review last fall projects as we project for the new ones we are about to encounter within the fall and winter months. Preplanning our seasonal workload can help to prevent unwanted and undeserved stress and minimize heating emergencies. Checking your heating systems now, will keep you out of hot water later. Vacuum System issues are one of the main sources of stress to Pump & Motor Corp.'s cliental at the beginning of every heating season. These crises can be prevented if start-ups are pre-planned before the heating season begins. These early trial runs will allow you the ability to quickly make changes or coordinate repair, preventing emergencies while saving you time and money. Stay away from the ostrich syndrome by being proactive in research and repair of your heating system. Take your head out of the sand and do not wait one to two weeks before the heating season begins to examine the vacuum system, tanks, condensate and vacuum pumps, float switches, check valves, steam traps and the control panel. Procrastination will ruin a well laid out budget and almost guarantee a last minute repair. The methodical approach to safeguarding your budget in relation to building equipment and prevent a series of unfortunate events, is to inspect the condition of the vacuum system. Check the tanks for corrosion and leaks; listen to the vacuum and condensate pumps for loud noises which usually indicates bearings are bad and the pumps need to be overhauled; test the electrical components of the system and control panel to ensure the system can be tailored to your buildings needs. Three components of the vacuum system that will substantially increase your cost and are often difficult to diagnose are the check valves, float switches and steam traps. These components will increase your energy consumption, or will cause additional repairs to other components of the system if the following conditions exist. Check valves should be thoroughly examined. If the check valve for the vacuum pumps does not hold, the second pump will work twice as hard thus wearing it out twice as fast. If the check valve for the condensate pump does not hold, water will return into the condensate tank instead of the boiler causing a low water alarm at the boiler and water overflow in the tank resulting in the building having no heat. Float switches stuck in the run position will cause pumps to constantly run, running the tank dry, ultimately burning out the pump seals. If the float switch is stuck in the off position the boiler low water alarm will come on and the tank will overflow. Steam traps average life span is three to five year (max). If yours have passed this time frame, they are not working properly and can send steam into the vacuum system destroying the vacuum and condensate pumps. Malfunctioning steam traps can cost you from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on your energy consumption. You must change your steam traps during the off season because all of the heat must be off at the same time. If not, the steam will travel up the return lines and destroy the newly installed traps as you replace them. For antiquated systems that are beyond reasonable repair now is the time to replace it. During the offseason your delivery time will substantially decrease and a new vacuum system is also accepted as a capital improvement which allows tax exemptions and savings to your bottom lines. Pump & Motor Corp. provides free estimates to check your systems and provide detailed corrective action reports if required. Don't be an ostrich, call us today or submit a request for an estimate or repair from our new customer friendly website www.pumpandmotor.com. Zaneta Williams is the director of operations for Pump & Motor Corp., Westbury, N.Y.