Pressure Vessel Maintenance
The importance of Pressure Vessel Maintenance:
Manufacturers of most pressure vessels will only guarantee the gas charge in a vessel for six months, as a result they recommend it is maintained and recharged to ensure it continues operating correctly on a bi-annual basis. There are manufacturers who guarantee the gas charge for longer but it is good practice to test diaphragms regularly. The correct charge within an expansion vessel is critical to the acceptance factor of that vessel relative to the system it supports. In the same way the correct charge in a pump accumulator vessel is fundamental to the good operation of the pumps it protects.
Recent service visit to high profile building in Central Manchester:
This week we carried out the first service visit for a building which was completed in May 2017 in central Manchester. This building is some 23 stories high and as such has a large amount of pressure and booster equipment. The building has a mixture of pressure vessels ranging from 2 litre to 3000 litre. With this building being less than a year old, site expected the service to raise very few red flags; this was not the case. One example of this is that we found a 3000 litre vessel completely empty of gas charge. This system was operating at 9.0 Bar, thus, over the course of 11 months that pressure has bled away. As a result, that system is no longer operating as it should, there was now no longer enough room for expansion within that system. Thanks to the service that we carried out, we managed to recharge the vessel and perform a pressure drop test, as a result the diaphragm held a charge which meant there was no need for any further action. Had the vessel failed the test it would have meant the integrity of the diaphragm was compromised necessitating a replacement diaphragm or in some cases a new vessel. A 3000 litre vessel of that type has a retail value at around £9,500.00, this is just a small example of why ongoing service and maintenance of pressure vessels is so pivotal.
PressBoost service and maintenance of Pressure Equipment:
The PSSR 2000 regulations explain: “Everybody operating, installing, maintaining, repairing, inspecting and testing pressure equipment should have the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their job safely. Further guidance on regulation 11 (Operation) and regulation 12 (Maintenance) of the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 is given in the Approved Code of Practice Safety of pressure systems.”
In addition to this, SFG20 also recommends a pressure vessel should be serviced 6 monthly as a minimum. SFG 20 also states “All expansion vessels should have a means of isolation and drain provision to allow periodic flushing.”
The isolation and drain points need to be specific to each individual vessel and as local as possible to minimise downtime during maintenance tasks (see picture). 
We specialise solely in the service and maintenance of pressurisation and boosted water equipment. We have multiple exceptionally skilled engineers with a vast amount of knowledge in exactly this area. It takes a great amount of time to understand not only the regulations but the practicality of working safely on pressurised equipment. This is never more apparent than when the equipment has failed and the end user has time constraints with regards to its re-instatement.
Any questions please get in touch:
Email: adam@pressboost.co.uk
Landline: 0161 798 5872
Mobile: 07539 736677
This Manchester bar had poor mains pressure and on a busy night ran out of flow to the toilets and kitchen.
PressBoost engineers Antony and Andy had to come up with a solution which could fit into this tight area and keep up with replenishment to the tank and for the pump to to keep up with the flow and pressure required.
We had to create a shelf and build the single Booster Set on site in situ. This will be a common job with low water pressure guarantees from Utility providers.