By Jonathan Hiser
A cracked tube inside Physical Plant's number four boiler near Mehling Hall in December left UP with a $30,000 repair bill and no backup boiler. The rupture originated from over-pressure in the steam and water pipes during a routine afternoon fire-up.
Physical Plant boiler operator Satendra Singh was on shift when the accident occurred. The first sign of trouble was not an explosion, but rather a large plume of smoke and stream billowing from the machine.
"That's not supposed to happen," Singh said. "But we knew what to do."
Workers shut down the boiler without further incident. Other boilers were already running at the time, which compensated for the lack of steam so that no building experienced a lost of heating.
The boiler provided backup support for the primary boilers on campus: numbers two and three. The three boilers together provided steam and hot water for over two-thirds of campus buildings. Without the number four boiler, future boiler failures, particularly those of number two or three could jeopardize the amount of heating for buildings.
Physical Plant Director Paul Luty said the timing of the accident could have been worse if it occurred during the start of fall. The warmer weather creates a smaller demand for steam, deducing the burden on campus boilers.
"We have that time," Luty said. "Even if number three went down right now, we would have three other boilers we could fire."
Luty said the primary concern is buying a new boiler before demand ramps up again next year.
This is not the first time the number four boiler has failed. Physical Plant has repaired the number four after previous pipe bursts and after this rupture, it became obvious that repairs weren't enough. Rather than take the risk of another failure, Physical Plant intends to forgo the $30,000 needed to repair the boiler and instead purchase a new one for an estimated $250,000.
The estimated price tag may be less depending on the type of boiler Physical Plant purchases. Buying a second boiler similar to the number three boiler will cost $250,000 while buying two smaller boilers whereas might bring the cost down to $160,000 range.
Luty said Physical Plant has prepared for the possibility of buying a new boiler, but still needs to reallocate funds.
"Money has to be found for this, and that's going to take some time to figure out which way we're going to go," Luty said. "I'd rather get all our ducks in a row and get everything scoped out first before spending a lot of money on a new boiler."
The recent appointment of Denis Ransmeier as vice president for financial affairs has momentarily put the process of reallocating Physical Plant's capital funds on hold.
"I only met him for the first time on Monday; it wasn't the time for me to sit down and say, 'I need money,'" Luty said. "There are a few things I need to bombard him with, but not before he can sit in his chair for awhile."
Ransmeier said he is still settling into his new position, but has already talked with Physical Plant about major construction and renovation issues. Ransmeier is aware of the boiler issue and intends to follow up on it during future meetings with his staff.
"I understand that Physical Plant will be putting together some proposals for a new boiler," Ransmeier said. "I will have the answers as soon as I can find them."
Power efficiency and fuel consumption will play a primary role in the decision making process. According to Luty, the hope is to buy a boiler that improves the features and capacity of the now defunct number four boiler. Once a solution is reached, the plan will be submitted to Ransmeier for fund approval.
"We will pick the one we feel is best for the University and then present it to Ransmeier and say, 'This is our problem, this is our solution, how do we find the funds?" Luty said. "The more we save, the better it is for you guys.'"
