Singleton Hospital in Swansea modernises with Weishaupt multiflam® burners

The burners on the steam boilers installed at Singleton Hospital in Swansea in the 1980s and 1990s needed upgrading to avoid persistent, lengthy, and costly downtime. So having previously specified and worked with Weishaupt on upgrades at smaller sites across its estates, NHS Wales had no hesitation in approaching the burner specialist when looking to upgrade the three steam boilers.

Singleton Hospital's main boiler house contains one 4.7 MW and two 3.8 MW steam boilers that fire on either natural gas or gas oil and raise steam for domestic hot water, heating, and sterilisation purposes.

The tender document stated that each burner should be capable of a turndown ratio of at least 9:1 for natural gas and 5:1 for gas oil; and that the burners must comply with the Medium Combustion Plant Directive on both fuel types, which stipulates maximum NO_x emissions of 100 mg/Nm³ for natural gas and 200 mg/Nm³ for gas oil.

Based on the requirements set out by the Health Board, Weishaupt supplied and commissioned three modulating, dual-fuel WM-GL30 monarch^® burners with multiflam^® low-emissions technology. Each of the three burners was equipped variable speed drive (VSD), which reduces electrical consumption and ensures lower noise levels at lower burner ratings. The burners were also equipped with an O₂ trim system, which improves the combustion efficiency of the boilers and saves energy by continually measuring the residual oxygen in the flue gases. Fuel consumption was further reduced thanks to the installation of a Weishaupt boiler sequencing panel.

Anthony Wiltshire, Singleton Hospital's Estates Manager said in summary that what Weishaupt had brought to the Health Board was a fit-and-forget solution. 'I didn’t realise how bad the previous burners were until we had Weishaupt installed. You simply can’t compare it! Now, for example, instead of getting panicked calls at 3am and having to race to work because another burner has failed, and then being faced with the pressure of getting it fixed and wondering if your boiler maintenance contractor is available, we have something we can rely on. It is absolutely fantastic and takes a lot of pressure off!'