Whitefish Middle School’s two heating system boilers will be replaced after malfunctioning for at least eight years.

“One caught on fire the first year it went online,” Maintenance Director Ron Thompson. 

Thompson became director of maintenance about five years ago, but has worked for the district as a custodian since 1979. 

The boilers were installed in 2004.  

“We’ve had problems with it every year,” he said. “We just kept fixing it and kept thinking we were getting a handle on it.”

Vemco, the existing boiler manufacturer’s representative, was awarded a bid to replace the boilers at a cost of $79,124 following a unanimous vote at a special board meeting March 26. This does not include installation costs, which are estimated to be under $50,000. Funding will come from the district’s tax increment financing fund for maintenance. 

Dan Mahn, vice president of Vemco, said problems arose because the district chose to install a non-condensing boiler and run it on a system designed for a high-efficiency condensing boiler despite objections from Vemco and a design engineer.

Board trustee Charlie Abell said the board had not been aware of the extent of the problems until Thompson brought it to the board’s attention more than a year ago.

Purchasing a non-condensing boiler initially may have saved the district some money, yet in the long run has cost the district a conservative estimate of $25,000 over eight years, Thompson said.

Thompson and Abell tried to research who proposed to the district that a non-condensing boiler was suitable for installation. So far, they haven’t been able to pinpoint anyone.

Both conclude that ultimately, former district administrators must have authorized the change-order during a value engineering process in an attempt to save money and remain within a construction budget for the Whitefish Middle School renovation.

The existing boiler was built to have a high heat maintained around the clock, which is costly. Condensing boilers are efficient in that temperatures can be lowered. When temperatures are raised, condensation forms. A condensing boiler is equipped with lines that drain acidic condensation. Non-condensing boilers do not have drain lines and acidic condensation continually collects, can’t be removed and causes parts to erode, rust and rot prematurely.

Before making a decision to replace the boilers, the district conducted a feasibility study on using a biomass boiler, which proved to be costly.

The new condensing boilers will be replaced this summer.

 Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.