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BOILER ABUSE
"We called Rocky's because they've done great work for us in the
past," said tribe member Fred Nicholia in a native accent. "Out
here in the village, heating systems must work. We have killer
winters, and we're a long way from civilization. About 10 years
ago, Rocky installed two boilers in our Elders' Residence, so we
know we can trust them."
During their second day in the village the crew serviced a
diverse collection of equipment, all of which had been neglected
for years, some of which wasn't installed properly to begin
with. They moved a cir-
culator on one of the
boilers from the return
to the supply side. All
units needed a soot saw
to be cleaned, and all
got smoke-tuned and
checked with an analyzer,
likely for the first time.
"When Rocky builds
the parts list for a job in
the bush like this one, he
knows the equipment
will have a hard life, and
chooses accordingly," said
Cevasco. "While efficiency
is important—with outrageous oil and power generation costs—it's
more important that the gear can take abuse and neglect and keep
working. If something fails, it doesn't take long to freeze a poorly-
constructed building at -40°F with the wind howling down the
Yukon. Burnham, Taco and Watts are three names that always
make the list."
BACK TO THE HOME SHOW
"There was no time to spare," said Mullen, whose proficiency
as an outstanding service tech earned him the nickname "Super
Sam." "The units we serviced were as dirty as we expected, and
we did one more boiler than what we'd initially planned."
Their timeline was tight, since the annual Interior Alaska
Building Association Home Show was right around the corner.
Pavey needed them back in town to handle calls while others
manned the company's display—to include a clear PVC loop
demonstrating the effectiveness of air separators and debris filters.
"When we go to the Home Show, we display our motto,
which is '"First Fairbanks, then the world! Anywhere, anytime,'"
said Pavey. "I think the Tanana project illustrates that we're seri-
ous. Yeehaw!"
l F O N
Top: The village's oil depot can store 175,000 gallons. Middle:
Foreman, Jason Cevasco smoke tunes the new Burnham V8. Bottom:
Overnight, the new boiler cut the building's fuel use in half.
'"FIRST FAIRBANKS, THEN
THE WORLD! ANYWHERE,
ANYTIME,'" SAID PAVEY.
"I THINK THE TANANA
PROJECT ILLUSTRATES
THAT WE'RE SERIOUS.
YEEHAW!"
YUKON BOILERMEN
