Commercial boiler repair in Essex, Morris and Union County, NJ

On this page, commercial means a boiler that heats something other than a one- or two-family house: an apartment building of three or more units, a condominium, a house of worship, a school, an office, a restaurant or a store. MDL repairs steam boilers and services commercial boilers. MDL confirms the service boundary after reviewing the building and equipment.

From October 1 to May 15, every unit and every habitable room must be kept at 68°F or more from 6:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. and at 65°F or more from 11:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. (N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4). The rule covers multiple dwellings, which the state defines as buildings with three or more dwelling units occupied by people living independently (N.J.A.C. 5:10-2.2). The owner must supply the fuel and keep the heating system in good operating condition whatever the lease says, unless a tenant has agreed in writing to heat a unit that has its own separately billed heating equipment.

It depends on the building and the boiler's size. Low-pressure heating boilers (steam boilers with relief valves set at 15 psig or less, hot-water boilers at 160 psig or less and 250°F or less) are left out of the state boiler rules only when they serve dwellings of fewer than six family units or with accommodations for fewer than 25 persons, or when they are very small: under 10 square feet of heating surface, or under 10 kilowatts or 40,000 BTU per hour of input (N.J.A.C. 12:90-4.1). A boiler the rules cover is registered with the state, carries its registration number on the front, and has its State boiler inspection certificate framed and posted in the boiler room or office (N.J.A.C. 12:90-4.14). The Department of Labor's Bureau of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Compliance, (609) 292-2921, confirms whether a particular boiler is covered.

A boiler covered by the state boiler rules is inspected at least once a year, at 12-month intervals, as completely inside and out as its construction allows. Hot-water heating boilers are inspected internally every 24 months and externally every 12 months (N.J.A.C. 12:90-4.10). The inspector works for the state or for an insurance company whose inspectors the state has certified (N.J.S.A. 34:7-14). Separately, the heating system in a multiple dwelling must be inspected every year under the state's housing maintenance rules (N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.7).

A steam boiler shuts its burner off on purpose when a control trips. The low-water cutoff stops the fuel when the water falls to the lowest visible part of the gauge glass, and the pressure control stops it at its operating limit, as the New Jersey Department of Labor's low pressure steam boiler checklist sets out. A flame safeguard locks the burner out after a failed ignition. MDL checks why the control tripped, including the water feed, the condensate or boiler feed pump and the pressure control, rather than only resetting it.

The address and building type; the number of units or occupants; a photo of the boiler's label (make, model, input and whether it is steam or hot water); a photo of the piping and controls around the boiler; any error code or lockout light; on a steam boiler, the gauge glass level and the pressure reading; which floors, apartments or zones are cold and whether hot water is out too; and who can open the boiler room and approve the work. Take photos only where it is safe, and do not open panels or touch hot piping.

Yes. MDL Electric Cooling & Heating is an electrical contractor as well as a heating and cooling contractor. A boiler's burner, controls, circulators and pumps run on the building's electrical supply, so a tripped breaker, a switch turned off, a failed control transformer or relay, or a pump motor that will not start can look like a boiler failure. One request covers the boiler and the circuit that feeds it.

MDL does not publish commercial prices, and this page lists none. The cost depends on what failed, the boiler type and size, parts availability, access to the boiler room, and whether the work needs a permit or an inspection afterwards. MDL looks at the building and equipment first.

Yes. Home boilers have their own page: MDL's boiler repair and service page covers hot-water, steam and domestic hot water systems in houses. This page is for apartment buildings and businesses.

MDL works from 4 Harrison Avenue in West Orange across Essex, Morris and Union County, including West Orange, Montclair, South Orange, Maplewood, Livingston, Newark, Morristown, Chatham, Summit and Union Township. Send the exact address and ZIP code so coverage can be confirmed for the building.