Prime Boiler Services rents steam and hot water boilers from 30 BHP firetubes to a 2,200 HP Nebraska watertube. Units are skid- or trailer-mounted and burn diesel, natural gas or dual fuel. Our Grande Prairie team sizes the unit, sets it, starts it up and supports it until your own boiler is back.
Most rental calls start with a failure: a tube that lets go, a burner that won’t light, or an inspection that turns up damage needing weeks of repair. Without steam, production stops. In northern Alberta, January design temperatures fall below −35 °C, so a building without heat can also freeze. A rental boiler keeps the plant running while the repair or replacement gets done properly. That can mean a few days waiting for a part or months for a large boiler to be retubed.
Prime is a long-standing Western Canadian boiler company, now part of the Thermogenics group. Our Grande Prairie branch handles rentals alongside service, repair, certification and parts. We work with gas plants, oil and gas operations, lumber mills, food plants, institutions and commercial buildings across northwestern Alberta and into northeastern BC.
When a boiler fails mid-season, we get a rental moving while our field team repairs the failed unit and finds out why it failed.
Gas plants and mills book rental steam for turnarounds, retubes and refractory work. Production and heat carry on while the main boiler is opened up, repaired and inspected.
A new boiler can take months to build and ship. A rental covers the gap from the day the old unit comes out of service until the new one is set, tied in and certified.
Our rental boilers heat hydrotest water for pipeline work, so testing can go ahead through a northern winter instead of waiting for spring.
We supply steam for rail car and bulker trailer heating, vessel steaming, vapour phase cleaning and oil storage tank cleaning at oil and gas sites across the region.
Steam or heat for new construction before the permanent plant is ready, or added capacity when a cold snap or higher production pushes your existing boilers past their limit.
Prime runs 30+ rental units, low and high pressure. Firetubes start at 30 BHP and run through 200 BHP. Watertubes include a 200 BHP Simoneau, others at 400, 600 and 800 BHP, a truck-mounted 400 BHP watertube with its own generator, and a 2,200 HP Nebraska rated to 750 psig. We also rent superheated steam trailers, hot water units, glycol and thermal fluid heaters, and low-NOx options.
| Unit | Size | Fuel | MAWP | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotch marine firetube | 30 BHP | Diesel | 150 psig | 230V 1-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 60 BHP | Diesel | 150 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 70 BHP | Diesel | 150 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 80 BHP | Dual fuel | 15 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 100 BHP | Dual fuel | 150 or 15 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Hot water heater | 100 BHP | Dual fuel | Atmospheric | 208V 3-ph |
| Condensing hot water | 120 BHP | Natural gas | 160 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 125 BHP | Diesel | 150 psig | 208V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 150 BHP | Diesel | 150 psig | 230V 3-ph |
| Scotch marine firetube | 200 BHP | Dual fuel | 150 psig | 230V 3-ph |
| Simoneau watertube | 200 BHP | Natural gas | 200 psig | 480/600V |
| Watertube | 400 BHP | Dual fuel | 170 psig | 460V 3-ph |
| Watertube (truck-mounted) | 400 BHP | Dual fuel | 170 psig | Generator on board |
| Watertube | 600 BHP | Dual fuel | 170 psig | 460V 3-ph |
| Watertube | 800 BHP | Dual fuel | 170 psig | 460/575V 3-ph |
| Nebraska watertube | 2,200 HP | Natural gas | 750 psig | 460 VAC |
Rental units move from job to job, so availability changes week to week. Call with your load, pressure and fuel, and we’ll tell you what we can send and when.
We ask where your site is, what the steam or heat does in your process, the pressure you need, the fuel on site, available voltage, your water supply, and any emissions limits the unit has to meet.
We look at where the rental can sit, how far it is from your steam line or header, truck and crane access, and the tie-in points. Long pipe runs take time to build, so this step often sets the schedule for the whole job.
The unit arrives skid- or trailer-mounted and is set on level ground in the agreed spot. If the site needs them, we bring water hoses, powered pumps, auxiliary fuel tanks or a power generator on the same delivery plan.
Our field team connects steam or water, fuel, power and blowdown, checks the controls, low-water cutoffs and flame safeguard, and brings the boiler up to pressure with your operators before it carries any load.
We stay on call through the rental, with 24-hour emergency service and mobile repair equipment if something goes wrong. When your own boiler is back online, we shut the rental down, disconnect it and haul it out.
A rental goes in faster when the site is prepared before the truck arrives. The unit needs firm, level ground near your steam line, fuel sized for full fire, power at the right voltage and a reliable water supply. In Alberta, boilers must be on a valid ABSA certificate, and our team handles boiler certification and recertification.
Enter your postal code or town to see the approximate road distance and drive time from our Grande Prairie branch. Dawson Creek is about 1.5 hours by road; Fort St. John and Peace River are each about 2.5 hours.
Timing depends on which unit fits your load and where that unit is when you call. Smaller skid-mounted boilers move quickly; large watertubes and superheated steam trailers need more planning, trucking and site work. Call 780-933-8550 with your pressure, fuel and voltage and we’ll confirm when we can deliver.
Start with your connected load and operating pressure. Prime’s fleet covers small heating loads up to 750 psig process steam, including watertube steam units from 30,000–110,000 lb/hr. If you’re unsure, send us the nameplate data from the boiler you’re replacing and a rough idea of peak demand, and we’ll size the rental from that.
Yes. Our firetube and watertube units run on diesel, natural gas or dual fuel, and diesel units suit remote sites without a gas line. Our superheated steam trailers burn natural gas, #2 oil or LPG. Dual-fuel units let you switch if gas supply is limited or interrupted.
Yes. Prime’s rental boilers support pipeline hydrotesting down to −40 °C, which suits Peace Region pipeline and Montney gas work that runs through the winter. We size the unit to the water volume and temperature rise you need, and we can bring powered pumps, hoses and auxiliary fuel tanks if the site has none.
ABSA sets the operator requirements for each boiler. We’ll tell you what the unit you’re renting needs so you can plan staffing, and our field team handles start-up and commissioning.
The rental carries you through to a new unit. Prime sells, designs and installs boilers as well as renting them. The same team can quote the replacement, keep the rental running while the new boiler is built and shipped, then handle installation, start-up and certification before we pull the rental out.
Call 780-933-8550 with your load, pressure, fuel and voltage. We’ll match a unit from Prime’s fleet and plan delivery, set-up and start-up with you.
Request emergency service online