Colonial Williamsburg, the world’s largest living history museum, preserves an authentic 18th-century experience across its entire site. All buildings remain true to their original state from over 250 years ago, with staff in full historical character. To maintain this immersive environment, all modern infrastructure—including water, heating, and kitchens—is concealed within underground tunnel systems.

Problem

As part of ongoing modernization, Colonial Williamsburg has been transitioning from legacy steam heating systems to modern boiler-based systems.

However, this transition revealed a critical issue:

• The site relies on 100+ year-old steel piping, much of which is heavily corroded
• Contaminants from aging infrastructure were entering new boiler systems
• A newly installed boiler failed within just 3 months due to system contamination
• The hidden infrastructure makes maintenance and replacements complex and costly

This created a high-risk environment where new equipment investments were vulnerable to premature failure.

Solution

To address contamination and protect their heating systems, Colonial Williamsburg implemented BoilerMag magnetic filters across all new boiler installations.

Their current standard includes:

• Three BoilerMag XT units per Lochinvar boiler, installed at:
  • Inlet
  • Outlet
  • Hot water tank

This multi-point protection strategy ensures continuous removal of magnetite and system debris before it can damage critical components.

Results

Following implementation, Colonial Williamsburg has seen:

• Significantly improved system protection for new boilers
• Prevention of contamination-related failures
• Increased confidence in transitioning from steam to modern boilers
• Reduced risk tied to aging infrastructure

After experiencing an early failure, the team has become strong advocates of BoilerMag, now specifying it across all applicable systems.

For complex heritage sites like Colonial Williamsburg—where aging infrastructure meets modern mechanical systems—effective filtration is not optional. BoilerMag has become a vital safeguard, protecting critical investments and ensuring reliable operation in one of the most unique environments in the world.

Thank you SE Burkes for sharing!