User manual

Maintenance

Fluid Cooler Cleaning:

Any evaporative-type ﬂuid cooler must be thoroughly cleaned on a

regular basis to minimize the growth of bacteria, including Legionella

Pneumophila,toavoidtheriskofsicknessordeath.Serviceper-

sonnel must wear proper personal protective equipment during

decontamination.DoNOTattemptanyserviceunlessthefanmotor

islockedout.

Operators of evaporative cooling equipment, such as closed circuit cooling

towers, should follow maintenance programs which will reduce to an absolute

minimum the opportunity for bacteriological contamination. Public Health

Service ofﬁcials have recommended that “good housekeeping” procedures

be followed, such as: regular inspections for concentrations of dirt, scale, and

algae; periodic ﬂushing and cleaning; and the following of a complete water

treatment program including biocidal treatment.

The visual inspection should take place at least once a week during the oper-

ating season. The periodic ﬂushing and cleaning should be done before and

after each cooling season, but in any event at least twice a year. The louvers,

drift eliminators, easily accessible ﬁll surfaces and the coil should be ﬂushed

by use of a moderate-pressure water nozzle, being careful not to cause

physical damage. A reliable water treatment program should be installed and

maintained. Filtration devices may be employed to reduce the suspended

solids concentrations, thus increasing the effectiveness of the water treatment

program. See Fluid Cooler Startup instructions on page 13.

Blowdown:

A ﬂuid cooler cools water by continuously causing a portion of it to evaporate.

Although the water lost by evaporation is replenished by the makeup system, it

exits the tower as pure water—leaving behind its burden of dissolved solids to

concentrate in the remaining water. Given no means of control, this increasing

concentration of contaminants can reach a very high level.

In order to achieve water quality which is acceptable to the ﬂuid cooler, the

selected water treatment company must work from a relatively constant level

of concentrations. This stabilization of contaminant concentrations is usually

accomplished by blowdown, which is the constant discharge of a portion of

the circulating water to waste. As a rule, acceptable levels on which to base

Warning