The cooling tower is designed to reject heat from machinery and commercial spaces by using the evaporation of water. Therefore, the water system in the structure is critical in the performance of your cooling tower. It is important to perform maintenance tasks that are specifically focused on this part of the cooling tower. This will promote efficiency and prevent premature breakdown. Consequently, you can cut the running expenses and even decrease potential equipment downtime. Here are some important maintenance tips to help you provide proper care to your cooling tower water system.
Perform Proper Treatment
The circulating water in the cooling tower can be obtained from any source, including lakes, rivers and boreholes. Unfortunately, there is no perfect water in terms of quality for this application. Therefore, you will need to ensure that the water is properly treated before it is released into the tower circulation. If your water is obtained from a surface source like a river, it will probably be acidic. Therefore, you must make sure that this is adjusted to prevent corrosion of the tower components.
Groundwater is often high in minerals and causes scale build-up in the tower. Water softening agents must be added to prevent this detriment. You should also ensure that this pre-treatment includes disinfection of the water. If microorganisms are allowed to enter with the water, they will thrive due to the warm temperature in the cooling tower. Generally, the water should be treated with biocides to prevent bacterial and fungal growth and algaecide for algae elimination.
Monitor the Water Quality
The recirculating water in the cooling tower should be monitored periodically even after treatment. In simple terms, the conditions in the structure can affect water quality in different ways. If the chemistry changes negatively and the problem is not detected early, you could face different problems. Change in pH could degrade the components and growth microbes could lead to diseases. Therefore, it is advisable to hire a technician to sample and test cooling tower water periodically. Moreover, this process can be useful if you have noticed strange odours or the equipment has been offline for some time.
Check the Pre-Treatment Filters
Finally, you should check the pre-treatment filtration components that are installed to remove physical contaminants. If these are blocked due to excess gunk, the water flow to the system will be inhibited. Consequently, the efficiency of the water system will be compromised. Additionally, if polluted water flows into the cooling elements, you will have less effective cooling and dirty internal surfaces.
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