Warm weather is on its way, which means you’re likely due to bring your building’s cooling tower back into service. It is important to follow ASHRAE Guidelines 12-2020 and give your system a good, thorough “spring clean” to avoid the spread of harmful bacteria and waterborne pathogens, like Legionella.
The exact process of recommissioning your cooling tower will depend on how it was stored at the end of the previous season – did you fully drain the system by performing a dry layup, or was your system partially drained via a wet layup? Either way, our expert water technologists are available to bring your cooling tower back safely and efficiently. We adhere to the guidelines set forth by ASHRAE to keep your team and those who use your building safe, while preserving the mechanics of your cooling tower and keep it running at optimum capacity.
A brief overview of each process is below.
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RESTARTING FROM A DRY LAYUP |
RESTARTING FROM A WET LAYUP |
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1.
Thoroughly
clean the outside of the tower of any dirt or other debris that might affect
its operation. 2.
Fill the system
with water and start the condenser water pumps. Leave the cooling tower fans
off to reduce the risk that contaminants might escape while the system is
being disinfected. 3.
With the fans
off, disinfect the system with a biocide or sodium hypochlorite. 4.
Once the
disinfection step is completed, turn the fans on and return them to service.
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1.
Remove any
accessible solid debris from the sump and any remote storage tanks. 2.
Leave both the
cooling tower fans and water pumps turned off to reduce the risk that
contaminants might escape while the system is being disinfected. 3.
Pretreat the
system by adding a biocide or sodium hypochlorite to the stagnant water.
Continue to leave the cooling tower fans off.
4.
At the end of
the pretreatment period, with the fans still off, turn the pumps on and allow
the water to enter the towers. Maintain the recommended chemical residuals
for at least six more hours. 5. Turn the cooling tower fans on and return the units to service. |
If you’re unsure which process was used for
decommissioning your cooling tower or have questions about bringing your
cooling tower back online for service, we’d be happy to chat. Additionally, if
you have general questions about what a Water Management Plan can do for your
team, we invite you to schedule time with our
experts today.
