Chiller Tubes:
There’s no doubt about it, chillers use the most energy in any manufacturing plant. Regular cleaning and maintenance to ensure that they stay efficient is imperative. Chiller performance is soley based on how well heat is transfered within the machine. There are miles of tubing inside a chiller’s heat exchangers, and keeping the tubes clean means the chiller will perform more efficiently and have a longer lifespan.
Unfortuneatley chiller tubes can get quite nasty over time. Tubes become caked with mud, slime, sludge, algae and scale. The rate at which the tubes become clogged depends on the type of system you have, and water quality. Closed systems may not need to be cleaned as often, but open systems should be cleaned peropdically.
When tubes become packed solid, a water flush can be used to flush out the clogged tubes quickly. Using the right tools will make the process much easier and go much faster. Most tube cleaners can clean both straight and spiral tubing
Cooling Towers:
Cooling towers are used to move air through the water system with a fan. This allows water vapor to sit inside the system, and remain at the ideal temperature range (20°-50°C; 68°-122°F). Cooling tower water also can become dirty with slime, algae, sludge and mud. Most of the ‘yuck’ collects on the basin floor, leaving a perfect breeding ground of all sorts of things. Many kinds of bacteria can thrive underneath the layers of slime and scale, so you must make sure to clean the tower whenever scale, slime or sediment is present. Dirty water can also affect chillers’ operating efficiency and increase energy costs.
Sometimes tower vacuums can be used to remove slime, mud, algae, bacteria and other contaminants from the sides and floor of the cooling tower basin. Spraying a foam solution on the tower before vacuuming will help to dissolves tough deposits.
For more information on how to clean your process chiller, visit our website at www.legacychiller.com