Like any other piece of equipment, your cooling tower will require routine maintenance and upkeep to elongate its life and keep it in great condition. Performing regular cooling tower maintenance and routine checks can help prevent costly repairs or other problems—such as Legionella’s growth—later down the line.
Some maintenance aspects require a visual inspection and should be performed often, while other aspects can be performed on a more infrequent schedule. Because cooling towers are large, and it may take several persons to inspect and perform maintenance, a cooling tower assessment should be well-planned in advance.
Cooling Tower Maintenance Tips: Things to Keep in Mind
When it comes to cooling tower tips—start with visually inspecting your unit at least once a week. This means just taking a glance at the cooling tower’s condition, listening for any unfamiliar noises, or anything else that seems abnormal. Your maintenance and inspection schedule beyond that depends on the age of your unit, its current condition, and other factors, such as the type of environment the cooling tower is located in, and the condition of the water inside the unit (whether it is treated or not). These two factors have a lot to do with the frequency of inspection and maintenance.
Cooling Tower Tips: Preventative Maintenance
There are some things you can do for your cooling tower that will elongate its life well in advance of any problems. Water treatment is one of the first things you should consider when it comes to preventative maintenance. Water should be tested and treated monthly to ensure its quality. Water quality can affect nearly every other aspect of your tower’s operation. If no one in your building has expertise with water treatment, it’s best to contract out to perform the best job.
Required Cooling Tower Maintenance
Beyond water treatment, there are a few things you should do regularly to ensure proper operation of your cooling tower. These include:
- Brushing all dirt and debris away from the drain and sump strainer
- Adjust the bleed rate per local regulations
- Check oil level quality
- Check shaft alignment of your gear-drive system
- Lubricate fan-shaft bearings (every three months)
- Remove scale deposits
- Clean your tubes
- Check fan alignment and fan blades
- Inspect the water pump regularly
- Assess and fix any tension problems
Remember to always perform lockout procedures and disconnect motor switches before performing any work inside the unit or performing any inspections. This helps ensure your safety as you’re inspecting or maintaining the unit. It’s also a good idea to routinely check all the motor and fan’s moving parts—such as the coils, contacts, and bearings.
Contact us
To learn more about cooling tower maintenance or to find out how we can help when it comes to routine cooling tower service and maintenance, contact Pinnacle Cooling Tower Service today at 732-570-9392. Our primary goals are safety, service, and customer satisfaction.
