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The Main Purpose of Cooling Tower Fans and When to Replace Them

13 July 2022

Cooling towers are one of the components that industrial buildings and facilities use to regulate their operations. What these components do is they can remove heat from these properties by spraying water down through the towers. The air from the sides of the towers then passes through the water, leading to heat exchange and evaporation of some water.

The cooled water from these processes is subsequently collected at the bottom of the towers and pumped into these properties for reuse. The evaporated water and heat, alternatively, go out from the towers in the form of a mist. All these processes make the cooling towers essential to many businesses since they can cool the properties without costing too much energy and maintenance costs.

One component that makes these heat removal devices work is the fan.

Main Purpose of Cooling Tower Fans

To know the purpose of the fans, you must first know the basic working principles of cooling towers.

Industrial buildings often maximise a wide array of equipment pieces and tools for their operations. Since they work for hours, they can generate a lot of heat inside. To effectively maintain the temperature of the work areas, cooling towers must be utilised to collect the overheated waters from the equipment pieces and tools and expose them to cold air.

As mentioned earlier, the heat from the sprayed overheated waters is removed through the infiltration of cold air from the sides of the towers. The cooled water then returns to the equipment pieces that need to be cooled. The cycle will then repeat continuously as long as the cooling towers are in good condition.

Throughout the cooling operations, the cooling tower fans play a major part in pushing and forcing the air into the cooling towers. Without optimal fans, the overheated waters will remain hot, affecting the overall operations of industrial buildings.

The Best Time to Replace the Fans

There are multiple instances where fan replacement is necessary for the cooling towers to continue working effectively. Some of these instances are as follows.

  • Old Fans: Fans are made from materials that can last for years. But if the fans of a cooling tower have been around for a decade, they must be replaced as soon as possible. The efficiency of cooling tower fans degrades whenever they operate. And if they have been spinning for almost ten years, it would be impossible for them to retain their initial effectiveness despite undergoing regular upkeep. Cooling tower fans that have been around for five years must already be inspected to confirm if they can still work effectively or not.
  • Damages: Another instance where fans must be replaced is the existence of damages. The blades and body of the fans must be regularly inspected to ensure that they are still intact. Once they have attained some cracks, chips, or dents, they might need immediate replacement. Leaving these deteriorated fans operational will only put the whole cooling tower in danger as they may suddenly dismount or come off and damage nearby cooling tower walls and components.

If your cooling tower fans are already old or have obtained some damage, you may have them replaced by our technicians at Fluid Sealing.

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