Water Quality Information For Evaporative Coolers
One of the most important factors in keeping your Portacool or any evaporative cooler working at its best has to do with water quality. We have customers throughout Australia and each face differing issues depending on the water in their area. Some issues that come up are hard water, heavy metals, high mineral content, scale build up and bacterial growth including Legionella. Our company believes in ongoing support, so we have sourced a range of products to help you deal with these issues. Like with any piece of equipment we need to do a bit of maintenance to ensure not only the best operation but the longevity of the product.
Firstly, it is important to regularly change the water over in your unit. This will help with all the different issues that arise. As the unit uses the water up, the minerals are left behind in the tank and over the days and weeks the mineral and metals concentration increases. This will build up and eventually turn into scale. Once scale has formed it creates some great spots for bacteria to build up and flourish. So, the main key to preventing this is just good housekeeping by regularly changing the water and cleaning. Following this it may be necessary to use one of the following products to continue an effective maintenance plan.
Evaporative Cooler Water Treatment
There are various treatments on the market for water treatment, here at Safety Cool we have been working with our customer in mining and industrial sector to meet there stringent OHS systems to ensure not only workers safety but product performance. Through the years we have found the following solutions for the differing issues encountered.
ECOSOFT Hard Water Management
ECOSOFT water softener for hard water issues. Where heavy minerals is present. Maintenance free product that will continue to soften the water repeatedly. Ideal for ground water and typically associated with rural and mining.
Portacool Hard Water Treatment
Portacool Hard Water Treatment This is a great Portacool product to help descale the pads and components where scale has built up over time. Can be use din residential evaporative units
Evaporative Cooler Bacterial Control Products
EVAPFRESH
EVAPFRESH NATURAL AUSTRALIAN TEA TREE SANITISER, formulated to kill bacteria and Legionella, sanitizing water and air in evaporative systems. Has many other uses as well. An awesome product for all types of Air conditioning systems.
Legionella And Evaporative Cooling
We often get asked about Legionella with evaporative cooling. This subject can be very critical especially to some of our larger clients where it impacts their OHS plans and policies. Every state has different guidelines on management of this issue. As a general, Legionella can be found in most water sources. The concentration level is what changes. Typically, legionella will build up in stagnant water and flourishes when the actual water temps are maintained for a long period normally above 35 degrees C. The water then has to be vaporised into droplets in either the forms of steam vapour, water vapour as in misting or dust particulates before it can be inhaled.
With evaporative cooling the water temps in the unit usually never exceeds 28 degrees C, even on a hot day, hence reducing the possibility for the legionella to flourish. Evaporative cooling is produced by a process called adiabatic cooling. This is where heat energy is absorbed by the evaporation of water which in turns produces cooler air upon leaving. With this process there is no water vapour transferred to the air hence leaving, if any, legionella in the unit. Evaporative coolers often are categorized in with cooling towers and evaporative condenser, which have been typically the source of outbreaks. Although they have a similar operation they differ in their operating parameters and mechanical process. From our understanding, there have been no known or recorded cases of legionella infection from evaporative coolers.
Water Treatment In Evaporative Coolers Summary
With all this said the fundamentals of maintaining a healthy unit is to keep the water fresh and regular cleaning. The effective use of sanitizers is recommended to provide piece of mind and to meet any OHS procedures.
Why Safety Cool Is Cost-Effective
With a decade of success when working with Australian businesses just like your own, we’ve established a track record for customising solutions that suit our clients’ needs. No matter how large or small your air control need is, we can help you find the ideal Portacool system that will keep your employees and customers happy. Contact us today to learn more about our Portacool systems and how they can work for your business.
