Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
(OP)
We have a situation at one of our plants where the cooling pressure transmitter sensing unit seems to be freezing. This has been an on going problem. The pressure transmitter is located on the cooling tower condenser header to the spray nozzles where it controls a valve to provided the needed pressure at the top of the cooling tower for water delivery into the nozzles. The cooling tower is not run in the winter but the line to the pressure transmitter is freezing. Is there an automated solution. Anyone have any experience with this?





RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
check it out at http://www.oemheaters.com/heat_trace_cable.html
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
Electric heat trace tape is intended to function inside insulation, as imok2 mentions. When I see it wrapped around the transmitter or impulse line with no insulation and people ask why it froze, I ask, "Why wouldn't it?"
Heat trace and insulate.
Heat tracing is used for head pressure transmitters in industrial and municipal water towers, where a dead-headed impulse line needs freeze protection. Of course, it needs power.
I'm don't know how a sanitary diaphragm would fare in a freeze situation. Usually the transmitters are designed so that the wetted diaphragm can be fully depressed at full pressure against a back stop without damage, but I've never actually encountered freeze up situation involving a sanitary seal where ice would push against the diaphragm. I don't even know how much deflection typical diaphragm head offers. Maybe someone else does.
Dan
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
a) Use a vented standpipe on the water supply header with a capacitance, RF, or magnetorestrictive type level transmitter and covert height to pressure.
b) Use a bubbler type level transmitter (I only use bubblers if all else fails)
c) Put a drain solenoid on the line to the pressure transmitter and open it automatically when the system is shut down during the winter.
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
It amazes me that someone can show up, ask a very specific question, receive three educated measured responses and then complain about the free advice without clarifying what issues they have with the free advice...
Imagine this in the workplace.
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
In extreme cold applications, we have bult heated panle boxes to mount the instruments and heat trace any sensing lines that could be a problem.
Remember that free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it....nothing!
Ken
Ken
KE5DFR
RE: Cooling Tower Pressure Transmitter - Freeze Protection
Again, I apologize if this seemed to be a smack. This was not the intent of the last post. SORRY!