Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
(OP)
I have seen some installations use an intermediate tank between the cooling tower and the chillers, both the supply and return water passes thru this tank.The reason they do this is to remove air from the water thus preventing it from entering the chillers. IS this a good practice and what is the alternative?





RE: Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
I can't see much of a difference in air removal between having a separate tank, or the utilizing the tower sump volume for this purpose. I suppose that you could size the tank larger than the sump, to allow more time for air to settle out. But with a properly designed and operated piping system, you shouldn't have air problems on the water side of your condenser barrel anyway.
Are you sure that they are doing this for air removal reasons? Such remote tanks are sometimes used in cold climates to prevent freezing of the condenser water; the tank is placed inside the building, and when the system is shutdown, all of the condenser water drains from the tower (at a higher elevation) to the indoor tank. This eliminates the need for external sump heat for freeze protection.
---KenRad
RE: Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
RE: Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
Provide adequately sized equalizer piping between cooling tower cells & mount the cells at the same elevation. Provide service shut-off valve at the equalizer connection.
RE: Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
RE: Cooling Tower Buffer Tank
thanks,
erwinpetiluna