Is All Freeze-Protection Made the Same?  Most people know that you can use either Propylene or Ethylene glycol to freeze-protect a hot or chilled loop in their building. But there are other key differences to consider as well: Should you use pure glycol or one that includes a corrosion inhibitor package? What are the advantages of a concentrate vs. a product pre-mixed with water? What kind of corrosion inhibitor should your product use? Pure Glycol vs. All-in-One Products Pure Glycol doesn’t have any additives. Some facilities will purchase pure glycol because they happen to find a ch ..read more

A closed loop is sometimes considered a second-class citizen in the world of water treatment. As the name suggests, a closed cooling or heating loop is self-contained, piped and sealed off from the air or evaporative processes. The same water or thermal fluid can be recirculated through the system for weeks, months, even years in some cases. As such, closed loops are not susceptible to the threats caused by open air exposure, as in a cooling tower. Because of this, facility teams often take an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” approach to their maintenance. Even water treaters sometimes give closed ..read more

When you or I get thirsty, we simply go to a faucet and get a drink. We don’t even think about it, and we don’t have to worry that something harmful may be swimming in our glass. Here in the West, ample, safe water is something we take for granted. We even have enough water to use billions of gallons a year for heating and cooling our buildings, which makes our particular business – industrial water treatment – possible and necessary. But this is not the norm in many parts of the world. In many African countries, for instance, communities can’t get enough water for drinking or bathing, and th ..read more

When metal meets moisture, you get rust. Everyone knows that, but rust is only the surface issue in this highly corrosive relationship. Simply put, water eats metal. That’s why your industrial water needs to be treated with a corrosion inhibitor. Even then, if you don’t have the right chemical feed rates or the right formulation, you can eat away at costly metal components and end up having to replace them before their time. So how do you know if your treatment is actually working? A visual inspection would tell you, but critical heat-transfer surfaces are often hidden away inside your heatin ..read more

When a company is planning new construction on a commercial, industrial, or institutional building, one of the biggest hurdles is the tedious and confusing bidding process. As one of the key owners of this process, the mechanical contractor has the responsibility of selecting the best subcontractors for a number of HVAC and supporting systems. Since it’s impossible – not to mention impractical – for a contractor to know every minute detail about every system, they have to select subcontractors that are not only knowledgeable but can be trusted to keep the project on schedule, up to building s ..read more

An ever-present challenge for building managers and water treatment specialists is managing Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels in their effluent to be compliant with local regulations. Failure to meet permissible BOD limits can result in fines and damage to the environment, making it a hot button issue in the water treatment business. But what does BOD mean? What is BOD? Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria and other microorganisms such as algae while they decompose organic matter in water. BOD occurs in all bodies of water with the amount dependin ..read more

By: Alex Gowgiel, PE, CWT HOH Water Safety Compliance Specialist Last week, the team at HOH participated in the World Vision Global 6K for Water. The event supports their mission to bring clean drinking water to communities in need. I bring that up because while preventing Legionella in our potable water systems may seem like a daunting task, it’s relatively easy when compared to solving the world water crisis – more on that later in the article. For the past ten years, I’ve worked with HOH to help deliver on our mission to ‘Make a Lasting Impact With Water’ – first as the Equipment Specialis ..read more

Your building’s steam boiler is potentially a million-dollar asset. Like any workhorse system in your facility, it needs care and attention if it’s going to run long and run happy. This includes proper care during the off-season, complete with monthly, quarterly, and annual check-ups. You wouldn’t just shove a thoroughbred into a stable after its last race, forget about it and expect it can leap back out next season in top form. The same is true for your steam boiler – it needs to be set up and prepared for any lengthy period of disuse. When your boiler does go idle — either for an extended o ..read more

Facility managers know that adding glycol to their closed-loop water systems is essential for freeze protection. However, many rely on existing protocols or “what we’ve always done” as their guidepost. The problem with that approach is that there are important details that can easily be overlooked in getting your glycol application right. If your glycol levels are too low, or the glycol in your system breaks down, you may be in for some expensive problems. Let’s take a look at how glycol works in closed-loop systems and the problems you need to avoid. Industrial Glycol Application In Closed-L ..read more

Because they work so hard and there’s a slim margin for error, it’s important to have year-round awareness of the condition of your cooling towers. Regular cleaning and disinfection will help prevent and/or mitigate clogging, scaling, corrosion, or even contamination of bacteria or water-borne pathogens. Below are the three types of chemical cleaning that will keep things running efficiently and safely– especially during the high-demand season. Cooling Towers & Chemical Cleaning Before we discuss the specifics of chemical cleaning you should know that cooling towers can be cleaned either ..read more