During the day-to-day operation of heat treat departments, many habits are formed and procedures followed that sometimes are done simply because that’s the way they’ve always 
been done. One of the great benefits of having a community of heat treaters is to challenge those habits and look at new ways of doing things. Heat Treat Today‘s 101 Heat Treat Tips, tips and tricks that come from some of the industry’s foremost experts, were initially published in the FNA 2018 Special Print Edition, as a way to make the benefits of that community available to as many people as possible. This special edition is available in a digital format here.
Today, we offer one of the tips published under the Cooling Systems category.
Cooling Systems
Heat Treat Tip #10
How to Keep Your Cooling System Up and Running
Most cooling system failures are not catastrophic, merely expensive and disruptive. The most common problem is fouling — accumulated dirt, debris, products of corrosion, mineral scale, and bio-films that coat heat transfer surfaces.
- Buy equipment that is easy to clean and easy to maintain.
- Install filtration equipment to keep systems clean and that help in monitoring for excessive build-up.
- Use closed-loop systems for furnace equipment—keep the system sealed, clean, and oxygen-free to control corrosion and fouling.
- Install redundant systems—especially pumps, fans, and filters.
- Have a backup source of water in the event of power failure (e.g., fuel-fired pumps, municipal water, or electric generator).
This tip was submitted by Dry Coolers.
