Prevent Summer Fatigue in Process Cooling Towers: Reduce Downtime & Save Costs

The hot summer and fall months impose extreme demands on process cooling systems. If cooling towers and associated equipment are not maintained, companies face costly losses in efficiency, equipment damage, and production downtime.

Like an overheated car engine, a cooling tower that cannot dissipate heat properly can trigger a cascade of systemic failures—excessive downtime, equipment destruction, and compromised product quality.

“Running a cooling tower in the ‘red’ leads to consequential damage,” explains Tom Ryder, a veteran customer support specialist at Delta Cooling Towers. He compares the situation to a car left in the red zone, where gaskets, seals, and cylinders suffer wear, eventually causing catastrophic failure.

Ryder, a seasoned sales engineer at Delta Cooling Towers in Rockaway, N.J., uses the automotive analogy because it is universally understood, helping stakeholders grasp the broader impact on process cooling and downstream operations.

Cooling towers are indispensable across industries: pulp & paper, petrochemicals, plastics, metals, textiles, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, and HVAC systems. Neglecting their upkeep forces the system to operate in a state of “fatigue,” reducing cooling capacity and stressing downstream equipment.

Even if the downstream units are not directly affected by high ambient temperatures, the water supplied by a fatigued tower is warmer, limiting heat exchanger performance. Consequently, heat exchangers cannot extract heat efficiently from process fluids.

When tower shells deteriorate or require excessive maintenance, replacing them with modern seamless plastic models can restore reliability and reduce lifecycle costs.

“Running a cooling tower in the ‘red’ leads to consequential damage,” Tom Ryder, customer support specialist.

High Cost of Overlooking Maintenance

Ignoring cooling tower maintenance can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per unscheduled shutdown, especially in pulp & paper and chemical processing sectors.

In injection molding, a single overheated machine can halt production for weeks and require expensive replacement. In the food industry, loss of cooling power can result in spoilage of perishable goods.

Routine and Preventive Care

Summer maintenance is critical. Key tasks include:

• Replace or clean fouled wet‑decking to maintain adequate airflow and evaporation.
• Wash ventilation louvers and wet decking to ensure efficient heat transfer.
• Inspect drift eliminators to prevent unnecessary water loss.
• Patch or weld tower sheeting promptly to avoid corrosion or structural weakness.

Fouled fill material can cause a 1% water loss for every 10°F of cooling required—20–30 gallons per minute for smaller towers—leading to scale buildup and higher energy costs.

Replace or Repair?

When preventive maintenance no longer restores performance, replacement is often more economical. Delta’s seamless engineered‑polyethylene towers offer low ownership costs: no relining, minimal chemical treatment, and long‑term durability.

Even durable plastic towers benefit from routine checks: clean PVC fill, verify louver airflow, and maintain drift eliminators to prevent future fatigue.

For more information, visit Delta Cooling Towers or call 800‑289‑3358.

About the author:
Ed Sullivan is a technology writer based in Hermosa Beach, Calif.