Coolerado Installation
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Appendix 1: Coolerado Water Quality Requirements
Water quality can be difficult to quantify as there are different factors that must be considered. To ensure proper performance of
the Heat and Mass Exchangers (HMXs), prolong the life of equipment components and to avoid increased maintenance, the below
water criteria must be considered and evaluated before installation.
Solids: All water supplies have the potential to have un-dissolved solids from water line repairs, additions and maintenance. Solids
in the water supply must be filtered out when above 30 microns to prevent plugging of the water distribution system or Heat and
Mass Exchangers (HMXs). Coolerado supplies 30 micron water filters with each unit. Installation of the Coolerado supplied 30 micron
filter or equivalent is required on all installations to filter un-dissolved solids.
Organics: Coolerado’s HMX plate material is manufactured with polypropylene that is not a food source for molds; the plate
material also has a biocide impregnated into it to prevent organics from growing. Typically, the biocide supplied from a potable
water supply district will be enough to prevent any mold growth. However, if supply water that does not contain biocides is being
used, like well water, both the air and maybe the water will have organics that can sustain molds, generally in the form of a slime
that can grow in the water distribution system and on the wet portion of the HMX plate surface. In these cases, a biocide such as
chlorine may be required.
Temperature: When water is heated, dissolved minerals like calcium will come out of solution and form scale—the reason hot water
heaters and pipes build up scale. For this reason, we recommend water supply pipes to the Coolerado units be kept in cool places or
insulated when exposed to the sun.
Dissolved minerals: There are a lot of dissolved minerals in water. However, we are most concerned with the hardness of water
made up mostly of calcium but can include magnesium. Hard water causes two problems. The first is it prevents soap from creating
suds and leaves soap scum on sinks, etc. The second, and maybe bigger problem for any evaporative equipment, is the formation of
scaling most generally in the form of calcium carbonate (the magnesium will stay in solution under much higher concentrations).
Calcium carbonate can close off water lines, collapse cooling towers from the weight of scale build up, and—in general—cause many
problems. The key here is the amount of calcium water hardness. A low quantity of hard water is not a problem.
How hard water is generally defined as:
Water that is Moderately Hard or greater should be treated with a sodium or potassium based water softener.
Coolerado cannot know the details of your water supply and therefore how the water will react with our water delivery system.
The water should be tested to properly address any water quality concerns, contact your local water utility to determine the total
harness of your water or have the water tested at a water laboratory.
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