Cooling Tower Repair? How to Know if You Need a New Cooling Tower

cooling tower repair
Many cooling towers were installed in the 1980s and are 30 years old, requiring repair. How do you know if it’s time for a cooling tower repair or a new cooling tower?

Sometimes preventive cooling tower maintenance is not enough, or perhaps it has been overlooked for too long, making the replacement of a cooling tower the most practical solution. It is the same for any application; the time to replace your cooling tower is when you are spending more money on cooling tower repair services than the cost of a new cooling tower . This is especially true when you consider the older, metal-clad cooling tower designs that need (and are very sensitive to) constant chemical treatments, and environmental factors requiring patching, and welding.

If the repair will require large pieces of equipment and several man-hours, it may be best to replace the entire system. Problems with your cooling tower may not have a solution other than a new and improved cooling tower. These systems today are made far more efficient to avoid long-term maintenance costs and cooling tower problems, such as costly downtime. It’s worth considering your cooling tower options by tonnage and speaking with one of our qualified experts to help you determine which option is best for you. 

Another consideration that should not be overlooked is the cost of downtime with an old high-maintenance cooling tower. What is the cost of lost air conditioning for building tenants? Or lost production in manufacturing process plants? In this scenario, isn’t a new cooling tower a better option, when there is the risk present that the cold water basin will no longer be physically able to support the weight?

The math is simple if the cooling tower repair is more than 60% of the price of a new unit, replace the unit. This means that equipment location and cooling tower service costs for repairs may play a large factor in the cost of major restoration for units in operation. 

However, cooling towers that are based on a seamless engineered-polyethylene shell offer a much lower cost of ownership because overall maintenance is minimal, and the tower shell doesn’t require preventive maintenance, nor does it ever have to be relined or refurbished. This is something that even the most elaborate of cooling tower troubleshooting processes cannot provide you with.

You still should make sure your PVC fill or packing material is staying clean with effective water treatment. Also, you should still make sure that the air inlet louvers are clean for optimum airflow and you should still ensure that drift eliminators are not damaged. This is one of the most essential cooling tower components and, as such, requires some extra attention. That goes a long way toward avoiding cooling tower wear and downtime for many years to come.

When you purchase a Delta Cooling Tower, we and our partners provide cooling tower repair, replacement, and maintenance for our cooling towers. We want our customers to get the most out of our products, and that is why we offer a 20-year warranty on all of our HDPE systems.

If you are still unsure about whether to replace your unit, contact us today to learn more about our cooling towers contact us today.

Learn more about our new cooling tower installments for Phoenix Sintered Metals and Crystal Lake University Center.

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From our low maintenance design to our manufacturing process to excellent customer service, we're sure you'll be pleased with our superior cooling towers, every step of the way. Get a quote