Solution

After a conversation with Bowling Green Metalforming, Lyons reached out to CT/HX, a provider of cooling tower and heat exchanger services. CT/HX, with its years of experience extending the life of equipment and recapturing thermal efficiencies, was the ideal partner for this project. 

Following an analysis by CT/HX’s team, Lyons outlined an approach for the refurbishment of the cooling towers, which included cleaning the units, recoating the basins, and replacing the intake louvers and media filters. 

Overcoming Obstacles

The inefficiency of Bowling Green Metalforming’s existing cooling towers was a primary concern that drove the decision for refurbishment in order to save on CapEx funds. Given the lack of specialized service providers in the region, Lyons’ connection with CT/HX provided a unified team that was able to exceed customer expectations. 

Work was completed on a rooftop in adverse weather conditions. Prior to the commencing work, Lyons had all their Team Members go through site-specific safety training, as the work required the utilization of the customer’s forklift and the need for corresponding certifications. 

Lyons provided a service technician to assist in shutting down and starting up the cooling towers, working closely with the building maintenance staff to shut off all condenser water pumps. The staff also performed lockout/tagout on certain units that were to be decommissioned. 

After disposing of all existing PVC heat transfer media and drift eliminators, the team cleaned the cold-water basins of accumulated dirt, scale, and debris, and power washed the interior of each tower. The interior of the cooling towers were grinded down and cleaned using a mechanically powered wire brush and abrasive disc grinder to prepare the sheet metal for new protective caulking and coatings. The team then cleaned and reinstalled all spray header branches that had been removed before installing new PVC CF80Max high efficiency eliminators in each of the towers.