*Not to Scale

Winter Operation Best Practice

Sump
Face C
Face B
Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Ladder
01A 01B 01C 01D 01E 01F 01G 01H 01I 01J 01K 01L
Face D

Face A
Stair

Considerations:
• For initial start up in cold weather, follow procedures outlined Cold Weather Start Up and Operation Procedures

• To FULLY minimize aspiration and splashout cooling tower should be operating at capacity with all 12 fans in
operation

• IF not all fans are in operation and water is running over the all cells (at equal to / or less than design flow
conditions), the following logic is recommended to minimize aspiration1:
Shutdown Logic (12 to 6 Cells in Operation)2
Cells 01A & 01L (cells should be shutdown together)
Cell 01C
Cell 01J
Cell 01E
Cell 01H

**Note:
1. Some aspiration and splashout may occur with less than 12 fans in operation and cooling water running over all cells
2. Startup Logic is the reverse of Shutdown Logic
 Cold Weather Start Up and Operation
March 4, 2010
Cold Weather Operation
 During periods of operation at low ambient air temperatures, 35° F to 40° F or below,
ice will form on the wet/dry interface portions of the cooling tower that are in contact
with the incoming air. Primarily, this includes the air inlet structural framing and
louvers (if applicable).
 Ice forming characteristics on any given cooling tower will vary, depending on
velocity and direction of wind, circulating water rate, and heat load. Excessive ice
formation may be controlled by regulating air and water flow through the tower.
 For counter flow towers, it is important to maintain water flow within the operating
capabilities of the distribution system, or greater, over each cell.
 The water flow rate per cell in operation should be comprised between 85% and
115% of the design water flow rate per cell.
 CAUTION: Operating fans without adequate heat load can cause motor overload.
 CAUTION: Operating fans without a heat load can cause severe icing.
 CAUTION: Circulating less than 85% or more than 115% of design water flow
rate per cell may result in poor water coverage, higher drift rate and increased risk
of icing in cold weather.
Start-up without a hot water bypass system
 Turn on one pump.
 With the fans off, apply water from the one pump to the fewest number of cells so the
water flow over each cell is at or above the design flow.
 Circulate the water over these cells with the fans off, until those cells can no longer
meet the required cold water temperature when operating in the natural convection
mode. The tower will transfer 10-15% of the design heat load, depending upon the
atmospheric conditions, from the natural air movement due to the buoyancy of heated
air.
 The fans should be staged on in the operating cells, one at a time, to provide
additional cooling as required. If two speed motors are being used, all of the fans on
the operating cells should be operated at half speed, before any fan goes to full speed
or are turned off during reduced fan requirements. If VFD’s are being used, all
operating cells should be operated at the same fan speed and ramped up and down in
unison
 Stage on additional pumps and cells per above, as required to meet the plant cooling
requirements
Start up with a hot water bypass system
 Open bypass valves and turn on the pump(s) required by the plant systems.
 Circulate water through the cold water basin until cooling is required.
 With the fans off, apply water to one cell at a time while continuing to bypass the
remaining water. The water flow over each cell should be at or above design.
 Circulate the water over this cell, with the fans off, until that cell can no longer meet
the required cold water temperature operating in the natural convection mode. The

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 Cold Weather Start Up and Operation
March 4, 2010
tower will transfer 10-15% of the design heat load, depending upon the atmospheric
conditions, from the natural air movement due to the buoyancy of heated air.
 The fans should be staged on, one at a time, to provide additional cooling as required.
If two speed motors are being used, all of the fans on the operating cells should be
operated at half speed, before any fan goes to full speed or is turned off during
reduced fan requirements. If VFD’s are being used, all operating cells should be
operated at the same fan speed and ramped up and down in unison.
 As cooling requirements increase, stage on additional pumps and cells by repeating
this procedure.
General Operation
 Excessive ice formation may be controlled by regulating air and water flow through
the tower by one or more of the following procedures:
 Increase the circulating water flow rate to each operating cell.
 Shut the fan down. This reduces the cooling air rate to a minimum and increases
the quantity of warm water at the air inlet to a maximum. However, normal “fan
off” operation causes reverse air flow by aspiration and may cause water blowout
and therefore must be done with caution and monitoring. For automatic operation,
a timer switch can be provided to shut the fan down for a few minutes each hour.
 When a cooling tower has two-speed motors, operate the fans at half speed
forward. This reduces the cooling air rate (heat transfer) and increases the
quantity of warm water at the air inlet.
 When a cooling tower has VFD speed controllers, all operating fans should be
running at the same speed.
 Although tower cells can technically operate with lower than design water flow
rate, reducing the rate of flow density to less than 80% of design water flow rate
in each cell should be avoided during freezing conditions when possible by
staging the feed valves and bypasses. With increasingly reduced flow, the
dynamic head over the nozzles for both counterflow and crossflow towers will
result in uneven water distribution. Areas with lighter or no water flow, and the
resultant lower air pressure drop, will attract increasing volumes of cold air flow.
A reduction in heated water combined with a concentration of the cooling effect
in that area of the fill will result in ice that can become damaging to the cooling
tower fill system and structure.
 Without heat load on the circulating water, icing cannot be controlled. Towers
must not be operated with reduced water rate and/or no heat load during freezing
weather. If a bypass directly into the cold water basin is used, all water must be
bypassed.
 The average cold water temperature should be maintained at 50 º F, or above to
reduce the chance for freezing. For the water temperature to average 50 º F, some
parts of the tower will be at or below freezing. Reducing the water temperature
below 50 °F is not recommended for counterflow cooling towers and limiting
operating temperatures to 55 °F and above should be considered for crossflow
designs.

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 Cold Weather Start Up and Operation
March 4, 2010
 Caution: Reverse operation of fans is not recommended for counter flow towers.
Intermittent Operation
 When the unit is operated intermittently during winter weather, it is necessary that the
water be drained from the tower piping to insure protection against freezing and
possible rupture. The piping systems within the tower are self draining, however,
external piping requires separate drain provisions.
Key EvapTech Tower Design Features Which Help Control the Formation of Ice
 Individual cell water connections.
 130% capability of EvapJet II water distribution system allows for additional flow to
be added above design to individual cells and thus avoid bringing additional cells into
operation before a full flow rate and heat load is available.
 Filled cone water distribution Nozzle – The EvapJet II counterflow nozzle provides a
smaller diameter filled cone distribution pattern rather than the typical hollow cone
with overlap pattern to assure even coverage over the fill. The result is that less water
is thrown against the tower casing from perimeter nozzles with less potential for
freezing of this water. When combined with the following air seal discussion the
EvapTech offering provides the lowest potential for damaging perimeter tower ice.
 Upper and lower Fill air seals are installed around the entire perimeter of the Base
counterflow tower. These two 6” wide air seals capture and return most of the typical
water from the perimeter nozzle spray pattern which hits and runs down the inside of
the FRP casing. By reducing the volume of perimeter wall water, combined with seals
to return as much of it as possible, the opportunity to build ice on the perimeter tower
structure is drastically reduced. This critical item is not supplied by most cooling
tower contractors.
 Double column drains and bearing pads used for every tower column. EvapTech
utilizes two column drains, one at the column base and one above the normal water
line, to assure that water which can be trapped within the tower columns is allowed to
drain thus preventing freeze potential. In addition, base column bearing pads are
installed on each tower column to eliminate point loading caused by even slight
fluctuations in the concrete basin floor. This is critical to summer operation but even
more critical when operating in extremely cold climates to eliminate the potential for
splitting of the unidirectional glass FRP columns.
 Inlet 45° angle cantilevered strips are added to all perimeter horizontal structure
members and 1’ into the falling water region for perpendicular members of
EvapTech’s counterflow tower design. These strips are designed to splash water back
into the tower away from the basin wall and the surrounding plant greatly reducing
the potential for ice to form from splashing water. When combined with the
elimination of air inlet louvers this feature provides an effective plant ice control
strategy.

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