In order to fully understand the criteria for selecting fill media, it is good to get an understanding of the history of fill. The
original fill that was in all cooling towers was a splash type fill. Actually, the modern day film fills were not invented until the mid-
60’s by Carl Munter. The original film fill actually utilized asbestos sheets. It wasn’t until the development of cross fluted fill and
the use of plastics that really made film fills high performance and more commonly used.
Now although film fill is technically more efficient and can cool water more than splash type fills, it has one major drawback.
The tower must have clean water. Without clean water, the fill will begin to clog (foul) and the level of performance starts to
degrade. Also with the fill beginning to foul, it becomes much heavier and will start to put additional strain on the supporting
structure. There are several different types of film fill and some can handle slightly dirty water.
Film fill is typically only found in counterflow and small crossflow cooling towers. The larger crossflow towers will all have a
splash type fill. The reason being that you need a lot more cubic feet of area to get the performance out of splash fill than you
do a film fill which is why you see splash fill in crossflow towers and very little in counterflow towers. It basically all boils down to
the water quality for choosing the best tower and fill option.
Towers that utilize splash type fill are more likely to maintain their designed capacity over time than towers with film fill. The
reason again comes down to the fouling of the film fill. Film fill is also very dependent on proper nozzle selection and water
flow. If nozzles become plugged or if nozzles get replaced with a different type than the original design, it can drastically
reduce performance. Splash type fill does not require the same level of care. If there are some nozzles clogged or different
type of nozzles installed, the performance is not noticeable affected.
Once a tower has been designed and built with either pack fill or splash type fill, that is typically what you will need to stay with.
The best advice is to make sure you have your water tested and select the best fill for the application when you are first
looking to build a tower. We have attached a fill selection guide below from Brentwood Industries that gives you an idea for
selecting a film fill. Understand that splash type fill can really be used in any application and it is what we recommend for the
reasons listed above.
original fill that was in all cooling towers was a splash type fill. Actually, the modern day film fills were not invented until the mid-
60’s by Carl Munter. The original film fill actually utilized asbestos sheets. It wasn’t until the development of cross fluted fill and
the use of plastics that really made film fills high performance and more commonly used.
Now although film fill is technically more efficient and can cool water more than splash type fills, it has one major drawback.
The tower must have clean water. Without clean water, the fill will begin to clog (foul) and the level of performance starts to
degrade. Also with the fill beginning to foul, it becomes much heavier and will start to put additional strain on the supporting
structure. There are several different types of film fill and some can handle slightly dirty water.
Film fill is typically only found in counterflow and small crossflow cooling towers. The larger crossflow towers will all have a
splash type fill. The reason being that you need a lot more cubic feet of area to get the performance out of splash fill than you
do a film fill which is why you see splash fill in crossflow towers and very little in counterflow towers. It basically all boils down to
the water quality for choosing the best tower and fill option.
Towers that utilize splash type fill are more likely to maintain their designed capacity over time than towers with film fill. The
reason again comes down to the fouling of the film fill. Film fill is also very dependent on proper nozzle selection and water
flow. If nozzles become plugged or if nozzles get replaced with a different type than the original design, it can drastically
reduce performance. Splash type fill does not require the same level of care. If there are some nozzles clogged or different
type of nozzles installed, the performance is not noticeable affected.
Once a tower has been designed and built with either pack fill or splash type fill, that is typically what you will need to stay with.
The best advice is to make sure you have your water tested and select the best fill for the application when you are first
looking to build a tower. We have attached a fill selection guide below from Brentwood Industries that gives you an idea for
selecting a film fill. Understand that splash type fill can really be used in any application and it is what we recommend for the
reasons listed above.
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