Typically with every new tower O&M Manual, you will receive a list of recommended spare parts. This is a good place to start
if you can find the original information, but you may not need all of those parts or in the quantities recommended. We have a
few ideas about coming up with your own set of parts.
You want to focus on three main factors for select what parts and how many you want to keep on-site. The first factor is how
likely the part is to fail without warning. Secondly, what is the standard lead-time to get a replacement part. Lastly, what affect
does that part have on your tower if it were to fail.
Typically, you are not going to have a component of your tower fail without warning unless we are talking about the mechanical
equipment. Even motors, gears, and fans will have signs of wear prior to failure. It is best to make sure that you are
performing regular preventative maintenance at least once a year. Other components such as structure and distribution
systems will not fail suddenly, but instead deteriorate over time. As do parts like, fill, drift eliminators, louvers, stairways,
walkways, fan decks, and fan shrouds. Having a cooling tower inspection every year would decrease the likelihood that such
parts would ever fail.
Although we mentioned that most parts can be found and replaced before failure, the bottom line is that most times the cooling
towers are neglected and are not looked at regularly. Some of the mechanical equipment have very long lead-times. For
instance the gears could take up to 20 weeks to receive. Fans and fan shrouds could take 4-8 weeks depending on the size,
quantity, and time of year. Distribution components for a crossflow tower such as flow control valves will have lead-time that
depends on the style and quantity, but could take up to 4 weeks to receive them. On a counterflow tower spare lateral pipes
which are a fabricated item, lead-time could be 2-4 weeks. Fill and DE's could run as long as 12 weeks depending on the type
and quantity. Most other components such as structural members, siding, hardware, etc will be stock components. As with all
parts, after a hurricane these lead-times could more than double.
Since a cooling tower works by transferring heat through the contact of the hot water with the air, having the proper water
distribution and air flow is critical. For counterflow towers, you should have a couple spare lateral pipes, a few
nozzles/adapters, and spare grommets or couplings depending on the connection to the header. It would also be a good idea
to have 2-3 bays of fill on hand in case a lateral or nozzle blows out. For crossflow towers, you should always have a spare
flow control valve as well as a complete bay for all elevations of fill and hangers. For all styles on cooling towers you should
have a complete set of mechanical equipment (motor, gear, drive shaft, and fan).
The components listed above will work for towers almost all of the time. The only exception would be in the case of a natural
disasters. For those facilities that are located in an area that could be affected by tornadoes or hurricanes, you should plan
on more of the mechanical items above as well as a couple other items. The first item that you may need is siding panels.
Although they are typically readily available, they disappear quickly after a storm. The other item would be a fan shroud. One
way to help avoid the need of mechanical equipment and a fan shroud would be to have a Fan Lock device installed.
If you would like a complete list of what you would need for spare parts or would like to obtain a quote for a Fan Lock device,
please contact us at anytime.
if you can find the original information, but you may not need all of those parts or in the quantities recommended. We have a
few ideas about coming up with your own set of parts.
You want to focus on three main factors for select what parts and how many you want to keep on-site. The first factor is how
likely the part is to fail without warning. Secondly, what is the standard lead-time to get a replacement part. Lastly, what affect
does that part have on your tower if it were to fail.
Typically, you are not going to have a component of your tower fail without warning unless we are talking about the mechanical
equipment. Even motors, gears, and fans will have signs of wear prior to failure. It is best to make sure that you are
performing regular preventative maintenance at least once a year. Other components such as structure and distribution
systems will not fail suddenly, but instead deteriorate over time. As do parts like, fill, drift eliminators, louvers, stairways,
walkways, fan decks, and fan shrouds. Having a cooling tower inspection every year would decrease the likelihood that such
parts would ever fail.
Although we mentioned that most parts can be found and replaced before failure, the bottom line is that most times the cooling
towers are neglected and are not looked at regularly. Some of the mechanical equipment have very long lead-times. For
instance the gears could take up to 20 weeks to receive. Fans and fan shrouds could take 4-8 weeks depending on the size,
quantity, and time of year. Distribution components for a crossflow tower such as flow control valves will have lead-time that
depends on the style and quantity, but could take up to 4 weeks to receive them. On a counterflow tower spare lateral pipes
which are a fabricated item, lead-time could be 2-4 weeks. Fill and DE's could run as long as 12 weeks depending on the type
and quantity. Most other components such as structural members, siding, hardware, etc will be stock components. As with all
parts, after a hurricane these lead-times could more than double.
Since a cooling tower works by transferring heat through the contact of the hot water with the air, having the proper water
distribution and air flow is critical. For counterflow towers, you should have a couple spare lateral pipes, a few
nozzles/adapters, and spare grommets or couplings depending on the connection to the header. It would also be a good idea
to have 2-3 bays of fill on hand in case a lateral or nozzle blows out. For crossflow towers, you should always have a spare
flow control valve as well as a complete bay for all elevations of fill and hangers. For all styles on cooling towers you should
have a complete set of mechanical equipment (motor, gear, drive shaft, and fan).
The components listed above will work for towers almost all of the time. The only exception would be in the case of a natural
disasters. For those facilities that are located in an area that could be affected by tornadoes or hurricanes, you should plan
on more of the mechanical items above as well as a couple other items. The first item that you may need is siding panels.
Although they are typically readily available, they disappear quickly after a storm. The other item would be a fan shroud. One
way to help avoid the need of mechanical equipment and a fan shroud would be to have a Fan Lock device installed.
If you would like a complete list of what you would need for spare parts or would like to obtain a quote for a Fan Lock device,
please contact us at anytime.
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