Media
Maintenance
On this page you will find tips and tricks to media maintenance and how to improve the lie of your media. You will also find information about media and water.
Proper care of your media can help increase the lifespan of your evaporative cooling media as well are your equipment. On this page you will find downloads and recourses for media maintenance. We will also address the many questions about water quality and media.
So many applications
First and foremost, it is important to remember that the media will respond differently in different applications. There are so many applications that media is used in, from potato storages to data centers. Some applications are harsher and harder on your media than others. The general rule for media replacement is about every 3-7 years. However, that is in no way the exact timeline because of the wide range of applications which is so diverse. No matter your application there are still tips to help you save money on media replacement.
Regular cleaning
The biggest way you can prolong the life of your media is by taking it out and cleaning it every so often, especially during seasonal startup, mid-season check, and shutdown. Taking your media out to clean it and wash it will help give you a fresh look at your equipment and help you see how your media is doing and if replacement is necessary. During a regular cleaning you can even switch around pieces, this can help even out the wear on the media. Just like with any other equipment regular checks and cleaning can help with longevity and overall cost. Evaporative cooling media is a filter, there is lots of dust, dirt, hair, and other things that get caught in the media, regular cleaning will keep the media working at full capacity.
Give media time to dry out
Once you give the media a nice washing you can also give it a chance to dry out when possible. Anytime you can give your media a chance to dry out every so often is a good thing. As mentioned above different applications will have different needs, but the majority of the time you usually have a chance to let things dry out a bit before you start it back up. Giving the media a chance to dry out helps support the integrity of the media and helps keep the media from breaking down faster. An easy way is to turn off the water source, and keep your fans running. This allows the media to dry quickly, so you can get your unit back up and running in an hour or two.
Check your equipment
Once you give the media a nice washing you can also give it a chance to dry out when possible. Anytime you can give your media a chance to dry out every so often is a good thing. As mentioned above different applications will have different needs, but the majority of the time you usually have a chance to let things dry out a bit before you start it back up. Giving the media a chance to dry out helps support the integrity of the media and helps keep the media from breaking down faster. An easy way is to turn off the water source, and keep your fans running. This allows the media to dry quickly, so you can get your unit back up and running in an hour or two.
Obey proper season startup and shutdown tips
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It is impotent to properly startup and shutdown your systems during seasonal changes. Not only does that help prolong the life of your media but it also prolongs the life of your equipment as well. During seasonal startup or shutdown, it is a great time to look at the bigger picture of your overall equipment. Here are some of the tips and resources for seasonal startup and shutdown:
-Take your media out
-Wash the dirt, dust, grime, etc. off your media
-Let it dry out really well before replacing it into the equipment
-Clean out your equipment
-Check all the moving parts; sumps, pumps, sprayers, etc.
-Clean out the spraying headers (they do not always get a lot of attention).
-Do an overall check before you put the media back in and startup (or shutdown)
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For more check out our seasonal startup/shutdown page:
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Replace when needed
Make sure you always keep an eye on media and replacement needs. Prolonging media replacement can result in loss of money and long-term equipment damage. Some things to look for in media replacement is soggy or sagging media, media that is rock hard, media that smells bad, or media that just looks worn down. Those are indicators that the media may need to be replaced.
Check out our media replacement page for more information:
Water & Media.
One big thing that causes media deterioration is water quality. We get a lot of water questions about media and water. In general, the best tips we give when it comes to water is a repeat the media maintenance section above , clean your media often, and give the media a chance to dry out every (see above for more). Making sure to dump and clean out your sump is also a great tip so help with water and media. This is extremely helpful in hard water conditions to reduce mineralization. Water plays the biggest role in your media lifespan. In this section we will go over different water types and answer the many questions behind water and media.
Soft water
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You should avoid using soft water or water that goes through any sort of treatment, reverse osmosis system, or deionized water. Softened water has a pH that negatively affects the glue in the media and can cause the media to breakdown and become mushy and/or soft. Use of soft and RO water will cause your medias lifespan to significantly decrease and the need to replace it much more frequently. Your best source of water is from a municipal supply or a deep well.
VS.
Hard water
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Hard water is better to use on your system with proper maintenance. The ph is higher so there is no breakdown of media. However, hard water can cause scale buildup on your media. Regular cleaning of the media and dumping of the sump can help prevent this. If you have very hard water, increase the frequency of dumping the sump.
Use of Chemicals in your Water
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It is best to not use chemicals with your media. Many chemicals can break down your media and cause it to become mushy and shorten the lifespan of your media.
If chemical water treatment is required please contact us to help determine the best treatment for your system.
PH Levels
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Maintain the pH of the recirculation water in the system between 7 and 9 (when associated with out-of-range PSI range due associated with out-of-range PSI range due to alkalinity levels), this will minimize scale as well as minimize the degradation of the pad's organic resins.
Maintain make-up water: 6.0-8.5 Munters Recommendation
For Kuul® Control Media Provide a water supply with pH less than 8 and greater than 6. Water supply should be free of excessive dissolved solids and nutrients.