Water Treatment Solutions for Ice Rinks
Mechanical rooms for ice arenas are some of the most complicated and diverse systems in the world of refrigeration. When your ice rink was designed, there were many factors and variables to consider depending on your geographic location, seasonal length of operation, and water quality. Your ice arena may utilize an air-cooled tower or an evaporative condenser to remove the heat from your ice sheet. You may or may not use tower water to cool your compressor heads. The water coming from your municipality may be of poor quality. Chardon Labs has the knowledge and experience to recognize the differences from rink to rink and develop a customized ISO 9001-certified water management plan to protect this equipment from scale, corrosion, and biological pathogens such as Legionella.
Cooling Tower & Evaporative Condenser Water Treatment for Ice Rinks
The metal surfaces of cooling towers and evaporative condensers are susceptible to corrosion, pitting, scaling, and biofilm. Anything blocking the metal surface from heat transfer will lower the efficiency of your equipment. Preventing this will increase the efficiency of your equipment.
Additionally, chemical water treatment means less water and energy need to be utilized to cool your system. The amount of water cycles can be optimized to save as much water as possible before it is flushed out. This is tailored for every system and is highly dependent on the water quality in your local area.
Remote Monitoring Control Systems
When purchasing a new galvanized cooling tower or evaporative condenser, it is important to note the metallurgy of the system. Equipment manufacturers call out very specific parameters for the water chemistry during the passivation period. This information can be found in your operator's manual as well as on a sticker on the equipment itself. Should you have a warranty claim, and you cannot produce evidence that your water has been kept within the manufacturer’s specifications, your warranty will be denied. Chardon Labs offers remote monitoring to ensure that the tower is passivated correctly. It’s like having affordable insurance for your new equipment!
Ice Rink Water Management Plan
These factors vary from rink to rink and must be considered when discussing a water management plan. We work closely with your mechanical contractor to develop a plan to keep your condenser water within the manufacturer’s specifications. Here are some of the important ice rink water management factors to consider:
- Pump configurations
- Refrigerant type
- Skin temperatures
- Operating hours
- Heat loads
- Metallurgy of system equipment
- Municipal water supply
Our Custom Ice Rink Water Treatment Services
Find us at booth 601 at the North American Rink Conference & Expo, from May 22-23. Learn about water treatment for your ice arena and how Chardon Labs can make a difference!
Here at Chardon Labs, we know that a one-size-fits-all approach is unsuccessful in ice-area cooling towers. We have also seen countless incidents of DIY water treatment gone wrong. This is why we offer a complete hands-off approach customized to your rink's specific conditions. Your Chardon Technician is a trained professional with countless resources. Each month, they will analyze the raw makeup water being supplied to your building, your softened water, and your tower water. We customize the treatment chemicals based on these results each month to ensure your equipment is protected against the ever-changing conditions your equipment is exposed to. We also offer glycol testing for your ice sheet loop and we can supply you with glycol if needed. We are experts at passivating new cooling towers to avoid white rust. Not only do we offer automatic acid feed to keep the pH within the range specified by your tower manufacturer, but we also have remote monitoring available to ensure it never goes out of range during passivation.
How Water Treatment Equipment & Chemicals Works in an Ice Rink
Underneath each ice sheet, there are thousands of feet of pipes with glycol or brine flowing through them. Because this fluid is colder than the ice sheet, it absorbs heat from the ice and carries it to your chiller room. Remember the second law of thermodynamics – energy (heat) always moves from a higher concentration to a lower concentration. In your chiller room, another heat transfer takes place, removing heat from this fluid to a refrigerant via a tube and shell heat exchanger. The refrigerant enters the heat exchanger in a saturated state. Absorbing the heat from your glycol loop causes the refrigerant to boil and the refrigerant leaves the heat exchanger (evaporator) as a low-pressure gas. The gas carries the heat to a reciprocating compressor which compresses it into a superheated high-pressure gas. It leaves the compressor and carries the excess heat up to your condenser where it flows through a bundle of tubes. Your evaporative condenser, also known as a fluid cooler, uses the phase change of evaporating water which is being sprayed on the tubes to pull heat from the refrigerant. As the heat is pulled out, the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid and is sent back to the evaporator to pick up more heat from the glycol loop and the cycle repeats.
Preventing Scale
The constant evaporation of water on the tubes leaves behind salts of evaporation or scale. Scale formation causes low heat transfer rates, bacteria as well as mechanical issues. Because the water evaporates so quickly, it cycles up very fast. The conductivity of the water must be controlled by bleeding automatically when the conductivity reaches a certain threshold. pH also rises very quickly in these systems, and it is important to monitor and control the pH, especially during the passivation period of the galvanized steel used in the evaporative condenser. As the water evaporates and the bleed valve dumps high-conductivity water, fresh makeup water is introduced. The makeup water must be treated with inhibitors to protect the equipment from damage. This is why Chardon Labs uses a water meter-based inhibitor feed and conductivity-controlled bleed. Bacteria and algae will thrive in the basin of your fluid cooler if not treated properly with biocide. Chardon Labs utilizes an automatic biocide feed that alternates between oxidizing and non-oxidizing biocides to help control biological issues.
For Ice Rink Managers
Rink Managers and their facility maintenance are often seen performing every task in the building and we understand how the long days turn into long nights. Why not let the trained professionals at Chardon Labs perform the task of protecting the waterside of your mechanical room? With the increased efficiency, increased life of your equipment, and less downtime, our water management plans for hockey rinks more than pay for themselves.
Contact Chardon Labs for Ice Rink Water Treatment Services
Chardon's water treatment plans for Ice Arena cooling towers and condensers are second to none! We have been protecting equipment from scale, corrosion, and biological issues since 1965. We are very active in the ice-skating community, and you may have seen us at NARCE and other ice arena trade shows across the US. We sponsor local hockey teams, and we are members of several ice arena management organizations. Should you have a warranty issue, you can supply detailed monthly water quality reports to show that the water has been maintained properly. It’s like having affordable insurance for your equipment. Give us a call at (380) 224-7395 or fill out a contact form here to join the family of rink managers who know and trust Chardon Laboratories to protect their investments!