Nov 18, 2020Is Your Deaerator Performing Properly?In my many years of experience, I have learned that water treatment is more than 90% mechanical and less than 10% chemical. Take deaerators (DAs) for example. They are a very efficient way of mechanically removing oxygen and other dissolved gasses from boiler feedwater. DAs are designed to take water…Water3 min read
Feb 4, 2020Water Velocities and Clean Heat ExchangersMaintaining clean surfaces in heat exchanger tubes not only depends on proper water treatment but also on water velocity. (Here comes one of those “90% mechanical, 10% chemical” discussions!) Back in school the professors in heat transfer classes talked about the importance of turbulent flow (versus laminar flow) in the…Water4 min read
Jan 9, 2020Have You Ever Tracked the “C-Factor”?A good friend just called looking for a second opinion on a closed loop heating water system. This is a rather large water system — well over a million gallons — so it warrants more attention than most systems. …Cooling System3 min read
May 30, 2019Alternative Technologies in Water TreatmentThere are a lot of “alternative technologies” to replace traditional chemical treatment offered in the water treatment industry. To me, the interesting part is that these are often not new but rather recycled concepts that had trouble withstanding the test of time. …Water Treatment3 min read
May 1, 2019The Truth About Phosphonate in Industrial Water TestingOne of the questions I’m asked most frequently is: “Why don’t I get a consistent result with my phosphonate drop test?” To discuss this topic, I would like to start with the end in mind: “What are the repercussions of inconsistent results?” …Water Treatment4 min read
May 1, 2018Proving your worth to customers and prospectsWhen I first started in water treatment, my trainer set a fairly high goal to assure we kept business and won accounts. His goal was for us to provide more cost savings ideas than our treatment contracts were worth. …Water Treatment2 min read
Feb 27, 2018Three of My Water-Testing Pet PeevesOver the years, I’ve noticed some bad habits that many water treaters have fallen into…habits that jeopardize their test results and then lead to improper chemical treatment. When customers trust us with their systems, it’s important we maintain that trust. …Water Treatment2 min read
Jan 23, 2018Is a Calcium Hardness Test Different from a Total Hardness Test?I have had a few discussions lately concerning calcium hardness testing, and there is one question in particular that seems to permeate the conversations: “Is the calcium hardness titration test really that different from a test for total hardness?” Interesting question. The total hardness test uses a buffer reagent (mostly…Water Treatment2 min read
Dec 12, 2017Service Tech ChallengeWhenever I do a presentation for service techs, I always like to offer a challenge. The question I ask most often is “What is the missing letter in this series: O, T, T, F, F, S, S, __?” I let them know that I offered up this same challenge last…Water Treatment2 min read
Nov 28, 2017How Make-up Water Can Affect a SystemWater treatment starts with the water you put into a system. Whether the source is from a municipal drinking water system, a well, a river, or a lake, changes in the make-up water chemistry can occur that will affect a system. …Water Treatment2 min read
