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Presenter details cracked cooling tower, deteriorated insulation and 20-plus years of mineral buildup in school chiller system
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Summary
A facilities presenter described cracked cooling-tower tanks, deteriorated insulation and significant mineral buildup during a walkthrough of the school's middle- and high-school chiller systems, noting temporary plastic-weld repairs to limit leakage for the cooling season.
A presenter conducting a site inspection described multiple failures in the school's chiller and cooling-tower systems, including cracked tank corners, deteriorated line-set insulation and long-standing mineral buildup that may reduce cooling capacity.
The presenter explained the rooftop chiller functions like a large residential air-conditioning unit, "takes the heat out of the refrigerant," and circulates chilled water through the building to provide air conditioning. The presenter identified the barrel or evaporator as "the part that removes the heat from the cooling water that circulates the building," and confirmed this unit supplies the middle school.
Describing the high-school cooling tower, the presenter said hot water is routed to a top tank, "rings down across this fill material here and settles in the bottom tank," while a fan draws air through the fill to cool the water before it returns to the chillers.
The presenter pointed to a close-up of the tower fill and stated, "That's 20 plus years of mineral buildup," flagging significant scaling in the material that can impede heat exchange. He also identified cracks in multiple corners of the top tank, saying, "Here you can see a crack in the top tank which allows water to spill out side of the tower instead of all running down through the material where it's supposed to."
To limit leakage during the cooling season, maintenance staff have plastic-welded and applied inside sealant: "You may be able to tell it's been sealed up, plastic welded, and we finally resorted to getting inside there and splaying lehi seal on the inside in order to minimize leakage and hopefully get through cooling season," the presenter said. He additionally noted a cracking flange on the return side and a third cracked corner, indicating multiple points of failure.
The walkthrough identified visible wear (deteriorated insulation on the line set) and structural damage in the cooling-tower tanks that are likely to require durable repairs or replacement. The presentation did not specify repair costs, timelines, or responsible contracting steps.
Next steps were not specified in the transcript; the immediate measure described was temporary sealing to reduce leakage for the current cooling season.
