A 1000 ppm hard water hotel and its condensers
The Taj hotel in Chandigarh is a 1000 ppm hard water hotel: its supply sits at around 1,000 ppm hardness, extreme by any standard. Its condensers needed cleaning every week, the automatic tube cleaning system (ATCS) balls were replaced every two months and the condenser approach temperature was unstable. Maintenance meant shutdowns, and retrieving stuck balls risked damage and cutting pipe. In December 2016 two HydroFLOW® Custom P units were fitted to the cold feed to the condensers. The approach temperature stabilised, weekly cleaning stopped, maintenance shutdowns reduced and the ATCS was no longer relied on.
The Challenges
- As a 1000 ppm hard water hotel, the Taj needed weekly condenser cleaning
- ATCS balls were replaced every two months
- Maintenance required system shutdowns
- Retrieving stuck balls risked damage and pipe cutting
- The condenser approach temperature was unstable
The Solution
- Unit installed: two HydroFLOW® Custom P units
- Installation point: cold feed to the condensers
- Installed: December 2016
- Water: around 1,000 ppm hardness
- Previous treatment: weekly condenser cleaning and an ATCS
Both units went on the cold feed to the condensers with no pipe cutting and no shutdown, which matters on a hotel that cannot close its chillers in a Punjab summer. The signal disrupts the conditions that bond scale to surfaces, holding a stable condenser approach. The 1000 ppm hard water hotel now runs its condensers without weekly intervention or reliance on the ATCS.
