ISU: Saving Heat Exchangers, Piping and Valves from Hard Water Scale

ISU: Saving Heat Exchangers, Piping and Valves from Hard Water Scale

ISU: Saving Heat Exchangers, Piping and Valves from Hard Water Scale

Customer: Iowa State University
Project: Maple Hall
EasyWater Equipment: No-Salt Conditioners

Problem

Iowa State University (ISU) receives extremely hard water (10.7 grains per gallon) from the city of Ames that also has a very high pH (9.34 pH). This combination of high hardness and high pH has caused Iowa major lime-scaling problems for many years. They have battled domestic water heat exchangers failing, and piping and valves becoming inoperable and closing shut due to scale build-up. Buildings on the ISU campus, like Maple Hall, tried using traditional salt softeners and even putting anti-scalant chemicals into the water to prevent scale build-up, but found very little relief.

Scale build-up Before EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner treatment

Solution:

In December 2017, ISU decided to do a comparative test with EasyWater’s No-Salt Conditioners in two residence halls. Maple Hall and Larch Hall are a mirror image of each other, and are located right next to each other on campus. EasyWater No-Salt Conditioners were installed in Maple Hall to treat all of the domestic hot water while Larch Hall was left as the control with no treatment. A major component of the test was to compare the condition of the Thrush domestic water heaters in the two halls. These heaters use steam inside copper tubes to heat domestic water on the outside of the tubes. Without treatment, the new Thrush heater in Larch Hall failed after only six months of use (see picture below).

LEFT: 6 Months – Without EasyWater Treatment / RIGHT: 6 Months With EasyWater Treatment

Results:

The Thrush heater in Maple Hall was removed to be examined after six months of treatment with No-Salt Conditioners, and it looked brand new. Scale is also being slowly removed from the piping, valves and other water-using equipment in Maple Hall.

ISU has been very pleased with the results and is excited to expand the use of EasyWater’s No-Salt Conditioners on campus.

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Nevada Southern Detention Center: 6-Month Domestic Water Treatment Test Results

Nevada Southern Detention Center: 6-Month Domestic Water Treatment Test Results

Nevada Southern Detention Center: 6-Month Domestic Water Treatment Test Results

Project: Nevada Southern Detention Center
Customer: Core Civic
Job Facts: G dorm that has approximately 300 beds
Scope of Work: Domestic water treatment
EasyWater Equipment: No-Salt Conditioners

“This test clearly proves the EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner lives up to its claims in a real-world situation.”

Problem

The Nevada Southern Detention Center had a history of hard water scale build-up in their showerheads and sediment screens. Core Civic also reported that they detected large amounts of scale build-up in the water heaters, which resulted in continued failure.

Documented EasyWater Test Results:

In October 2017, Core Civic performed a thorough six-month test on EasyWater’s No-Salt Conditioners in one of their dorms. Bryan Schoening, the facility’s maintenance director, documented the results throughout the test and provided a full summary with pictures at the end of the six months. Here is Bryan’s summary:

In early October 2017, the EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner was installed on the G unit water system. The F unit water system was left as it was built as a control. The test began in October and was to run thru until April. The clean outs were to be completed on both components of each dorm on the same day. The results were to be recorded via picture. An inspection camera was purchased to be able to get a better view of inside the water heaters. The work was completed each time by the same technician, Robert Martinez, for the sake of consistency, and this is also the technician who handled this particular PM historically.

G dorm and F dorm had a history of scale build-up in their showerheads and sediment screens. The screens and showerheads were examined on a regular basis and pictures were taken. Here are the results after six months:

6 Months — Without EasyWater Treatment

6 Months — With EasyWater Treatment

In looking at the sediment screens upstream from the shower head, the G unit (EasyWater-treated) screen was free of scale where the F unit was not.

The two dorms also had a history of water heater failures due to scale build-up. The following testing parameters were used for the water heaters in the F and G dorms:

One tank-type heater in G dorm and F dorm: Loose scale should be removed from the heaters before the test but the hard scale be kept in the heaters to see if the No-Salt Conditioners will help soften and remove the hard scale. All loose scale should be removed from the heaters every time the heaters are opened and pictures taken of the hard scale that is left to see if it is increasing or decreasing.

Below are the documented test results for the water heaters in F dorm and G dorm:

30 Days — Water Heater Without EasyWater Treatment

30 Days — Water Heater With EasyWater Treatment

4 Months — Water Heater Without EasyWater Treatment

4 Months — Water Heater With EasyWater Treatment

6 Months — Heat Exchanger/Internal Coil Inside Water Heater Without EasyWater Treatment

6 Months — Heat Exchanger/Internal Coil Inside Water Heater With EasyWater Treatment

Bryan ended the test summary with the following statement about EasyWater’s No-Salt Conditioners:

There was less scale and was easier to maintain over the test period.

This test clearly proves the EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner lives up to its claims in a real-world situation.

As a result of the test, EasyWater No-Salt Conditioners are now budgeted to treat all of the remaining buildings at the Nevada Southern Detention Center.

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IUPUI: Steam Humidifiers, Ice Machines and Closed Loop Water Treatment

IUPUI: Steam Humidifiers, Ice Machines and Closed Loop Water Treatment

IUPUI: Steam Humidifiers, Ice Machines and Closed Loop Water Treatment

  • Project:  IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)
  • Scope of Work: Ice machine water treatment In Chemistry building, steam humidifier water treatment in Medical Science building and closed loop hot water treatment in Cavanaugh Hall
  • EasyWater Equipment:
    • 3 x EasyWater SmartGuard RO Systems treating 3 Nortec Steam Humidifiers
    • 1 x EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner treating commercial ice machine
    • 1 x EasyWater Series C Closed Loop Treatment System treating all of the closed loop hot water in Cavanaugh Hall

Problem

For years, IUPUI battled scale build-up in their Nortec Steam Humidifiers and could not find a practical solution to eliminate the problem. IUPUI looked into reverse osmosis before hearing about SmartGuard RO, but the RO systems that were quoted took up too much space and required salt softener pretreatment.

Testing EasyWAter Treatment

EasyWater’s first SmartGuard RO installation with IUPUI was in December of 2015. SmartGuard RO not only eliminated scale in the Nortec Steam Humidifiers, but also provided RO water at a 65–75 percent recovery rate without softener pretreatment. This led to IUPUI purchasing more SmartGuard RO Systems.

Expanding Treatment to Closed Loop

Backwash water from Cavanaugh Hall after 7 days of treatment

The performance and results of SmartGuard RO led to IUPUI testing EasyWater’s Series C Closed Loop Treatment System for their closed loop hot water system at Cavanaugh Hall. The system was installed on June 9, 2017. On June 15, 2017, an EasyWater representative and an IUPUI technician met at Cavanaugh Hall to check on the Series C and review the installation.

They tested the dissolved oxygen onsite and also looked at the backwash water that was sent into a bucket. The dissolved oxygen was 1ppm or less after just seven days of treatment. The dissolved oxygen level was 10+ ppm before the Series C was installed. The dissolved oxygen was originally so high because of the amount of makeup water that was recently introduced into the system and because the heat had not been running, which will naturally drive the dissolved oxygen level down to 4–6ppm.

Overall, IUPUI has been very pleased with the results and continues to contact EasyWater about additional water treatment applications.

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Water Treatment for Indiana State Museum & IMAX Theatre

Water Treatment for Indiana State Museum & IMAX Theatre

Water Treatment for Indiana State Museum & IMAX Theatre

  • Project: Indiana State Museum & IMAX Theatre
  • Customer: State of Indiana (Owner), Sexson Mechanical (Contractor) and Applied Engineering Services (Engineer)
  • Job Facts: 270,000 Sq. Ft., 3 floors, 1 restaurant,
  • Scope of Work: Domestic Water, Steam Boiler and Kitchen
  • EasyWater Equipment:
    • 6 x No-Salt Conditioners treating domestic water for Museum/IMAX
    • 2 x Series C Closed Loop Treatment Systems treating 9,000-gallon closed loop hot water system
    • 1 x Revitalife Pro Reverse Osmosis System treating kitchen Steamer and Ice Machine
    • 1 x SimplySoft Hot Water Softener treating kitchen dishmachine

Problem

The 9,000-gallon closed loop hot water system at the Indiana State Museum & IMAX Theatre had a history of corrosion, which caused the water to look black and dirty due to a high level of dissolved oxygen in the water. The dissolved oxygen in the closed loop water was 4ppm. The facility also battled scale build-up problems in their domestic water heaters, ice machines and kitchen steamers.

Testing EasyWAter Treatment

In March of 2016, the State of Indiana decided to test EasyWater’s water treatment solutions to see if they could resolve the ongoing issues with water-using equipment. This included No-Salt Conditioners for domestic water, Series C Closed Loop Systems for a 9,000-gallon closed loop hot water system, a RevitaLife Pro Reverse Osmosis System for their kitchen steamer and ice machine, and a SimplySoft Hot Water Softener for treating their dishmachine.

Brian Benson, the Facility Engineering Manager at the Indiana State Museum & IMAX, diligently tested the dissolved oxygen level and examined the clarity of the water in their closed loop hot water system after the EasyWater Series C Closed Loop Treatment System was installed.

Results

Closed loop DO test results from October 2017

The water was clean and dissolved oxygen level was 1ppm or less within one month of Series C being installed. Their domestic water equipment, such as water heaters, ice machines and steamers, has also stayed clean after installing EasyWater No-Salt Conditioners and a Revitalife Pro Reverse Osmosis System.

The Indiana State Museum led to many other projects with the State of Indiana, such as the Indiana Government Center and Capitol Building. Brian Benson has been so pleased with the results that he has welcomed other potential EasyWater customers to visit his facility as a showcase for EasyWater products.

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Johnson Controls: Protecting Heat Exchangers for 7 High-Rise Housing Units

Johnson Controls: Protecting Heat Exchangers for 7 High-Rise Housing Units

Johnson Controls: Protecting Heat Exchangers for 7 High-Rise Housing Units

  • Project: Kansas City Housing Authority
  • Customer: Johnson Controls
  • Job Facts: 7 high-rise low income housing units in Kansas City
  • Scope of Work: Domestic Water, Steam Boiler and Kitchen
  • EasyWater Equipment:
    • 7 x EasyWater No-Salt Conditioners to treat each of the 7 high-rise units

Problem

In the fall of 2011, the Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority (KCKHA) entered into an energy performance contract with Johnson Controls for their seven high-rise low income housing units. As part of the contract, Johnson Controls needed to keep the heat exchangers of the new domestic water heaters from building scale like the old ones did. This would save 20+% energy for water heating and cause the heater to last several times longer.

Solution

To meet the energy-saving goals for heating domestic water, Johnson Controls specified and installed EasyWater No-Salt Conditioner Systems for all of the domestic hot and cold water in the 7 facilities. This would allow the water heaters to remain clean and retain their rated efficiencies, saving thousands of dollars annually.

Results

More than two years after installation, Tom Wiesing, Sr. Maintenance Mechanic and Garren Stickelman, PE, of Johnson Controls report there has been no limescale buildup in any of the water heaters. In addition, all the existing scale in the hot water piping was removed and the buildings have not had any issues with scaling in aerators, mixing valves, or any other water-using equipment. Both men agree that working with EasyWater was the right decision.

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The GEO Group: South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center

The GEO Group: South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center

The GEO Group: South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center

  • Customer: The GEO Group
  • Project: South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center
  • Scope of Work: Cooling tower treatment, closed loop chilled and hot water treatment and domestic water treatment
  • EasyWater Equipment:
    • 1 x SmartGuard RO Model 60000 treating the cooling tower
    • 1 x CTF100 System treating the cooling tower
    • 5 x EasyWater No-Salt Conditioners treating the domestic water
    • 1 x EasyWater Series C Closed Loop Treatment System treating the closed loop chilled water

Problem

The GEO Group’s South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center had a water hardness of about 18 grains and a very warm climate. For years, the facility struggled with:

  • Scaling in domestic water heaters, mixing valves, plumbing, etc.
  • Scaling in the cooling tower and chiller condenser tubes
  • Excessive particulate in cooling tower water and high bacteria counts
  • High chemical usage/cost in cooling tower system
  • Corrosion-related high-iron content deposits in their closed loop chilled water system

Complete Treatment Solution

EasyWater installed their No-Salt Conditioners on the hot and cold domestic water system, SmartGuard RO and CTF (Cooling Tower Filtration) Systems to treat the cooling tower, and Series C Closed Loop Treatment System on the closed loop chilled water system.

On the domestic water side, the No-Salt Conditioners slowly removed existing scale from piping, water heaters and mixing valves, and have saved considerable maintenance throughout the facility.

SmartGuard RO and CTF Systems removed existing scale deposits in the cooling tower and condenser tubes, as well as provided protection from future scale build-up. The CTF System cleaned the cooling tower water to very low particulate and bacteria levels while using only a small fraction of the biocide chemicals used previously.

The Series C Closed Loop Treatment System provided excellent results, removing existing high- iron content deposits and allowing GEO to operate without chemicals at very low corrosion rates.

This is one of many successful EasyWater projects with GEO Group.

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