Air/Dirt Separator Keeping University's Chilled-Water Loop Clean

Oct. 1, 2010
Spirotherm Inc.25 N. Brandon DriveGlendale Heights, IL 60139630-307-2662http://spirotherm.comCircle 73 As facilities manager for the three-building Veterinary

Spirotherm Inc.
25 N. Brandon Drive
Glendale Heights, IL 60139
630-307-2662
http://spirotherm.com
Circle 73

As facilities manager for the three-building Veterinary Medicine Complex at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, Dennis Ahlvers is charged in part with keeping occupants comfortable. Air in the chilled-water loop long had made his job more difficult, but when one of six chillers supplying chilled water to the complex was replaced, he was faced with another problem.

“The air in the system would cause pumps to lose their prime, and after the addition of the new piping for the chiller, there was dirt in the system, too,” Ahlvers said.

Ahlvers had an 8-in. Spirovent high-velocity combination air/dirt separator from Spirotherm Inc. installed ahead of the pump that supplies return chilled water from the complex to the new chiller.

Spirovent employs the patented Spirotube coalescing/barrier medium, which allows air and dirt to break free of the flow path in hot- and chilled-water systems. Spirovent's unique design makes achieving peak efficiency in a relatively small vessel possible.

“We have had no air and dirt problems after installing the Spirovent in the system, even though we had the chilled-water system opened up completely,” Ahlvers said. “It cleaned up the system in a short period of time with no air problems.”

The university intends to install a Spirovent unit on each of its chillers.

Available in sizes to 36 in. and able to handle up to 30,500 gpm, Spirovent high-velocity combination air/dirt separators offer the total solution for eliminating air and separating dirt in all types of applications.