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Breathing New Life Into Air Handlers
Nightmarish industrial and commercial (10 tons and greater) air handler problems,
ranging from corrosion of mechanical components and biological dilemmas to condensate
leakage contaminating sensitive building areas, have led to the untimely and
costly replacement or refurbishment of many an air handler unit.
Along with those problems come several others, including business disruption,
poor air quality, rental of temporary HVAC equipment, and potential for liability
for health issues.
One of the primary causes of premature air handler failure is a commonplace
and often-chronic problem: Leaking, clogged or otherwise malfunctioning condensate
pans. “Many ventilation system include condensate pans that do not drain
properly,” says Dan Maser, President, Enviroair Consultants, Inc. (Chesterfield,
MI). “That can lead to problems ranging from biologically contaminated
air to premature air handler replacement.”
Maser, a Certified Industrial Hygienist and engineer, says that such problems
can occur with either OEM air handler drains or popular retrofit drainage solutions.
Regarding the latter, Maser cites the use of quick fix membranes such as epoxy
coatings, roofing membrane and roofing tar to solve condensate pan deterioration
problems as being ineffectual and possibly non-compliant with building guidelines.
“
In almost any case where I have seen quick fix membranes being used for any length
of time, the membranes have breached,” he explains. “Eventually
water got underneath the membrane and caused it to balloon up. This not only
caused
a problem with biological activity under the membrane, but also let to worsening
the drainage problem. Furthermore, it is my understanding that these rubber
membranes do not meet the NFPA guidelines for ventilation units.”
In Maser’s view, the main culprit in water drainage from air handlers
is inherent to improper condensate pan design and installation. Built into
the air
handler, many standard pans are often positioned on a concrete floor where
they may not be able to drain correctly. Often, pans are not positioned flush
with
drains. If the floor is pitching even slightly away from the drain, then the
pan is going to end up with standing water in it. Eventually, such improperly
engineered drains will become clogged with sediment and biological agents like
fungi and bacteria, which will worsen drainage and eventually cause the pan
to rust and leak. Ultimately, air handler components such as the filtration
system
and coils may become compromised.
Maser’s firm, Enviroair Consultants, is an expert in Industrial Hygiene
(IH) consulting ranging from safety to healthful environments. Services include
testing, risk assessment, solutions and training. Enviroair clients include
a broad range of industrial, corporate and institutional firms. A few years
ago
Enviroair began working with AQUIS or Air Quality Innovation Solutions, Orlando,
FL, in order to provide reliable recommendations to clients needing repair
or replacement of air handler condensate pans in order to make their HVAC systems
more reliable, and thereby extend the life of air handlers.
“
At first I thought the AQUIS solution was too good to be true,” Maser says. “We
had seen any number of retrofit and repair ‘systems’ devised to
improve condensate pan integrity and efficiency. Almost invariably they were
not readily
applicable to existing installations, were not strong enough or not compliant
with NFPA code. But AQUIS was a much different system.”
The difference was in the overall design and construction of the AQUIS condensate
pan remediation system, known as the CPR-1 System. Whereas most condensate
pans are composed of metal, which will rust, clog and weaken when not set at
the precise
floor pitch, the CPR-1 is installed by certified experts to correct the floor
pitch and meet ASHRAE 62.1 drainage specifications. This system incorporates
highly engineered polymers to ensure that pans remain free of standing water,
rust and corrosion, and remain leak-free for greater than 10 years. CPR-1 is
the only system known to meet the NFPA 90A fire code.
Installed by certified specialists, the AQUIS system can be used for most
industrial, commercial and institutional applications, minimizing downtime
and extending
the service life of even older air handlers by years.
For example, the Oakwood Annapolis Hospital, a 259-bed facility in Wayne,
Michigan, faced a situation where three large air handlers that evidently were
failing
due to condensate pan problems. Two of the air handlers were located above
laboratory facilities, while the biggest one was in the basement.
“
The air handler in the basement is as big as a small school bus,” says
Wade Phillips, Facilities Manager. “It was almost inconceivable how we
would remove this large unit and then replace it with a like-size one. The cost
was far beyond our budget, plus we’d have to put in a temporary system
to handle our HVAC needs while the replacement work was going on. The whole
project was close to impossible.”
Phillips says the only apparent solution was to initially replace the worst
air handler, and then ultimately replace two others of the total five units
at some
point in the future. Inside the worst unit, the basement air handler, there
was a lot of standing water containing rust and sediment due to a rusted-out
condensation
pan. Two other units were also in need of refurbishment.
“
The ones located over the lab area in the hospital were also a pressing concern,” Phillips
explains. “Naturally, we didn’t want any leakage from these units
entering the lab area. We were actually unable to fully clean the coils because
of the fear of leakage. For that reason, we were having an extremely difficult
time controlling the growth of biological organisms within those units.”
At the same time, the coils, motors and internals of the units were in relatively
good shape, making refurbishment a reasonable answer - if the pan problems
could be addressed.
Phillips said when he heard about the AQUIS solution he thought it would
enable refurbishment to be effective and to last for some time to come.
“
It was a very unique approach to ensuring that the pans would function properly,” he
says, “and that we could do the refurbishment without incurring a lot
of downtime.”
The much lower cost of refurbishing the air handlers gave the hospital a
very attractive alternative to the cost and tribulations of replacement with
new
units. Instead of replacing the basement airhandler first, then replacing the
other
two in the future, the hospital was able to successfully refurbish all three
units in succession.
“
Due to the AQUIS solution, we were able to completely remediate the three air
handlers using the AQUIS CPR-1 System,” Phillips explains.
For more information contact AQUIS at 888.494.1191 or visit them on the web
at www.aquissolutions.com.
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