Replacement of the fan of a Polacel cooling tower
We were asked by a Rotterdam vegetable oil refinery to replace a fan of a Polacel cooling tower. The existing fan was a 14-foot fan with aluminium blades.
Conditions set by the customer:
- It must be an Atex fan. (zone II 2G, T1-T6)
- It must be more efficient than the existing fan.
- It must be quieter than the existing fan.
- Account must be taken of the fans of the other existing cooling towers to keep as few as possible replacement parts in stock.
Almeco supplied and installed a 14-foot Atex fan with the following properties:
| Diameter of the impeller | 14 feet |
| Number of blades | 6 |
| Speed | 227 rpm |
| Execution | Atex (zone II 2G, T1-T6) |
| Blades | Glass fibre-reinforced polyester - anti-static - self-extinguishing |
| Clamp block/clamping ring | Hot-dip galvanised/steel |
| Hub disk | Hot-dip galvanised |
| Hub | Steel with special antistatic coating |
| Bolts and nuts | Hot-dip galvanised (A2 possible without surcharge) |
Work carried out by Almeco:
- Complete maintenance of the cooling tower
- Disassembly of the existing drive gear
- Replacement of the gearbox with an overhauled gearbox supplied by the customer
- Installation of new drive shaft and alignment of this shaft
- Installation of fan supplied by Almeco
- Vibration checks on the installed fan for control purposes (balancing was not necessary)
The cooling tower with the new fan is now operational again.