The beginning of a new season is the perfect time to perform system maintenance. As many plant operators know, consistent system maintenance optimizes system performance, prolongs the life of your system and detects minor fixes before they transform into costly repairs. We’ve included a list of suggested tasks below to help you perform a quick system check-up.
Filters
Ensuring that your filters are operating correctly helps to keep cost and water usage low while establishing continued compliance.
- Have treatment conditions changed? Check your influent water and effluent quality.
- Are chemical feed rates set properly so that all iron and manganese is oxidized?
- Have you checked that backwash cycle times are set correctly?
- Are backwash rates set at the proper flow rates and frequency?
- Have you inspected your media depths recently? This should be recorded annually.
- Does your Greensand media need a potassium permanganate charge?
- Is the required chlorine residual going to the system?
- Are the air release valves working properly? They should allow air into tank when the tank is draining down for backwash and release air when filling.
Softeners
Verifying your softener is maintaining optimal performance will help to ensure water and salt use levels are at a minimum.
- Are you meeting your target for a specific water hardness?
- Is the bypass operating at the proper bypass rate?
- If your softeners have air release valves, are they working properly? Is the softener stepping through a backwash program properly?
- Verify that your salt usage levels are consistent. A change could indicate that your resin is losing capacity or that you are not regenerating properly.
Air Wash Blower
Backwash ability can be impacted when an air wash blower is not performing at capacity.
- Ensure that the blower line has no moisture build up and is being drained consistently.
- Verify that the AWI valves are closed until the blower is on, then open. After the backwash step, prior to air scour, ensure the valves close before the blower shuts down.
Air Compressor
Leaks in your air compressor can lead to higher energy use when valves are not working properly and can negatively impact system performance.
- Does your air compressor use an oil lubrication? If so, have you changed the oil recently?
- If your air compressor is belt driven, ensure there are no cracks in the belt and that it remains tight.
- If your system utilizes a dryer along with the air compressor, is it functioning properly?
If you have any maintenance related questions or want to request a site visit, contact us today!
U.S. Water’s Performance Index series is designed to share operations and maintenance best practices with plant personnel. The more our customers know about how to maintain and protect their systems, the more they can safeguard against system failures or efficiency issues.