Choosing the Right Fill for Your Tower & Application

A question we often receive is, “How can you be certain that a particular fill will work in my tower?”

Well, first, we take a stack of cards and write one fill model on each card. Then, we go up to the top level of our building and throw them down the stairwell. The card that travels the furthest is the fill we recommend… Kidding!!!

Brentwood has spent millions of dollars in R&D and testing of all cooling tower fill and drift eliminator products over the years. On top of this, we have collected results from thousands of high-performing installations and in-situ test set-ups, with many locations still being tested today. By analyzing all of this information, our engineers can get a very good profile of each fill and apply our products based on project requirements and a thorough understanding what pitfalls to avoid. With this knowledge base, we can provide educated recommendations for the correct fill replacement to meet existing design criteria or to improve upon a tower that was installed many years ago.

Brentwood also offers a counterflow tower rating program – called S.T.A.R. – that puts all of our research and development information at your fingertips! As part of an initiative to provide unmatched customer service and support, Brentwood continues to invest in research and engineering so that our customers don’t have to. From stainless steel and antimicrobial fills to just differentiating between the different film fills, design is not difficult, given the right information.

So, if you need to be absolutely certain that a different style of fill can be used in your tower, we have a time-tested solution. Trying to match the highest efficiency product that is able to maintain performance over time without fouling is critical to many processes, and there’s a simple way to confirm a product’s viability. By removing a small portion of the existing fill and replacing it with packs of the proposed fill (a single bay’s worth), you can see how the proposed fills will perform with your specific tower. Noting the starting weight for the packs and taking subsequent weights during outage periods will allow us to measure any weight gain from fouling and determine which product provides the best overall performance.

Keep in mind that the process of testing this new section of fill requires some forethought so that you have the fill “soaking” for a year or longer prior to needing a full fill replacement. This process is needed so that the fill sees all variability in the water quality, such as seasonal changes for a cooling tower utilizing river water or salt water. Then, when the testing period is complete, you’ll have performance data specific to your jobsite and application so that you’ll know exactly what to expect once all fill is replaced.