Casing & louvers
Casing keeps air in and water out; louvers admit air and stop water blowing out. When either fails, the tower loses performance and starts wetting things it should not.
Understanding the component
Fiberglass casing panels enclose the tower. They are formulated for strength and for resistance to heat, cracking, crazing and the chemicals in circulating water. Panels are available in a range of shapes, weights and colors, with industrial gray the standard.
The two most commonly used profiles are 4.2 corrugated and 5.33 V-Beam. The V-Beam profile is deeper and stiffer, so it spans further between supports, useful on a re-clad where you would rather not add framing.
Louvers at the air inlet face let air in while directing water back into the tower. On a crossflow tower they also shield the open fill face from sunlight, which suppresses algae growth. Louvers that are missing, broken or wrongly angled cause water to blow out of the inlet, which looks like a drift problem, wets adjacent plant and roadways, and in freezing weather builds ice on the inlet face.
We supply components for cooling towers from every manufacturer, including towers whose original makers no longer exist. If it is on your tower, we can identify it.
What actually goes wrong
These are the failures we find in the field, roughly in order of how often we find them. If you recognize one, we can usually tell you what to check next over the phone.
| Failure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cracked and broken panels | Impact damage, storm damage and simple age. Every hole is an air bypass that reduces air flow through the fill. |
| Fastener pull-through | The panels are sound and the fixings have torn through them or corroded away. Extremely common and easy to underestimate. |
| Chalking and embrittlement | UV degradation. Old FRP that cracks when you try to unbolt it. |
| Missing or damaged louvers | Produces water blow-out at the inlet face, ice build-up in winter and algae growth in the fill. |
| Air bypass at joints | Gaps at panel laps, corners and penetrations. Air that goes round the fill instead of through it. |
Manufacturers and product lines
We are independent, so the recommendation follows your tower, your water and your duty rather than a single manufacturer's catalog.
FRP casing panels
4.2 corrugated and 5.33 V-Beam profiles as standard, with 7.2 rib and other profiles available, in a range of weights and colors.
Fire-rated panels
UL-listed product with a flame spread rating of 25 or less, where the site fire requirement calls for it.
Inlet louvers
FRP louvers in matching profiles for crossflow and counterflow inlet faces.
Fasteners and closures
Stainless and coated fixings, closure strips and sealants appropriate to the panel and the water chemistry.
Profiles and fire ratings we supply
Casing and louvers are ordered by profile and fire rating rather than by make. If you can tell us the profile on the tower now we can match it; if you cannot, a photograph taken square to the panel and a measurement across several corrugations will identify it.
- 4.2 corrugated
- 5.33 V-Beam
- 7.2 rib
- Class I fiberglass
- Class II fiberglass
- Class III fiberglass
- flame spread 25 or less
What we would tell you on the phone
Specify the fire rating deliberately.
Fire-retardant and general-purpose panels look much the same and cost differently. If your insurer or your site standard requires a flame spread of 25 or less, that has to be specified; it is not the default.
Re-clad is a good time to reconsider the profile.
Moving to a stiffer V-Beam profile can allow wider support spacing, which occasionally means less framing repair than a like-for-like replacement would need.
Do the louvers at the same time.
Casing and louvers are usually the same age and in the same condition, and both require the same access. Doing them separately means paying for access twice.
Usually replaced or inspected at the same time
FRP shapes
Pultruded fiberglass angle, channel, tube, decking, grating and walkway sections for structural and safe-access work.
View componentFan stacks
FRP fan cylinders and velocity-recovery stacks in Class I, II and III fire ratings: Midwest, Polymer Fabrication and BAC · Baltimore Aircoil.
View componentLumber & hardware
CTI-grade treated Douglas fir and redwood, plywood, and fasteners in 304/316 stainless, silicon bronze, monel and hot-dip galvanized.
View componentFill
Film and splash fill for counterflow and crossflow towers, including fouling-resistant grades: Brentwood and C.E. Shepherd.
View componentSend us the nameplate and we will identify it
The fastest route to a correct quote is a photograph of the nameplate and of the component in place. Model numbers get superseded and drawings go missing; photographs do not lie.
- Phone
- (713) 643-0691
- Shop & office
-
3811 Cedar Blvd Ste A
Baytown, TX 77523