Enerquip Helps Design a Fountain that Flows During Freezing Temperatures
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Enerquip’s shell and tube heat exchanger solution keeps this fountain working well all year round.
Signature Fountains, a national fountain installation company, works to ensure each project they complete looks great, benefits its clients and functions well. Sometimes, that means overcoming obstacles that make pumping water difficult.
Ascend Federal Credit Union came to Signature Fountains for help designing a fountain to place outside its corporate headquarters in Tullahoma, Tennessee. They wanted the fountain to flow as much as possible, even when temperatures drop.
Tennessee has mild winters, with average January temperatures ranging from 36 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture. However, there are times when the mercury can dip below freezing. When that happens, outdoor fountains can’t function properly and can be at risk of damage due to ice.
To solve this issue, Signature Fountains wanted to create a way to heat the water under certain circumstances. They turned to Enerquip’s heat exchanger experts for help. They had a few requirements:
- The heat exchanger needed to be very compact, able to fit inside a small utility pit designed for the fountain’s equipment and controls.
- It needed to source hot water from a nearby location.
- It needed to activate based on environmental conditions.
Signature Fountains and the credit union weren’t sure how much heat was lost through the fountain. Without this information, the project was more complex. Further, both companies were working with tight deadlines, and the installation needed to be completed quickly.
Enerquip worked with Signature Fountains to design the perfect heat exchanger and control for the fountain. When the temperature dropped below 45 degrees, it would turn on. A pump sourced hot water from the credit union’s nearby office building to circulate through the exchanger. It has a multi-pass design, which efficiently directs the hot water to flow through the exchanger several times.
“The design worked beyond our best expectations,” wrote Gary Boeyer of Signature Fountains.
Both Signature Fountains and Ascend Federal Credit Union were impressed with the design and how well the fountain runs. Additionally, they were pleased that Enerquip made an effort to help them stay on schedule. By working quickly yet intelligently, Enerquip created a long-lasting solution for the credit union.
“Recently, Tullahoma experienced cold overnight temperatures,” Boeyer noted. “The system turned on, the heat exchanger very effectively heated the water and the fountain was kept in operation.”