How to Seal Stainless Seams in Cooling Towers

Oops, it looks as though someone forgot to use the butyl rubber strips with peel-off tape that often come with cooling towers or evaporative condensers, for joining the sections. I think you can get them after-market (if you don't already have them!)

I'm not sure how well they would hold up compared to epoxy, however. Installed according to plan, they are sandwiched between sheet-metal flanges; surface application over the joints probably won't last as long.

butyl stripps were between seams but are gone after 10 years and now to put new i have to take tower cells apart wich i can not.thank you for repply

I just bought my second tube of "Lexel" or something like that. It says it will stick to wet surfaces. It's clear, and no messier than silicone. Check specs on stuff like that, I've tried some gutter sealants that were stringy as hell. Consider spraying the whole thing with good old coal tar epoxy. I don't have to tell you surface prep is important.

I have done numerous cooling water tower system with this system in Canada. Surface preparation is similar to SSPC SP7 ( brush blast) then we apply an elastomeric paint called Polibrid 705. This required special equipement to spray apply. For a big job it require a plural pump, but Polibrid 705 is available in what we call Plaspak: basically it's a big syringe able to atomized the paint and avoid any pinholes. it requires only a good compressor : 14CFM at 100PSI.

The Polibrid 705 is a paint we use for immersion service and it should last about 40 years at 40 mils DFT. I have done some water tower 10 years ago at 30 mils, we did the inspection as we sealed the other cooling tower. the product is in perfect shape. I took the DFT it didn't loss more than 2 mils over the year

hope this will help

Hello Zorandodo:

Try sealing the joints with a Polysulfide joint sealant. It'll be more than a temporary solution as it sticks to just about anything including Teflon! I've used this in both water and wastewater treatment plants as well as water storage tanks and pump stations or all types and never had a joint failure yet.

It's fairly easy to obtain, as several of the large chem companies do make it.....just do a Google search and you'll find a GodZillion sources that'll sell it to you. Usually it comes in cans as Parts A & B.....mix it very well before you pour them together, then mix yet again. It does not have a long working life so you must work FAST applying it.

Be very careful when applying this stuff in a confined space as you'll need a respirator. Also, don't let it come in contact with your skin or clothes because it's impossible to remove and must wear off over time!!! Gloves and disposable clothing are a must.

Hope this helps you out. Have a great sunny day!

da CaptMoosie has spoken....LOL

thank you all for giving some advice, you all are big help.

A good thick coating of chlorinated rubber paint will probably also do the job.

It has the advantage of being flexible with excellent resistance to continuous immersion. This is why it is used to paint swimming pools.

While the paint is cheap (about the same as normal enamel paint), it requires xylene solvent to clean up and this costs quite a bit more than the paint.

Good ventilation is very important as the vapors given off make you feel quite woozy.