Question 1

Can I buy cooling tower spare parts separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We select fans, belts, fill, drift eliminators and nozzles by model and serial number, both of which are on the tower nameplate. For towers from other manufacturers we need the dimensions and specifications of the old part. If a fan has been discontinued, the impeller cannot be supplied on its own, so we offer the complete fan. Order seasonal parts six weeks before temperatures settle above +25 °C, while service teams are not yet overloaded. More in the summer cooling readiness checklist

Question 2

What data do you need to select a cooling tower or a chiller?

Accepted Answer

For a cooling tower: flow and heat load, water inlet and outlet temperatures, design wet-bulb temperature with its exceedance level, redundancy, the installation site and its constraints, and the operating mode, year-round or seasonal. For a chiller: fluid temperatures, the fluid itself (water or glycol, type and concentration), design air temperature with its source document, and the installation site. If the winter load differs, give it by season. A blank field on the data sheet reads as "no limit". We prepare the technical proposal from the data sheet free of charge. More in our design guides for engineers

Question 3

How often do a cooling tower and a chiller need maintenance?

Accepted Answer

At least once a year before the season, with continuous water monitoring. Six weeks before temperatures settle above +25 °C, draw up the plan and order parts; at four weeks, do the maintenance; at two weeks, test under load and start the standby machine. Before the season the tower is cleaned and disinfected: free chlorine 4–5 mg/L at pH 7.0–7.6, held for about 6 hours (ASHRAE 188). Water is tested for Legionella periodically, as Russian sanitary rules SanPiN 3.3686-21 require. More in the summer cooling readiness checklist

Question 4

What drawings and data do you give the design engineer?

Accepted Answer

Overall and connection dimensions, weights and electrical connection data. At the concept and permit design stage you can work from the catalogue and standard technical solutions; final drawings come after the order, for absorption chillers within 2–4 weeks. For a roof, the structural engineer needs the operating mass, not the dry catalogue mass: for a VR-2-3 tower that is 8,010 kg against 4,010 kg. We have collected calculations, schematics and piping layouts in seven free design guides. More in our design guides for engineers

Question 5

What are the manufacturing lead times?

Accepted Answer

We manufacture an NCT cooling tower in 4–8 weeks; standard sizes from the stock programme take about 2 weeks. Lead times for chillers, dry coolers, pump stations and absorption chillers are stated in the commercial proposal, because they depend on the configuration. When comparing suppliers, ask what event starts the clock, the advance payment or approval of the drawings, and what exactly will arrive by that date. If a supplier refuses to take financial responsibility for the deadline, they do not believe in it themselves. More in the cooling tower selection guide

Question 6

How long does it take to install a cooling tower?

Accepted Answer

A modular NCT cooling tower arrives in finished blocks and is set on a prepared foundation in 1–2 working days. A field-erected tower takes 2–4 months to assemble on site, and build quality depends on the crew. We price and schedule installation of the whole system after a site visit: photos or video will not show a concrete column in the middle of the plant room or pumps that fall short on head. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 7

What do we need to prepare on site before installation?

Accepted Answer

A foundation rated for the operating mass, crane access and a crane position, power to the control panel, and piping with tie-in points. On a retrofit, add drawings of the existing piping and controls, limits on height, noise and working hours, and site access rules. An NCT pump station arrives as one skid-mounted module with three connections on site: suction, discharge and panel power. Put who supplies, installs, connects and commissions each item into a scope boundary table before design starts. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 8

Who does commissioning and trains our staff?

Accepted Answer

Our own engineers: we do commissioning and service ourselves, including for Thermax absorption chillers. If your contractor installs the equipment, we provide installation supervision and then start the plant up. Commissioning can be ordered together with operator training; for an absorption chiller training takes 2–3 days. Book start-up well ahead: in the first hot weeks service teams are overloaded with calls. More in the article on cooling equipment made in Russia

Question 9

How long does commissioning take, and how is a chiller plant accepted?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the plant, but the last step is integrated testing, usually 72 hours under process load with data logging. Start commissioning against a site readiness certificate: power on, loops filled and pressure-tested, load available. Protections are checked first (emergency stop, pressure and flow switches, phase sequence), then auxiliary equipment, and only then the chiller. First start-up readings go into a log: a year later they are the reference for service. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 10

Can supply, installation and commissioning go into one contract?

Accepted Answer

Yes, that is a turnkey chiller plant: one contractor is responsible for the survey, design, supply, installation, commissioning and service, and hands over cooling at the specified parameters rather than a set of equipment. Buying in parts also works, for example when you have a strong in-house installation team. Then you need a scope boundary table for every item before design, or the "that's not ours" argument will start at commissioning. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 11

Do you test equipment at the factory before shipping?

Accepted Answer

Yes. NCT pump stations are hydrostatically tested at the plant at 0.675 MPa for at least 30 minutes. Every absorption chiller is helium leak-tested before shipping. The control panel is checked at the factory, and on site each point is verified against its instrument. Open cooling tower capacity can be confirmed by an acceptance test to CTI ATC-105 after at least 1,000 hours of fill run-in; write this into the contract in advance. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 12

What warranty do you give, and what should the contract say about it?

Accepted Answer

The warranty period depends on the equipment type and contract terms and is stated in the commercial proposal. When comparing offers, look beyond the number of months: what event starts the warranty, what maintenance keeps it valid and who performs it. We recommend tying the warranty to the configuration and software version recorded in the commissioning report. An extended warranty is discussed together with a service contract. More in the article on turnkey chiller plants

Question 13

Will spare parts be available in a few years, and how fast?

Accepted Answer

That depends on who stands behind the machine's components. Ask whether the compressor and heat exchanger manufacturers have an official representative with a warehouse in Russia: that decides whether oil, filters and parts arrive in days or in months. For imported equipment in 2026 a spare part takes 3–6 months, and "parts from 10 weeks" in a proposal is a red flag. Seasonal consumables are ordered six weeks before the heat. More in the article on choosing an industrial chiller

Question 14

Can we maintain the equipment ourselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes, routine maintenance, after training. A dry cooler is the simplest: the main task is keeping the glycol concentration right. A cooling tower needs more: blowdown, chemicals, Legionella control, and a new galvanized coil in a closed-circuit tower needs passivation for the first 8 weeks. An absorption chiller runs without a permanent operator, the controller has a Russian interface, and training takes 2–3 days. Leave refrigerant circuit repairs and complex faults to a service team. More in the summer cooling readiness checklist

Question 15

The chiller or cooling tower is short on capacity. What should we check first?

Accepted Answer

The water. In our experience, water quality is the cause nine times out of ten: 1 mm of scale on a heat exchanger takes about 30% of capacity. Next, actual flow against design flow and clean heat transfer surfaces: about 1 mm of dirt on an air-cooled condenser's fins cuts efficiency by up to 21% (EPA), and in hot weather the machine trips on high pressure. On a cooling tower, warning signs are visible "rain", meaning a damaged drift eliminator, and an approach above the usual 3–5 °C. More in the summer cooling readiness checklist

Question 16

Can you help us write a technical specification if we cannot frame it ourselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We often start with a site survey: an engineer comes with clamp-on flow meters, temperature, pressure and humidity sensors, a sound level meter and a laser rangefinder. In a day or two he captures the real picture of the site, and within a couple of weeks you get a technical and commercial proposal, often free of charge, because we earn on equipment, not consulting. For tenders there are ready checklists: 16 questions for a chiller supplier and 18 points for a cooling tower. More in the chiller tender guide

Question 17

Can you take on the design of the whole system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A full design package for a chiller plant can include refrigeration, controls, reinforced concrete and steel structures, power equipment, architectural and building sections, and a cost estimate. We select pumps, tanks, piping and water treatment as part of the plant. If another firm is doing the design, we give it schematic piping diagrams and control recommendations. More in the cooling system schemes atlas

Question 18

Will you check a design done by another firm?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we check the design sections that include our equipment free of charge, even when another firm is the designer. If the design already specifies another brand, we prepare a technical justification for the substitution: a selection for the same duty and a side-by-side comparison of specifications. Machines can only be compared under identical selection conditions: temperatures, fluid, design air or wet-bulb temperature, and installation site. More in our design guides for engineers

Question 19

What wet-bulb temperature and exceedance level should a cooling tower be designed for?

Accepted Answer

Climate data come from SP 131.13330 (Russian building climatology code); NCT cooling tower data give the wet bulb at 0.98 probability by default. For critical users, designers apply the VNII VODGEO manual: category I consumer 1%, II 5%, III 10%. These are different bases, so the specification states which one was used. A higher level means a larger, more expensive tower. Then add a siting correction per SP 60.13330.2020: +1.5 °C in shade, +3 °C in sun, another +3 °C on a roof near walls. The second design point is the coldest winter temperature, including wind. More in the cooling tower design checklist

Question 20

Will a cooling tower meet noise limits near housing?

Accepted Answer

Check it against the night limit: near residential buildings that is 45 dBA under Russian sanitary rules SanPiN 1.2.3685-21, and 55 dBA in the daytime. A tower rated 68 dBA at 10 m meets the night limit only at 141 m, but with the fan at 70% speed at night, from 58 m. So variable-frequency drives and silencers go into the selection from the start: silencers are almost impossible to add after installation. More in the article on choosing an industrial cooling tower

Question 21

Can a specific cooling tower model be named in a public procurement specification?

Accepted Answer

For a private customer, yes. Under Russian public procurement law (44-FZ), a brand name must be followed by "or equivalent", and equivalence is defined by function: duty, wet-bulb temperature, approach (how much warmer the outlet water is than the wet bulb), noise, drift, materials and verified thermal performance. For disputes, the contract provides for an acceptance test to CTI ATC-105 by an independent CTI-licensed testing agency. More in our design guides for engineers

Design, installation and service: questions and answers