Cause Comments Recommendations Location
Cracks at seams or welded areas and pinhole leaks in condenser due to corrosion wear and or poor fabrication A water leak of sufficient volume may overburden water separator capacity. Insufficient separation time may also occur, causing water to carry over with reclaimed solvent. Inspect and repair or replace as needed Drying tumbler, still, muck cooker and/or sniffer
Steam heated coils See "Cracks" above See "Water leak" above. Steam leaks may also speed up distillation, producing co-solvents that may couple water and distill over with the solvent. Inspect and repair or replace as needed Drying tumbler, still, muck cooker and/or sniffer
Plugged water drains in water separator. Unopened or plugged air vent. Permits water to pass through solvent drain. Water drain line may become plugged with rust, sand particles and other debris. Inspect and clean Water separator
Leaks at connections, cracks at seams or welded areas, and pinhole leaks due to corrosion, wear or poor fabrication Internal leaks in water-cooled heat exchangers, or solvent coolers will contaminate solvent with water Inspect and repair or replace as needed Heat exchanger or solvent cooler
Malfunction of moisture control units When using conductivity unit, maintain recommended detergent charge in system Have units serviced periodically Moisture control units
Excessive usage of prespotting and stock solutions Use wet-side agents sparingly. Use proper ration of water to surfactant when adding stock solution to bath. Use stock solutions according to the manufacturer's recommendations Pre-spotting and stock solutions
Infrequent changes of rags in those units having rag filters A water-saturated rag is no longer effective in removing water from reclaimed solvent Replace rags more frequently Rag filter, drying tumbler, still, muck cooker
Fabrics exposed to high relative humidity or rainy conditions for an extended period The relative humidity of the fabrics being processed will, in time, be imparted to the charged solvent During extended periods of high relative humidity, periodically run predried rags through the cleaning cycle Fabrics
Other problems with excess water This procedure works when specific causes cannot be determined
  1. Locate and resolve water source by reviewing the recommendations listed above.
  2. Remove excess water by decanting with a dipper. Pick up remaining droplets with a dry rag.
  3. Run 3 or 4 loads of predried cotton rags.
  4. Backwash filter additives and apply new precoat.

< Back