Self-contained ambient precooler attachment for air-cooled condensing units

Claim 1

A substantially self-contained precooler attachment for air-cooled condensing units having ambient air inlets comprising: a jacket adapted to at least partially envelope the exterior of a selected unit in upstream airflow relationship to said inlets, said jacket including an upright frame and porous media supported within said frame, said media being capable of permitting the gravitation therethrough of cooling water and the transverse flow of ambient air so that the latter may be precooled by said media before entering said inlets; a manifold adjacent the normally upper portion of said media adapted to discharge water into the latter for said gravitation therethrough; means for supplying water to said manifold; a control operably associated with said supply means for activating and deactivating the same; sensing means adapted for detecting the existence and non-existence of ambient air movement by the associated condensing unit resulting from operation and non-operation of the condensing unit respectively, said sensing means being operably associated with said control in a manner to cause activation of said supply means when the condensing unit is in operation and deactivation of the supply means when the condensing unit is in a state of non-operation; and a reservoir adjacent the normally lower portion of said media for receiving and collecting water gravitating through the media, said supplying means including a pump for recirculating water from said reservoir to said manifold, said supplying means further including means defining an inlet port for coupling the manifold with an external source of water under pressure, said control including a temperature-responsive valve operating to open said port when the temperature of collected water in said receptacle exceeds a certain predetermined level, said pump being provided with means for maintaining the same deactuated when said port is open as a result of the temperature of the water collected in said receptacle exceeding said predetermined level.