Since 1953, Red Valve Company has been a trusted global leader in developing innovative, custom-engineered valve products and mixing systems that solve flow control problems in both municipal and industrial applications. The company’s dedication and drive has led to an innovative approach to eliminate short-circuiting, cut water stagnation, and to achieve complete mixing in water storage tanks: the Tideflex® Mixing System (TMS).
The key to the TMS is the Tideflex Check Valve. Developed in the 1980s from a United States EPA grant, the check valve was created to solve backflow problems in outfall pipes. Red Valve’s engineering team further expanded the use of the Tideflex Check Valve by developing it into a variable orifice inlet nozzle that provides superior mixing characteristics when compared to many fixed-diameter pipes.
When used in the TMS, the Tideflex Variable Orifice Nozzles optimize jet velocity at all flow rates and discharge an elliptically-shaped jet, which produces rapid and complete mixing that improves water quality. The TMS also separates the inlet and outlet with one manifold pipe, so that short-circuiting is eliminated.
The design of the TMS requires no maintenance and uses the energy of fill and draw cycles, so there is no need for an outside energy source. Because the TMS eliminates maintenance and inspection requirements associated with mechanical mixers, it eases the burden that water utilities face in maintaining distribution systems.
Kentucky Utility Installs TMS
A new protective coating, paired with the installation of the TMS, will improve water quality for customers of the London, Ky., Utility Commission.
During the fall of 2019, a routine tank inspection performed by Wet or Dry Tank Inspection & Consulting Services Inc. found that the original protective coating on the tank interior was not performing as designed and was failing on over 90 percent of the interior surfaces. The steel tank was no longer being protected from the water and damage to the tank was beginning to occur.
The London Utility Commission retained the services of Wet or Dry to develop a plan to address the tank needs. These included developing a comprehensive set of bidding specifications to rehab tank interior, mixing system design, public bidding of the project, contract administration, and NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) inspectors onsite to monitor all work performed by the contractor and assure conformance to the specification.
Wet or Dry engineers determined that the interior tank coating had to be removed and replaced to protect the tank. The failing coating was completely removed by abrasive blasting, followed by the application of a new coating to a minimum of 80 mils.
Wet or Dry also recommended, specified, and ultimately installed the Tideflex Mixing System for the tank interior. To optimize performance in an existing tank, Red Valve reverse engineered the TMS to ensure complete mixing based on how the tank was actually being fluctuated.
“The Tideflex Mixing System does not use any outside power source, instead it utilizes the power of the water in the system. It can lower the use of chemicals in the water system [and] assist in maintaining water quality in the system,” says Jay Hoffman, vice president of operations for Wet or Dry. “While the Fifth Street water tank is the largest in the range of the London Utility Commission, four other tanks also serve the London area. We expect the other tanks will also soon feature the Tideflex Mixing System.” WW
Since 1953, Red Valve has solved the world’s toughest flow control challenges through elastomer design and manufacturing. Learn more at www.redvalve.com.
Published in WaterWorld magazine, May 2022.
