Correct evaporative cooler maintenance will make the coolers last longer and work more efficiently. To maintain the air cooler perfectly, you should clean and disinfect the cooler in every six months. To ensure good flow of air into the room, you should prevent the build-up of sediments, fungus and algae inside the air cooler by using water softeners. Make sure that you specially clean the filter pads and the basin present inside the air coolers. There are windblown dust and pollens that get accumulated in the basin, creating sludge and blocking the pumps, water distribution system and the filter pads. So the interiors of the air cooler should be cleaned at regular intervals.

Maintenance Tips Before Summer and After Summer

Evaporative cooler maintenance should be conducted regularly to keep the cooler disinfected and clean. Since air coolers are the major instruments to distribute air in a surrounding, and people will always be breathing that air, so it is very important that the air should be fresh and clean. The air can be fresh only when there is regular maintenance of the air cooler.

During summer, following are the ways:

* Remove all external weatherproof covers
* Remove the filer pads and clean them thoroughly with a water hose
* Clean all the waterways thoroughly including the sump and bleed-off systems
* Refit the filter pads, close the drain valves and open water inlet valves to allow the units to fill them with fresh water

Immediately after summer, clean the air coolers in the following ways:

* Disconnect all powers to the unit
* Take out all the sediments and slimes from the basin with a brush
* Let all the dirty water flow out from the tanks and pipes
* Clean the basin and water pump guards with a cloth soaked in diluted household disinfectants
* Dry the internal parts of the air cooler by running the fan
* Fit waterproof covers to external units

Easy Guidelines For Maintaining The Coolers

Evaporative cooler maintenance is not a difficult task and can be completed within very less time with minimum of assistance from external sources.

Following are some instant cooler maintenance tips:

* Shut off the power and water supply before you start to clean your air cooler
* Install new media pads at least twice during the entire season to prevent unnecessary clogging of dust, pollen, mildew and minerals from evaporated waters
* Remove the cooler drain tube in the reservoir pan and cleanse out all elements like silt, dissolved salt, stored dirty water, old pad fibers with nylon brushes and plastic scrapers.
* Check to see that the V-belt is not cracked.
* Rotate the motor and the blower wheels to check the correct working of the air cooler. Replace the wheels in case of any damages
* In case the water is not flowing smoothly through the side panels then clear the blockage by placing a flexible wire into the tube-end orifice.

So maintain your air cooler following the above-mentioned guidelines to enjoy fresh and healthy air.

Matthew Anderson adds regularly reviews on air coolers to http://www.evaporative-air-coolers.com. An online information magazine about the basics of how evaporative air coolers work and some of the advantages of the technology for a good air conditioning. Read more about how to maintain evaporative air coolers for different models and manufacturers at his specialized website

Source: EzineArticles.com

Since we cannot see, smell or taste radiation, we are dependent on instruments to indicate the presence of ionizing radiation. Radiation is energy traveling in the form of particles or waves in bundles of energy called photons. Some everyday examples are microwaves used to cook food, radio waves for radio and television, light, and x-rays used in medicine.

Radioactivity is a natural and spontaneous process by which the unstable atoms of an element emit or radiate excess energy in the form of particles or waves. These emissions are collectively called ionizing radiations. Depending on how the nucleus loses this excess energy either a lower energy atom of the same form will result, or a completely different nucleus and atom can be formed.

Ionization is a particular characteristic of the radiation produced when radioactive elements decay. These radiations are of such high energy that when they interact with materials, they can remove electrons from the atoms in the material. This effect is the reason why ionizing radiation is hazardous to health, and provides the means by which radiation can be detected.

How Does a Radiation Detector Work?

SCINTILLATION DETECTOR:

The basic principle behind this instrument is the use of a special material which glows or “scintillates” when radiation interacts with it. The most common type of material is a type of salt called sodium-iodide. The light produced from the scintillation process is reflected through a clear window where it interacts with device called a photomultiplier tube. The first part of the photomultiplier tube is made of another special material called a photocathode. The photocathode produces electrons when light strikes its surface. These electrons are then pulled towards a series of plates called dynodes through the application of a positive high voltage. When electrons from the photocathode hit the first dynode, several electrons are produced for each initial electron hitting its surface. This “bunch” of electrons is then pulled towards the next dynode, where more electron “multiplication” occurs. The sequence continues until the last dynode is reached, where the electron pulse is now millions of times larger then it was at the beginning of the tube. At this point the electrons are collected by an anode at the end of the tube forming an electronic pulse. The pulse is then detected and displayed by the instrument.

GAS FILLED DETECTOR:

This instrument works on the principle that as radiation passes through air or a specific gas, ionization of the molecules in the air occur. When a high voltage is placed between two areas of the gas filled space, the positive ions will be attracted to the negative side of the detector (the cathode) and the free electrons will travel to the positive side (the anode). These charges are collected by the anode and cathode which then form a very small current in the wires going to the detector. By placing a very sensitive current measuring device between the wires from the cathode and anode, the small current is measured and displayed as a signal. The more radiation which enters the chamber, the more current is displayed by the instrument. Many types of gas-filled detectors exist, but the two most common are the ion chamber used for measuring large amounts of radiation and the Geiger-Muller or GM detector used to measure very small amounts of radiation.