Watertank Inspections Using Remote Operating Vehicles

Описание: Get to know SEH's Chris Wolfgram as he introduces the use of ROVs for routine water tower inspections.

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Transcription:
My name's Chris Wolfgram. I've been with SEH for about four years now. And I am the Protective Coatings Manager. I've been going in and out of water towers for about 15 years now. I've been climbing my entire life. Anything I can get my hands on, where I can go up, I go for it.

One of the benefits to using the ROV, would be cost savings, which we can see upwards of 50% over using a dive team. A dive team would take anywhere from four to six hours to do an onsite inspection. With the ROV, we've been able to complete them within approximately two hours.

We bring the actual ROV sub out. Which includes the sub itself, the umbilical cord for the controls, and the remote. We bring out a haul bag, a rope, for hauling everything up, and then, also, a small Hudson sprayer for disinfecting.

ROVs are non-intrusive, because a typical drain down inspection would require you to remove the water from the water tower. Here we can just put the ROV in the water tower, after disinfecting it, and not change the water system. By not having to drain water, it can stay in the tank, the residents can continue to use it and the city continues to make money off of their water, instead of having to waste it.

We're looking, specifically, for coating defects. We're looking for cracking, peeling, delamination between coats of paint, where they're pulling apart from each other. Blistering, rusting.
If you catch it early enough, you can do a spot repair. Which you would prepare just the area, and put two coats of paint on it, whether it be on the interior, you'd put two coats of the epoxy, on the exterior you'd put a coat of epoxy and a coat of urethane.
if you don't maintain proper maintenance you end up having to completely rehabilitate the tower. It's more costly, you end up, actually, doing the rehab before it's needed. Typically, a water tower will last 20 to 25 years, without having to be repainted, if it's properly maintained.