Evaporative Coolers for Hazardous Material Sites

Work with Hazardous Materials, not in Hazardous Spaces

The materials that keep America running, growing, medicated, and modern can be combustible or reactive, creating a challenge to keep the workers who produce them safe and comfortable. Portacool, known for its innovative solutions to cooling in non-traditional spaces, brings compliant, affordable, and effective solutions to a variety of hazardous applications.

Our evaporative coolers have the potential to provide large amounts of cool air at refineries, oil fields, oil rigs, chemical production plants, and fuel depots. To allow for their use in areas where combustible gases may be present, our special Hazardous Location evaporative coolers are certified for use in ETL hazardous locations Class 1, Division 2, Group C & D. In addition, these coolers use our Kuul Comfort FirePro™ evaporative media, the only flame-retardant evaporative media made in the USA.

For Hazardous material processing, you will need a custom service plan for your industry and coolers that won’t be on hand at most retailers. We’ll ask you to reach us directly so that we can meet your specific needs and equip the right retailers to meet your needs.

How Your Worksite Can Benefit from an Evaporative Cooler

Safety is not the Antithesis of Profitability

In fact, injury, exhaustion, and lawsuits are the enemies of profitability. So, an appeal for safe and comfortable working conditions is an appeal for profits, especially when the cost of operating a Portacool evaporative cooler is so low. For about $1/day, a Portacool can offer a safe way to lower temps. With workers making 12X as many mistakes at 95°F than they made at 80°F, and more at higher temps, you can easily see the benefit of bringing temperatures down. Portacool can reduce temps up to 30°F, depending on conditions.

Once a worker’s internal temperature rises, the body immediately changes its priorities to avoid heat-related illness. Blood is diverted from the brain and muscles to the skin to increase cooling. People get weaker and lose cognitive ability as they get hot. Keeping workers cool and safe from the heat is a smart business decision.

Outdoor Cooling for Oil and Gas

Whether you are a roughneck or a hand in the patch, on a rig, or in a refinery, you are accustomed to wearing protective, safety gear that is stifling at best and suffocating at its worst. Modern, flame-resistant fabrics don’t allow for good heat exchange and certainly don’t allow natural cooling from sweating. Even out in the open air, sweating loses efficiency if it’s too humid to dry off, as is often the case on the rig or on the coastline where refineries are. So, Portacool does the sweating for you.

Using the same evaporative principle as sweating, Portacool draws in hot air and uses its energy to evaporate water, cooling the air in the process. They can effectively cool as much air as they pull in, creating dramatic results in a single pass over the evaporative media. Operating at a fraction of the energy cost, they can create enough cool air on demand to create cool zones even outside or in large spaces where air conditioning is ineffective or impractical. As long as water and electricity are available, you can safely and effectively lower the ambient air temps.

Chemical & Fertilizer Factories

Being exposed to the elements is one type of heat, but to swelter and bake indoors is another brand of misery altogether. While your work isn’t inherently dangerous, some of your materials are. It’s chemistry: a spark could potentially ignite fumes, so having equipment that meets defined safety standards is a crucial part of keeping your business running.

Our evaporative coolers have the potential to provide large amounts of cool air at production plants that require extra scrutiny. To allow for their use in areas where combustible gases may be present, our special Hazardous Location evaporative coolers are certified for use in ETL hazardous locations Class 1, Division 2, Group C & D. In addition, our coolers are all made in the USA, at our Center, Texas manufacturing facility. They use our Kuul Comfort FirePro™ evaporative media,the only flame-retardant evaporative media made in the USA.

Receive a Productivity Boost with Portacool

OSHA recommends that workers might need to take up to 45 minutes of breaks every hour, even for relatively light work at high temperatures. We know that a 24-hour-a-day operation with thousands of pounds of multi-million dollar equipment cannot just hang out while workers cool off. We prefer them to take breaks for focus, not for temperature recuperation.

Studies confirm that productivity starts to drop once temperatures exceed 80°F. One study quantified this productivity loss, saying that productivity could drop 30% by the time temperatures reach 100°F. So, effectively lower that operating temperature and keep the product flowing. Check how much heat costs you using this productivity calculator.

Why Portacool?

It would be nice if you could turn down the thermostat outdoors to protect workers from heat-related illnesses. However, an evaporative cooler can be the next best thing. While air conditioners function great indoors, they are inefficient and ineffective in large facilities and outdoors.

The cost of safety can easily be justified by productivity and worker satisfaction. Your employees take pride in their hard work; with Portacool, you can remove a distracting and exhausting element.

At Portacool, we understand the specific demands for cooling technology in hazardous material sites. That’s why we designed evaporative coolers with these demands in mind. Portacool is the smart choice for cooling your hazardous materials work site.

Since 1990, we have earned a reputation as the leader in the evaporative cooling industry. Our standards for quality and customer care have expanded demand, and we now have distributors in all 50 states and in 56 countries around the world. Made in Center, Texas, Portacool includes the only cooling media made in the USA. Read more about the Kuul evaporative media.