ScaleBreak-Gel descaler

ScaleBreak-Gel descaler

Goodway® ScaleBreak-Gel is a specialised, gel-based version of our proven ScaleBreak descaling chemistry. Where a standard liquid descaler runs straight off a vertical or overhead surface, ScaleBreak-Gel is thickened to cling exactly where it’s applied – so the descaler stays in contact with the scale long enough to dissolve it. That makes it the go-to solution for surfaces that can’t be flooded, soaked, or circulated through a pump system.

This clinging action is what makes it so effective on the coils of air-cooled condensers – particularly those fitted with adiabatic (water-spray) pre-cooling, where hard scale builds up on the fins. It’s equally suited to the vertical surfaces and components of cooling towers and evaporative condensers, such as air intake louvers and drift separators. On surfaces like these, a pourable descaler simply can’t dwell long enough to do the job; the gel can.

Cleaning process explained

ScaleBreak-Gel is always used as part of a three-step process, each step with its own dedicated equipment:

1. Apply – the gel is applied with the TFC-JR cleaning system. Because of its high viscosity, this is the only system that can apply it correctly; standard pumps and sprayers can’t handle it.
2. Rinse – once the gel has had time to react with and dissolve the scale, it’s sprayed off with the CC-400HF and a turbo nozzle, flushing away the loosened deposits.
3. Neutralise and finish – CoilShine is then applied, both as a final cleaning agent and to neutralise any remaining gel. ScaleBreak-Gel is acidic (low pH) and CoilShine is alkaline (high pH), so the two neutralise each other, leaving the surface clean and safe.

Dwell time is typically 30 to 60 minutes, depending on conditions. The gel has to stay wet to keep working, so in warm summer weather – when it dries out faster – dwell times are shorter, while in colder weather it can be left on longer. The apply-and-rinse cycle is then repeated as often as needed: heavy scale often lifts one layer at a time, so thicker deposits may require several cycles before the surface is fully clean. As a guide to quantity, 20 liters of ScaleBreak-Gel covers approximately 9 m² of surface area.

ScaleBreak-Gel is particularly effective against:

• Scale (calcium carbonate)
• Rust (Fe₂O₃)
• Biological deposits (biofilm) – when bound up in the scale itself. ScaleBreak-Gel doesn’t target biofilm on its own, but as it dissolves the surrounding scale, attached biological deposits are released and rinsed away along with it.

ScaleBreak-Gel is widely used for descaling the coils of air-cooled (adiabatic) condensers, as well as the air intake louvers, drift separators, and other vertical surfaces of cooling towers and evaporative condensers, across HVAC and industrial process environments.

Cleaning fill or an entire cooling tower

ScaleBreak-Gel is not suitable for descaling cooling tower fill packs. It can be sprayed onto the fill, but only reaches the first 10-15 cm, depending on how easily it can be applied. For scale deeper inside a fill pack – or to clean a whole system at once – a cleaning-in-place (CIP) process is the better approach: a liquid descaler such as ScaleBreak-MP is circulated through the entire cooling tower system using the existing pump. This reaches all components, including the piping and connected heat exchangers such as chillers or plate heat exchangers. It’s simple to carry out and requires virtually no system shutdown.

If you’re unsure which method or product is right for your application, reach out to one of the Goodway Benelux product experts for advice.