ACCUG document ACC.01, “Guidelines for Internal Inspection of Air-Cooled Condensers,” was issued in 2015 and has been a useful, practical document for many ACC operators. While originally assigned a review date of 2018, no review action was taken because there was minimal need for document changes. In the last few years, several items have arisen that indicate the need for a revision, including:

– The observation of significant corrosion along the length of the finned HX tubes, not only at tube entry.
– The shift from forced draft ACC design to induced draft.
– A need to consider the basis for overall ratings, e.g. theoretically if an ACC had one through-wall corrosion leak and was ideal in every other respect, it would be rated “5” (worst case). Some extension of the ratings to define the overall scenario should be considered.

The communication is to solicit input on these and other items that you believe may need to be considered for revision. If you have relevant experience or just some thoughts to consider, please return this document to myself with edits / comments. The document can be downloaded from the website for review and commenting:

https://acc-usersgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ACC-inspection-guidelines-05.12.2015-Initial-Version.pdf

Ideally all comments will have been received by October 1, 2026 and a revision issued by the end of the year.

Thank you in advance for your inputs.

Andrew Howell, ACCUG Chairman
aghowell19@gmail.com
303-870-9785