84-18: Eliminating the Merkel Theory Approximations -- Can it Replace theThe Merkel Theory was published in 1925 and demonstrated that heat transfer in evaporative cooling tower was approximately proportional to a difference of enthalpies. Approximations of the theory are very large, mainly when water temperatures are high. This paper presents a simple method to eliminate Merkel's Theory approximations. It is practically as simple to use as the present Merkel Theory, and existing data can still be used with simple