Heat exchangers are engineered to maximize heat transfer from one gas or liquid to another during processing.
Thus, the reduced heat exchanger output from fouling or ageing results in additional running and energy costs to compensate for gaps in the target temperature.
Heat exchanger failure can be extremely costly for your business it leading to shutdowns. They are the core of many crucial systems and are a crucial feature of heat control systems, from power plants to commercial chemical plants.
This blog post includes tips to help your business clean its heat exchanger, thus saving you money and improving its performance.
What is a Heat exchanger?
A heat exchanger does just as its name suggests it exchanges heat. A heat exchanger is a device that transfers heat from one medium to another like a Hydraulic Oil Cooler will remove heat from hot oil by using cold water or air.
Alternatively, a Swimming Pool Heat Exchanger uses hot water from a boiler or solar-heated water circuit to heat the pool water. Heat exchangers are either given a hot fluid to provide heating or a cold fluid to provide cooling.
This is usually achieved by using a set of tubes housed in some type of housing. Heat exchanger fans, condensers, belts, coolants, additional tubes, and lines, and other components work to increase heating and cooling efficiency or improve flow.
Why the need for maintenance?
They are designed to optimize heat transfer from one gas or liquid to another.
Since the product or chemical deposits on the heat transfer surfaces weaken the heat transfer capacity of the heat exchanger, they must be washed periodically to preserve high efficiency and avoid processing interruption.
The maintenance of heat exchangers is important to keep systems running efficiently. Regular maintenance guarantees that the equipment is in operating condition and helps avoid emergency repairs.
The cost of cleaning a heat exchanger is negligible relative to the cost of output wasted if a Heat Exchanger needs an unscheduled shutdown.
When should I clean my Heat Exchanger?
When the exchanger does not reach the correct temperature of the product for heating or cooling, it is time to clean the Heat Exchanger.
Incorrect temperatures are induced by the surface fouling of the plate, which limits the flow of temperature. You can also see pressure drops higher than defined because fouling is constricting the flow of the channel and increasing fluid velocity.
Tips to clean the heat exchanger
Keep a Schedule
It is important to keep a cleaning routine for the maintenance of the heat exchanger. This will help prevent the build-up which could damage the plant & possibly lead to a shutdown.
Ultra High-Pressure Jetting
The easiest way to clean the heat exchanger is to make use of ultrahigh-pressure jetting because it is reliable and environmentally friendly.
This process removes the need to use chemicals, which may in fact inflict more to the exchanger by weakening or destroying the material, resulting in additional cost.
Make sure all residues are removed until the bare metal is visible when cleaning. Also, keeping the insides of the pipework polished will improve the liquid throughput.
External Surfaces
The shell sides, tube bundles & internal pipework often are the highest priority for cleaning make sure they are cleaned because these surfaces are most likely to be affected by chemical deposits and build-ups.
The outer surfaces also play an important part in heat dissipation and efficient operations.
Use the Right Cleaning Tools
Removing polymer deposits can be extremely difficult, special caution should be taken when removing them with general tools such as chisels & hammers damaging the heat exchanger itself.
Therefore, make sure to make use of band-saws & ultra-high pressure water jetting.
When you have questions about proper care for your heat exchanger, need replacement parts, or when you’re ready for a replacement unit, reach out to us at Warkin Equipments Pvt Ltd, we are a leading Heat exchanger Manufacturers in India.
We will be glad to assist you.
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