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Q: What type of heat exchanger do I need?

A: Our application engineers will help select the best heat exchanger for your application. The general rule of thumb is plate style heat exchangers offer the most surface area for your dollar. PHE’s are used to process low to medium viscosity fluids with no particulates.

Double tubes are best suited for low viscosity large particulate processing. Triple tubes excel at processing high viscosity medium particulates. Multi tubes generally used to process low viscosity small to medium particulates. Shell and tubes are used when there is a large delta “T”.

A: “High Temperature Short Time” term used to describe a heat exchanger that does continuous flow pasteurization.

Q: What is direct “regen”?

A: Regeneration is the process of recovering heat from another process. A typical pasteurizer utilizes hot pasteurized product to pre-heat cold raw product this also cools the hot pasteurized product.

Q: What is indirect “regen”?

A: Indirect regen utilizes a continuous water loop to transfer heat from the hot to the cold & back to the hot side.

Q: How often should I replace my gaskets?

A: Wow, that is the million dollar question! The life expectancy of a gasket is determined by several factors.

1. Material selection - First and foremost, you must properly match gasket material to your application. This should have been done when the unit was originally designed; but if premature gasket failure is experienced, it may be in your best interest to check the compatibility.
2. Temperature - Exceeding the rated temperature for the gasket material will cause rapid failure. Even operating the unit within the upper temperature range of the gasket will shorten the life expectancy.
3. Age - Even in the most ideal conditions, age will take its toll on you and your gaskets. The gaskets are easily replaced compared to you, so take care of yourself and your heat exchanger.

Q: All right, Mr. Gasket Man, thanks for the information on gaskets but how long will they last?

A: In a water by water application, at temperatures between 50 and 150°F, the gaskets may be in operation for 10 years before failure. Other applications, like steam by a corrosive material they may only last for 6 months before failure. As you can see, gasket life is affected by a number of variables and is established by you.

The key is to try to get the maximum use of the gasket before changing them without jeopardizing the possibility of gasket failure during operation, creating an expensive shutdown during full-scale production. A delicate task to say the least. First, you will need to be able to identify a potentially bad gasket. There is a scientific way and a practical way - today, we will only focus on the practical way.

Q: How do I know if there is a crack or pin hole in my heat exchanger?

A: See the CCT tester page of this web site.