Gasketed Heat Exchangers

Joe Mattiello

Attached is the catalog data information for the Taco plate & frame heat exchangers. They are sized per application, and I will be happy to take care of that for you.

Taco, Inc.
Joe Mattiello
Technical Service Technician
joemat@taco-hvac.com
401-942-8000 X 484
www.taco-hvac.com

Amir Amir - Slant/Fin Corp.

Gasketed Heat Exchangers

Does any one has any experience with Rubber gasketed Stainless Steel Heat Exchangers ?
The idea is that for some jobs and applicaitons in the HVAC/R area, one ca nbuy this product and down the road, disassemble this HX for cleaning and maintenance purposes.
Thanks for your advise

JimGPE_3

Are you thinking of plate and frame heat exchangers? I am not aware of any OTHER type of gasketing for plate and frames, and they've been well accepted for quite a few years. They come apart like shirts hanging in a closet, and you can hose off each of the heat exchanger plates (the "shirts"), replace the gaskets and reassemble.

Edited:

http://www.taco-hvac.com/uploads/FileLibrary/TPXDataSheet.pdf

Amir Amir - Slant/Fin Corp.

Jim,
I know that the advantage is the ability to clean and maintain. THe question is hwat are the markets this product is attractive to ?
Can it replace hte brazed plate HX etc ? I believe it has a niche market .

JimGPE_3

I have seen it applied mostly to isolate open cooling tower water from a condenser water loop in a building so that the loop doesn't get dirty.

Really anywhere where you need easy cleanability and a very low approach temperature difference is a good application.

Amir Amir - Slant/Fin Corp.

Thanks for your advise

Richard_4

heat exchanger gasket

we use rtv silicone

Tony Conner

Plate HXs...

... usually work best where there is pretty much equal liquid flow on both sides of the unit. A lot of HVAC applications all into this catagory. Brazed plate units have no internal leak paths (unless they fail - which does happen) but are for smaller applications. Larger units or ones used where cleaning is required are plate & frame. Normally, by the time you re-gasket a plate & frame, the total of the new gaskets and the labour puts you withing spitting distance of a new HX. Both kinds are really effective HXs, but are pretty fragile. Shell & tube units have been around forever, and have a lot of applications. Where they work (which is about 85% of the applications I hit - mostly industrial) the shell & coil style combine the best features of the other styles. They're small for their heat exchange capacity as compared to shell & tubes and plate & frames, offer approach temps that are comparable to the plate styles, and while not indestructable, are a LOT tougher.

Keith_8

Flow rate

Its also amazing the amount of heat excahnge that takes place per square foot.

Keith

Tony Conner

There Are...

...several different styles of HXs, and no single one is right for every application. Plate HXs are usually good where there are approx equal liquid flows & delta-T's on both sides because they typically have the same volume & connection sizes. A lot of HVAC applications, like water/water or water/glycol fall into this catagory. Brazed plates have no internal leak paths unless they fail (which they have been known to do), cannot be cleaned/repaired, and are usually in the smaller size ranges. Units that can/must be cleaned or are larger, are typically plate & frame. The downside is many potential leak paths. Also, if they need to be regasketed, by the time you buy the gasket set and add in the labour, you're typically within spitting distance of a new HX. Both styles of plate HXs offer great heat exchange effectiveness, but are pretty fragile.

Shell & tubes have been around forever, and have a lot of applications. They're typically condsiderably larger (as they don't have a very high heat transfer coefficient) than plate units, but robust.

Shell & coil are often the best of both worlds - heat transfer coefficients like a plate, and while not indestructable, are pretty tough. I do mostly industrial work, and the shell & coil are the right choice for about 85% of the applications I hit.

The following is shameless self promotion: We (well, actually, my son) finally got a website up - www.tbpindustrial.com - and under "Pictures" there are some shots of a pair of shell & coil units in building heating service, and under "Links" there's "AIC", which is "Advanced Industrial Components" (formerly SECESPOL - a lovely name for a company, and I can't imagine why they'd change it...) who manufacture a wide range of HXs. We're a dealer for them.