Repair, recore or replace a heat exchanger in Gulf conditions.

Why exchangers wear out faster in the Gulf

Seawater cooling, high summer temperatures and sour or salty process fluids all shorten the life of tubes, plates and gaskets. The usual signs are tube leaks, falling outlet temperatures, a rising pressure drop and more frequent cleaning. Before choosing a route, find out why the unit failed: corrosion, erosion, fouling, vibration or simply age.

The four options

• Repair: plug a few failed tubes, replace gaskets or repair a nozzle. Quick and cheap, but every plugged tube takes away surface area.
• Re-tube: fit new tubes in the existing shell and tubesheets. A good choice when the shell is sound and the tubes have reached the end of their life.
• Recore or replacement bundle: a complete new tube bundle that slides into the existing shell. It is often faster than re-tubing on site, and lets you upgrade the tube material.
• Replace: a new exchanger built to fit the existing nozzles, footprint and supports. It is the right answer when the shell is corroded, the design is obsolete or the duty has changed.

How to decide

Compare the cost and downtime of each route against the life you need from the unit. If more than about one tube in ten is plugged, or the same failure keeps returning, a new bundle or a new unit usually costs less over its life. A failure caused by corrosion is a chance to change material, for example to duplex stainless steel, titanium or copper-nickel for seawater duty.

What to send for a quote

• The nameplate photo and the original datasheet, if you have them
• General arrangement drawing, or the main dimensions and nozzle positions
• Today's process conditions: fluids, flows, temperatures and pressures
• What failed and how often, with inspection reports if available
• The shutdown date you are working to

Our partner AMI Exchangers designs and builds replacement exchangers and bundles for units of any make, including plate units from Alfa Laval, APV, SPX, GEA and Tranter. Ask us for AMI's guidance on repair, recore or replacement and on obsolete shell-and-tube units.

Heat exchanger refurbishment →   Shell-and-tube exchangers →