Straight Through or Single Pass Design :

Straight through designs are regarded as the most sanitary but do not handle large temperature differences between the shell side and the tube side without special precautions.  We can incorporate an expansion joint in the shell to reduce the stresses to acceptable levels but this adds expense.  The reason the straight through design is regarded as the most sanitary is that it is possible to see through the tubes from end to end and make sure they are clean and there are no foreign bodies in them.  In practice this rarely happens and an alternate design would have been more economical and more rugged.

'U' Tube Design :

A 'U' tube design will accept large differences in temperature between shell side and tube side without breaking because of stresses in the shell.  The 'U' tubes work just like the slide on a trombone and do not transfer stresses to the shell.  This design is best for steam heating applications and is the most economical.  In case of failure, the tube bundle can be replaced without replacing the shell.  This results in lower initial cost and lower costs in case of a failure plus the heat exchanger is more rugged to start with.  For many applications it just makes sense to pick this configuration if you can.  Our engineers will help you decide which configuration will work in your application and which solution will be most cost effective.

Replacement 'U' Tube Bundle

Applications :

Applications in the food and dairy industry cover an enormous range.  Some typical uses are listed here:  Sugar boiler, salsa cooker, whey cooler, flavor condenser, milk cooler, cheese cooker, sour cream cooler, lard heater, cooking oil heater, evaporator, condenser etc.  This is just small sampling of possible applications, all of which we have supplied equipment for recently.  It is quite common to find that foodstuffs are at a low pH and contain high levels of chlorides.  Think of foods such as soy sauce or pickles.  Heat exchangers for these applications must not only be suitable for food applications but must be capable of oerating under extreme conditions for years.  Contact our experts for assistance in your application and we will provide you with an engineered solution backed up by our years of experience.  (We are in our third century of operations so we do have experience).