Here at Projectile, we strive to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers in any sector of business. In the food and beverage industry we have a comprehensive list of products and services to support heat exchanger maintenance. Projectile can determine the appropriate program for heat exchanger maintenance to ensure your system is preforming at its best, saving plants money, and reducing equipment downtime. Since 1991, Projectile has been an industry leading provider of heat exchanger maintenance services. If you feel that your heat exchangers may be underperforming, actively leaking, or in need of a cleaning, contact us to discuss your specific needs today.
Plate and Frame Heat Exchanger Maintenance in the Food and Beverage Industry
Projectile is a premier supplier of parts and onsite services for all brands and models of plate and frame heat exchangers. These specific heat exchangers are becoming increasingly more popular as they are viewed as efficient, effective, and take up relatively little space compared to other units. Plate and frame heat exchangers were patented over 100 years ago, being commercialized shortly
after. This style quickly revolutionized methods of indirect heating and cooling of fluids. Plate and frame heat exchangers come with a completely unique style of heat exchanger maintenance in which Projectile performs in many facilities across the country. Projectile can not only supply the spare parts or perform the cleaning of plate and frame, but also develop a detailed maintenance schedule to adhere to your operating needs. A preventative maintenance schedule will allow for reduced costs and less unexpected downtime, while extending the life of your unit.
For cleaning plate and frame heat exchangers, one option is to clean the heat exchanger in place. This heat exchanger maintenance method is widely used in industries such as food, beverage, and pharmaceuticals. When cleaning in place, the plate and frame exchanger does not have to be opened. This allows for a quicker clean to remove built up fouling. Clean in place cleaning is done by isolating the unit and circulating chemical through the plate channels to remove deposit. This method of cleaning is widely viewed as a time saving solution when disassembly of the plate pack is not feasible.
Another option for plate and frame heat exchanger maintenance includes completely disassembling the plate pack. When we clean a plate and frame with this method, the first step is to dismantle the heat exchanger according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Each piece is carefully disassembled, and the plates are either moved to a location for thorough cleaning or, if permissible, the cleaning is done on the frame of the unit. High pressure water is used to remove the deposits from each plate. After the plates are completely rinsed, we reassemble the exchanger and put it back into service. Pressure testing of the unit is done to ensure there are no leaks on the exchanger before it is put back into service.
Plate Heat Exchanger Maintenance – The Perfect Solution
The ideal maintenance program for any plant is to stock spare plate packs and send the spares to our facility for cleaning. At Projectile’s facility, more in depth heat exchanger maintenance services are available. The plates can be dipped in a chemical solution for a deeper cleaning process than high pressure water. Penetrant dye leak testing can also
be done in order to locate potentially harmful cross plate leakages. To perform this test, technicians will use dye penetrant on one side of each individual plate. Any leaks will show up on the reverse side as dye penetrant coming through a leak or crack. After cleaning and leak testing is complete, the plates will be regasketted and sent back to the facility for use in the next cycle. This process is the most effective way to service plate and frame exchangers because it minimizes downtime through a quick plate pack swap, maximizes cleaning effectiveness through chemical bathing, and ensures reliability through leak testing with each cleaning iteration.
Projectile also offers a full line of plate and frame exchanger spare parts. If there is a need for plate and frame heat exchanger gaskets or additional plates, we can supply anything related to your unit’s needs.
Plate and frame heat exchanger maintenance in the food and beverage industry is needed in many different types of facilities including:
- Breweries
- Bottling Facilities (Water Bottling and others)
- Dairy Facilities
- Distilleries
- Wineries
- Sugar Refineries
Services offered for Plate and Frame Heat Exchanger maintenance on site or in our Facility:
- Inspection: Open, Pressure wash, Test gaskets for elasticity, Inspect plates for integrity issues.
- Cleaning: Clean in Place chemical cleaning, Pressure washing, Full submerged chemical cleaning.
- Plate integrity testing: Dye penetrate testing and UV light for cracks and pin holes.
- Re-gasketing: Glue or Clip-on
- Pressure testing: For crossover leaks and full unit integrity.
- Final project report: Photos, Integrity testing results and recommendations.
Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Maintenance in the Food and Beverage Industry
Shell and tube heat exchangers are frequently found in food and beverage facilities. Although they are in similar facilities, the shell and tube heat exchanger maintenance process is much different than plate and frame techniques. Depending on the medium running through the tubes, typically only one side, the tube side or shell, side needs to be cleaned. There are different approaches for cleaning each side. Tube side cleaning typically involves using mechanical devices such as projectiles or in some cases high pressure water. Shell side cleaning is typically limited to chemical cleaning or high pressure water blasting. For shell side applications the bundle needs to be completely pulled whereas with tube side cleaning, the end bells of the heat exchanger should only have to be removed. Projectile offers turnkey heat exchanger services in that we can open the heat exchanger, pull the bundle, clean the unit and test for any leaks. 
Shell and tube heat exchanger maintenance can be done in place at the customer’s facility, or the bundles can be removed and sent back to our facility for a more in-depth cleaning process.
Projectile offers various types of shell and tube heat exchanger maintenance including:
- Opening and closing heat exchangers
- Pulling tube bundles
- Shell side tube cleaning with various methods: chemical cleaning or pressurized water
- Cleaning inside the tubes with various methods: drilling out hard deposits, shooting projectiles, rotary cleaning with specialized tooling or brushes
- Pressure testing the tubes for leakage pneumatically or hydro-statically
- Pressure testing the heat exchanger shell side pneumatically or hydro-statically
- Tube sheet repair
- Tube sleeving
- Retubing of Heat Exchanger bundles
- Tube sheet coating
- Waterbox coatings
- Tube plugging
- Inspection and reporting on overall conditions of the Heat Exchanger
Projectile cleans millions of tubes each year, which comes along with a level of unmatched expertise in shell and tube heat exchanger maintenance. With this level of experience, our crews will leave your shell and tube heat exchangers in peak operating form once maintenance is complete. Cleaning shell and tube heat exchangers has an obvious impact on the bottom line through enhanced reliability, increased output, and lower energy costs.
Heat Exchanger maintenance in any industry can be difficult to navigate. With Projectile, our industry leading practices, policies and procedures can easily remedy any maintenance challenges your facility may be experiencing.
