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Heat exchanger tube drilling

Goodway Benelux provides specialized drilling systems to clear blockages and remove hard deposits from straight, smooth tubes of shell-and-tube heat exchangers. These systems efficiently remove stubborn deposits, such as calcium carbonate.

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Heat exchanger tube drilling is used for:

Advantages
  • Open fully blocked heat exchanger tubes
    Goodway® drilling systems are highly effective at clearing clogged heat exchanger tubes, and are particularly well-suited for smaller diameters of less than 10 millimeters.
  • Easy-to-use equipment - do it yourself
    Service technicians and maintenance engineers can easily use the equipment, with minimal training. Goodway Benelux can offer remote or onsite support, if necessary.
  • Ideal method before chemical cleaning
    Before chemical cleaning can remove hard mineral deposits, tubes must be opened to restore flow. Goodway® drilling systems are specifically designed for this task.
  • Cost-efficient cleaning technology
    Heat exchanger tube drilling is very cost-efficient, especially when compared to other cleaning techniques (such as high-pressure cleaning)

More about heat exchanger tube drilling

Shell-and-tube heat exchangers are vital in industrial processes, ensuring efficient heat transfer. Over time, tubes can become fouled or blocked by hard deposits like calcium carbonate and other mineral scaling, reducing efficiency and straining equipment. Goodway Benelux provides tube drilling systems to clear blocked tubes and remove stubborn deposits – like calcium carbonate – that traditional cleaning methods cannot or have trouble removing.

"During an outage we discovered problems with one of our shell-and-tube heat exchangers which had several tubes fully blocked. By using the Goodway® PSM-500 drilling tool, we were able to open up more than 75% of the blocked tubes in a short timespan of just a few hours.

Shell Pernis - The Netherlands

PSM-500 air powered drilling system

Heat exchanger tubes with hard deposits, such as calcium carbonate, can be difficult to clean, particularly when the tube diameter is small. Completely clogged tubes are even more challenging to restore. For these cases, Goodway Benelux offers the PSM-500 drilling system, an air-powered solution specifically designed to clean and, when necessary, drill open straight heat exchanger tubes.

  • Suitable for tube internal diameters between 6,4 and 25,4 mm (1/4” – 1”).
  • Maximum tube length: approximately 2 – 2,5 meters (contact Goodway Benelux for longer lengths).
  • Designed for straight tubes only; not suitable for curved tubes.

Note: The PSM-500 is supplied without drill rods, which must be purchased separately. Contact the Goodway Benelux team to determine the most suitable drill rods for your application.

2-step cleaning process

When hard waterformed deposits, such as calcium carbonate, completely block heat exchanger tubes, the Goodway® PSM-500 drilling system is the ideal tool to restore flow capacity. While the PSM-500 reopens the tubes, it does not fully clean the internal surfaces. For optimal results, a two-step cleaning process is recommended.

  • Step 1: Use the PSM-500 drilling system, along with drill rods, to remove blockages and restore the flow capacity of the tubes. This step clears the way for efficient circulation in the next stage.
  • Step 2: Once the tubes are open, connect a Goodway® chemical cleaning pump system to circulate ScaleBreak descaling solutions. This will thoroughly dissolve any remaining waterformed deposits on the tube walls.

By implementing this two-step process, you ensure the heat exchanger is completely cleaned, enabling it to return to optimal operational performance.

Heat exchanger tube drilling equipment

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Interested in what Goodway Benelux offers for:

Heat exchanger tube drilling

From pre-sales inquiries to technical support, Goodway Benelux is available to assist customers at every stage. The company also provides on-site support, training, and product demonstrations. Their dedicated sales representatives and project engineers are ready to answer questions and provide guidance throughout the entire process.

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Jard is here to help.

Sales engineer

info@goodwaybenelux.com+31 (0)183 216 170

Frequently asked questions

Why is a tube drilling system typically used?
What are the impacts of blocked tubes in shell and tube heat exchangers and chillers?
Does heat exchanger tube drilling pose a risk of damaging tube materials?
What items do I need to drill open blocked heat exchanger tubes?
How do I select the correct size tube drill for my application?
Will the tube be completely cleaned after using the drill?
How does Goodway® equipment compare to other tube drilling methods?