Rotary tube cleaning

Fouling in shell and tube heat exchangers and chillers reduces heat transfer, increases energy use, raises system pressure, shortens equipment life, and can lower cooling or heating performance.

Goodway Benelux offers a variety of brushes and tools designed to remove light to medium-hard fouling in heat exchanger tubes efficiently and safely. The Goodway Benelux team can help select the right tools specifically for your application.

Yes. Goodway® equipment can be used effectively to remove hard deposits and blockages in heat exchanger tubes. By using special scraping or cutting tools, these deposit blockages can be broken up and removed. Depending on the hardness and situation, the process of opening a blocked tube can take anywhere from seconds to minutes.

Rotating tube cleaning brushes are designed specifically for the inner cleaning of heat exchanger tubes. Nylon materials for example, pose no risks to any tube materials. When using harder brushes or tools, it is important to check the tube material and wall thickness, before using them. In most cases, the Goodway Benelux team supports customers with recommending the proper tools for their cleaning challenges. After having sold hundreds of heat exchanger and chiller tube cleaning packages and training customers on site, Goodway Benelux has never received complaints regarding tube scratchings after cleaning.

To clean heat exchanger tubes, you need a tube cleaning machine to drive rotation, a flexible rotating shaft to enter the tubes, and specialized tools such as brushes, scrapers, and drills. These allow you to remove all types of deposits effectively.

Yes, all Goodway® tube cleaners are equipped with water couplings for wet tube cleaning, but can also be used for dry operation.

To select the correct brush size, you must first accurately determine the tube inner diameter. Then, choose a brush that will continuously stay in touch with the tube wall, that usually means a slightly oversized brush. Nylon abrasive brushes are generally sized slightly larger to maximize contact and effectively remove hardened deposits.

Tube cleaning brushes and tools have different lifetimes. Depending on various factors such as; type and severity of fouling, length of the tube, tube material, and more. Rough estimates for nylon brushes are 20-40 tubes per brush. While tools, such as the flex hub, can be used for a longer period of time. Replacing the blades is important, once the tool start to become blunt or less effective. Always monitor the performance after each tube to determine if a brush or tool needs replacement.

Goodway Benelux offers dual-diameter brushes for internally enhanced heat exchanger tubes. One side is slightly oversized for general cleaning, while the very oversized side digs into the grooves, effectively removing fouling from the tube’s internal enhancements. Use the Goodway® ESGB or ENN tube cleaning brushes.

No. Goodway® tube cleaning solutions are designed for cleaning straight heat exchanger tubes. Though, there are some accessories in the portfolio which allow for partial cleaning of the U-bends. Contact the Goodway Benelux team to discuss your specific case.

Goodway® tube cleaning equipment uses high-speed rotating brushes and tools to remove deposits inside the heat exchanger tubes. The mechanical action of brushes and tools ensures that deposits are scrubbed off the tubes effectively, while remaining safe for tube materials and operators. When compared to other methods, such as high-pressure or ultrasonic cleaning, a mechanical cleaning is generally much easier to perform and safer for equipment and operators. Especially when cleaning soft to mediumhard deposits, Goodway® mechanical tube cleaners are generally seen as the best possible cleaning solution.

Although Goodway® provides specialized equipment for hazardous areas, like certain industrial vacuums, their standard tube cleaning machines are not ATEX‑certified. For use in an ATEX zone, you must choose tools and systems that are explicitly certified for the specific hazard classification.