SWEP B16DW

The nameplate designation in full, such as B16DWHx50/1P-SC-S 4x1"NPT. The plate count, the pressure class and the connection field all vary on this model - builds on file run from 14 to 100 plates, in classes S and M, with four different connection callouts - so a bare "B16DW" does not identify a unit.

If the plate is unreadable, send the face size, port centres, plate edge count, and the connection type and size on each port, with photos.

For a new application give both flows, the four temperatures, the fluids, allowable pressure drops, and the code or specification that calls for double wall. Send it through Request a Quote.

Both appear on catalogued B16DW builds, so read the letter on your own nameplate; it is the last letter before the connections. As general categories, S corresponds to 31 bar at 155 C and M to up to 45 bar at 135 C, fatigue tested.

The range exists because the stamped rating depends on the approval and the build. The number that counts is the design pressure on the unit's nameplate. Never step down from M to S on a replacement.

Yes. The double wall protects against cross-contamination, not against ice. Water freezing in a channel deforms the plates whether there are one or two of them, and a freeze-damaged double-wall unit typically announces itself by weeping at the pack edge.

Where one side carries glycol - a solar or snow-melt loop heating potable water is the common case - the glycol protects that side only; the potable side still has to be kept from freezing or drained.

Give the glycol type and concentration when sizing. The mix is more viscous and transfers heat less well than water, and a double-wall unit has less thermal margin to absorb that than a single-wall unit of the same size.

Every B16DW designation on file with a pass field reads /1P, single-pass.

That suits the model. Single-pass keeps all four connections on one cover plate, so the unit can be piped from the front and the edges of the pack stay accessible for leak inspection. Multi-pass arrangements route the fluid through groups of channels in series, raising pressure drop and changing the connection layout. With up to 140 plates available, a B16DW duty that needs more surface is normally met by adding plates.

It is right where a leak between circuits would be a safety or contamination problem: heating potable water from a treated boiler loop, a glycol loop or a refrigerant, or keeping oil out of a water system. A failed plate vents to atmosphere and becomes visible. See Double-Wall Separation.

It is wrong where separation is not required - a single-wall B16 does the same thermal job with fewer plates and has a higher flow ceiling (74.41 GPM against 48.4). It is also wrong for ammonia or deionized water, because the braze is copper, and for flows that crowd the 11 m3/h port limit.

Too small: the heated side misses its setpoint at peak load and pressure drop is high on both circuits. On a potable system that reads as hot water that cannot keep up; on a pumped loop, as a pump running at the end of its curve.

Too large: temperatures are met easily, but channel velocity is low, and low velocity lets scale and sediment settle on the potable side. Control can also hunt, because a large surface responds sharply to small valve movements at light load.

Double-wall plates need more surface than single-wall for the same duty, so do not carry a plate count across from a single-wall unit.

The published formula is 1.55 + (0.22 x number of plates) kg. That puts a 14-plate unit at about 4.6 kg (10 lb), a 60-plate unit at about 14.8 kg (32.5 lb), and the 140-plate maximum at about 32.4 kg (71 lb), all dry.

Small builds are often held by their piping, which is poor practice at any size; from the middle of the range up, the unit needs its own support - a bracket or feet under the pack or a clamp around it. Support the pipes separately so the connections carry no weight or thermal movement. Do not wrap the pack so tightly in insulation that a drip from the vent path at the plate edges would go unseen.

These models are catalogued alongside the B16DW. Each has its own page with its dimensions, materials and part numbers.

SWEP B16 - All-Stainless construction - copper-free plates and brazing throughout.

SWEP SXB16DW - Double-wall brazed plate heat exchanger on the B16 frame with the Sealix protective layer.