SWEP V10T

Confirm the 289 x 119 mm (11.38 x 4.69 in) outline, then the port centres: 243 mm vertically and 72 mm horizontally. Those two figures decide whether the existing lines meet the new connections.

Depth is the dimension that catches people. It is not fixed for the model - it grows with each plate, so a unit with more plates than the original stands further out from its bracket and pushes the piping on the far side with it. Count the plates on the old unit, or read the count after the x in the designation, and check the clearance behind it before changing plate count.

The published formula is 1.19 kg plus 0.12 kg per plate (2.62 lb plus 0.265 lb per plate). A 30-plate unit is about 4.8 kg (10.6 lb) and the maximum 141 plates about 18.1 kg (40 lb), dry.

It is light enough that installers are tempted to let the copper lines hold it. Do not. Refrigerant lines carry compressor vibration, and a unit hanging on its connections puts that vibration straight into the braze joints. Fix the body with a bracket or strap and leave the piping free of load.

It needs a flow proof and a low-temperature or low-pressure cutout that act quickly. The channels are small, so there is little water in the unit to buffer a fault: if water flow stops while the compressor keeps running, the water left in the channels freezes and can split the plates.

Glycol lowers the freezing point but changes the rating. The solution is more viscous, so pressure drop rises and heat transfer falls, and a unit sized on water comes up short on glycol. Give the glycol type and concentration with the duty. See Freeze Protection and Glycol and Fluid Properties.

All but the B20 share the 289 x 119 mm outline and 39.63 GPM max flow. The B10T is listed with 304 stainless plates and copper braze. The B10TS is an All-Stainless unit - 316 plates with stainless braze - for systems that demand 100% stainless components and for high temperatures. The V10T is the evaporator on this frame, with 316/316L plates and copper braze.

The B20 is a different shape: 324 x 94 mm, 42.71 GPM, a single-circuit unit aimed at heat pumps. It will not fit V10T brackets or port centres.

Because it sets how much refrigerant and water the unit holds. SWEP publishes the V10T channel volume as 0.061/0.061 - the same figure per channel on both sides - and the hold-up on each side is that figure multiplied by the number of channels, roughly half the plate count.

A small hold-up is the reason a plate evaporator needs less refrigerant charge than the coaxial coil it replaces, which matters when a charge limit applies. The other side of it is response: with so little fluid inside, leaving temperatures follow load changes quickly, and the controls have to be set for that.

These models are catalogued alongside the V10T. Each has its own page with its dimensions, materials and part numbers.

SWEP B10T - A high plate-count small frame - 140 plates in a 289 mm envelope.

SWEP B10TS - An All-Stainless brazed plate heat exchanger - 316 plates, stainless braze, no copper.

SWEP B20 - Ultra-compact single-circuit brazed plate heat exchanger aimed at heat pumps, to 42.71 GPM.