SWEP DB400

DB400 is the model, the True Dual condenser on the 694 x 304 mm plate. x130 is the plate count. Units built under the current naming are stamped DBD400.

The rest of a full designation follows in a fixed order: pass arrangement, material code, pressure class, then connections in port order. On the DB400 the connection field deserves care because threaded, Victaulic, solder, flange and weld are all catalogued, and a combination of two methods on one unit is normal - one for refrigerant, another for water. The Model Number Guide covers each field.

It condenses two refrigerant circuits against one water stream, on chillers and climate control units that stage two compressors.

Look elsewhere in three cases. A single-circuit machine belongs on the B400T, which carries 365.44 GPM on the same footprint. An evaporator position needs the DP400, DS400 or DV400. And a system on ammonia, or a water side that is deionized, needs a copper-free construction, which this copper-brazed model is not.

Read it from the nameplate: the pass arrangement is the field after the slash, and 1P is single pass. The DB400 records on file do not carry that field.

For a replacement the arrangement must be kept. It fixes which cover plate the connections are on, and a multi-pass unit will not pipe up in place of a single-pass one. For a new selection, multi-pass adds thermal length and pressure drop together; on a condenser water loop the pressure drop is usually the scarcer of the two.

The DP400, DS400 and DV400 are True Dual evaporators. They match the DB400 on footprint (694 x 304 mm), plate material, braze and maximum flow (334.62 GPM), so only the model letters separate them.

The DB500 is the next dual condenser up. It keeps the 304 mm width and grows to 980 mm in height, with a published maximum flow of 365.44 GPM, and is aimed at flexible chillers, industrial heat pumps and modular reversible chillers. Moving from a DB400 to a DB500 gains thermal length more than flow, and it does not fit the same space.

Whichever letter is stamped after the material code on that unit. No class is recorded against the DB400 configurations on file, so we do not assume one.

For orientation: M is the class used with refrigerants such as R410A, at up to 45 bar and 135 C, fatigue tested. S is 31 bar at 155 C. A condenser sees the highest pressure and temperature in the system, so it is the unit on which a lower class is most likely to be a real limitation. Match the class of the original.

By circulating cleaner through the water side with the unit in place. Run it opposite to the service flow direction, flush until clear and neutralize. The cleaner must be compatible with both stainless steel and copper.

Size the cleaning pump for the unit. A DB400 with a high plate count has a large water-side flow area, and a small cleaning rig produces so little velocity that the solution drifts through the cleanest channels and bypasses the fouled ones. A strainer on the condenser water inlet is the lasting fix.

These models are catalogued alongside the DB400. Each has its own page with its dimensions, materials and part numbers.

SWEP B400T - Asymmetric pass arrangement - two passes one side, one the other.

SWEP DP400 - True Dual brazed plate evaporator for flexible chillers and climate control, 694 x 304 mm.

SWEP DS400 - True Dual brazed plate evaporator with two refrigerant circuits, 694 x 304 mm, up to 282 plates.

SWEP DV400 - True Dual brazed plate evaporator, 694 x 304 mm, up to 282 plates, Victaulic and solder connections.

SWEP P400T - Copper-brazed 316/316L evaporator on the B400T frame, up to 280 plates, 365.44 GPM max flow.

SWEP S400T - High-capacity chiller evaporator on the B400T frame, 316/316L plates, copper brazed.

SWEP V400T - Copper-brazed 316/316L plate heat exchanger on the B400T frame for high-capacity chiller duty.

SWEP DB500 - True Dual brazed plate condenser with two refrigerant circuits, 980 x 304 mm, up to 298 plates.

SWEP DS500 - True Dual brazed plate evaporator with two refrigerant circuits, 980 x 304 mm, up to 298 plates.