SWEP B427

Not on its own. Measure the port centres as well: the B427 is 567 x 179 mm (22.32 x 7.05 in) between ports, and that pair of numbers is what separates it from other frames built on a plate of the same outside size.

After that it is depth. The pack thickness grows with plate count, and the builds on file span 120 to 400 plates, so two B427 units can look identical face-on and differ greatly front to back.

Mount it upright with the ports on a vertical line, and pipe the two streams counter-current - hot in at one end, cold in at the other. Counter-current flow is what gives the closest approach; a unit piped co-current by mistake still works, but leaves a visibly worse outlet temperature and is often misdiagnosed as fouling.

At DN100 the pipework is heavier and stiffer than the exchanger connections are meant to restrain. Anchor and support the headers independently, allow for thermal growth, and keep pump vibration and water hammer out of the unit, since cyclic loading is what fatigues braze joints. Mounting and Piping covers the layout.

No. SWEP publishes 30.52 kg plus 0.59 kg per plate (67.28 lb plus 1.301 lb per plate). That puts the 120-plate build on file at about 101 kg, the 400-plate build at about 267 kg (588 lb), and a full 420-plate pack near 278 kg - dry, before the water in it.

A unit in that range stands on a floor frame or bracket that carries the whole weight, with the connections taking none of it. Plan the lift before delivery as well: it needs lifting gear and a clear path into the plant room, which on a retrofit is frequently tighter than the space the exchanger finally occupies.

Those are the three approvals SWEP publishes for the frame: PED is the European pressure equiptment approval, UL the North American listing, and KHK the Japanese high-pressure gas approval. For most replacement work the UL listing is the one an inspector or insurer will ask to see.

What the list does not say matters as much. If the specification calls for an ASME stamp or a Canadian CRN, state that when you ask, because it changes what is quoted - and those approvals carry their own temperature envelopes, -40 C to +150 C for ASME and -196 C to +225 C for CRN. Approvals and Certifications explains each one.

The plate designation directly after the frame code. B427 strings on file carry H, M1 and M2 plates, and the digit is not a thermal grade - it tracks port size and port centre distance - so M1 and M2 are not substitutes for each other. A stray D after the slash matters too: it marks a dual-circuit pack, not a single-pass one.

If the designation is gone, the article number on the plate or a photo of the label still identifies the build. Failing that, count the plates along the edge of the pack, measure the port centres and note the connection type, and send those with the duty.

These models are catalogued alongside the B427. Each has its own page with its dimensions, materials and part numbers.

SWEP DB650 - True Dual brazed plate condenser, 744.6 x 365.6 mm, up to 346 plates, 140 m3/h maximum flow.

SWEP DB700 - True Dual brazed plate heat exchanger, 725 x 302 mm, 304 stainless plates, up to 362 plates.

SWEP DP700 - True Dual brazed plate evaporator, 725 x 302 mm, 316/316L plates, up to 362 plates.

SWEP DV700 - True Dual AsyMatrix brazed plate heat exchanger, 725 x 302 mm, 304 plates, up to 362 plates.