SWEP V65

The published formula works out to 1.07 kg (2.359 lb) per plate. A 100-plate V65 is about 107 kg (236 lb); the full 360 plates is about 385 kg (849 lb), dry, with the refrigerant and water charge on top.

At these weights the unit stands on its own feet or base frame on a surface rated for it, and the lift is planned before delivery. Nothing is carried by the connections. Large-bore lines should be anchored and guided so that thermal growth is taken up in the piping, not pushed into the unit.

Four: threaded, solder, flange and weld. Give the style and size at each of the four ports, in the order they appear on the nameplate.

The choice between flange and weld is a real trade-off on a unit this large. Flanges let the exchanger be unbolted and replaced without cutting pipe, at the cost of gasketed joints. Welded connections give a tight refrigerant circuit, but replacing the unit means cutting and re-welding, and the weld heat has to be kept away from the brazed body. On a replacement, stay with what the pipework already has unless there is a reason to change.

It is the port ceiling - 684.65 GPM (155.5 m3/h) - and nothing more. It does not say what the unit will transfer at that flow or what the pump will see; that comes from the rating at the chosen plate count.

The V65 is already in the largest flow band on this site, so the next step is not a bigger frame but more units. When the design flow nears the ceiling, or the pressure drop limit forces more plates than the 360 the frame holds, split the duty across parallel units. On gas vaporization, the vapor-side pressure drop usually governs before the liquid flow does.

Up to 360. More plates add surface and lower the pressure drop on both sides, and each one adds depth and 1.07 kg (2.359 lb).

Two points are specific to this model. First, plate type and plate count are chosen together: the same duty needs a different count on an M plate than on an H plate, so a replacement with the wrong plate letter is the wrong size even at the same count. Second, the published channel volume is 0.599/0.599 per channel, so every added plate increases the refrigerant charge. See Plate Count and Capacity.

By proving flow on the warm side and stopping the cold side the moment that flow is lost. As a chiller evaporator or a gas vaporizer, the V65 has a fluid on one side cold enough to freeze the water on the other, and frozen channels can split the plates of a unit that cannot be opened for repair.

Glycol is the answer when the plate surface runs below the freezing point of water in normal operation, not just in a fault. It costs heat transfer and pressure drop, so the unit has to be rated on the actual solution. Freeze Protection covers the controls.

These models are catalogued alongside the V65. Each has its own page with its dimensions, materials and part numbers.

SWEP B65 - Mixed plate pack, 361 plates, 685 GPM.

SWEP P65 - A large copper-brazed 316/316L unit for high-capacity chillers and gas vaporization.