Ecotherm

The Austria-based company, Ecotherm, has announced developing shell and tube bundle heat exchangers made of stainless steel with patented free-floating turbulator rods, which, the company says, have been continuously improved over the years. Also, the rods float freely in the tubes in such a way that the water can flow through only on the outside of the tubes, Ecotherm explained.

The manufacturer lists the following product features and advantages:

• Saves energy and cost: The water flows through the heat exchanger at high speed, thus the desired discharge temperature is reached in only one pass within a second. This saves energy and costs on hot water systems for hotels, hospitals and industry.
• Saves space: Since the the water is heated up to 60ºC in just one second, only a minimum volume has to be stored for the peak demand for hot water. This saves valuable space in the boiler room.
• Hygienic: Conventional systems have to constantly maintain in some cases up to 50,000 litres of hot water and more at a temperature level of 60ºC. Otherwise, Legionella can grow, causing the Legionnaires’ disease, which is dangerous for humans. But due to the high-performance heat exchanger, hot water is produced only on demand and for small storage tanks. This proves to be hygienic.
• Lasts long: All water-carrying parts in the hot water system are made of high quality stainless steel. The lifetime of these systems is over 30 years, which is almost equal to the lifetime of the building. This also reduces the investment costs for the future.
• Easy to maintain: As the water flows through the pipes at high speed, the rods oscillate, thus creating a turbulent flow which not only improves heat transfer, but also prevents fouling. Thus, the cleaning intervals are longer compared to conventional heat exchangers, and can be completely avoided for most of the systems.
• Easy to clean: To clean the heat exchanger, the rods can simply be removed from the tubes. This is possible during the operation of the hot water system.