A steam heat exchanger has one job: move heat from steam into water, oil, air or product without the two ever mixing. Sized to the real duty it holds temperature steadily, drains cleanly and lasts for years. Sized off a chart it stalls at low load, hammers and floods. We design, build and supply heat exchanger packages for Australian plants, from a single shell and tube unit to a complete hot water or flash steam recovery skid.
Heat exchanger packages
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What we offer
Shell and tube heat exchangers
Built locally for steam to water, steam to oil and condensate cooling duties. Vertical and horizontal configurations, with materials chosen for the fluids on each side. Our standard choice where steam pressure is high, loads vary widely or the process fluid is dirty.
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Plate heat exchangers
Compact gasketed and brazed plate units for duties where space is tight, the fluids are clean and the unit needs to be opened for inspection.
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Hot water heat exchanger packages
Pre-piped, pre-wired skids that take steam in and deliver hot water at a controlled temperature. Each skid carries its own control valve, condensate drainage, safety devices and, where specified, flow metering and transmitters, so it connects to utilities and runs. The full skid range is on our standard and bespoke packages page.
Flash steam recovery packages
When hot condensate drops to a lower pressure, part of it flashes back to steam. Vented to atmosphere, that is fuel leaving the roof. A flash recovery package captures it and uses it to preheat boiler feedwater or supply a low pressure load. Often paired with a vapour condenser to capture the residual heat that is left after the flash vessel.
Heat recovery exchangers
Economisers, blowdown heat recovery and vapour condensers for the streams that leave most plants hot: flue gas, boiler blowdown and vented vapour. We cover where each of these hides in our note on heat recovery systems.
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Shell and tube or plate: which one suits your duty?
Both types do the same job. They differ in what they tolerate and what they cost to run. The table is a starting point. The final choice comes from the duty, the fluids, the steam pressure and how the unit will be controlled.
| Shell and tube | Plate | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | High steam pressure, variable loads, dirty or fouling fluids, long service life | Clean fluids, tight spaces, duties that need frequent inspection or cleaning |
| Steam side | Tolerates full steam pressure and temperature. Handles condensate drainage well with the right trap | Gaskets limit steam pressure and temperature. Steam contacting gaskets shortens their life |
| Turndown | Good across a wide load range when the condensate drainage is designed for the low end | Good, but more sensitive to stall at low load |
| Maintenance | Tube bundles can be rodded or replaced. Low routine maintenance | Plates and gaskets are consumables. Easy to open, regular regasketing |
| Footprint | Larger for the same duty | Compact |
| Typical use on our projects | Plant hot water, rendering and cooking loads, condensate cooling | Pasteurising, CIP heating, clean process water |
On the Kellogg's hot water system, a leaking plate exchanger with steam contacting the gaskets was replaced by a vertical shell and tube package. The change was made for reliability and control, not because one type is better in general.
How do we size a heat exchanger?
We start from the duty, not from the catalogue. The heat duty is fixed by physics: flow rate, the fluid's specific heat and the temperature rise. Heat 16,000 litres an hour of water from 15 to 80°C and no exchanger changes that number. Once the duty is known, the surface area falls out of the overall heat transfer coefficient and the temperature difference between the steam and the fluid. Push the steam pressure up and the unit gets smaller. Drop it and you need more surface.
Three things catch people out, and we design for each of them:
- The stall point. Steam heat exchangers are controlled by throttling the steam supply. At low load the steam pressure in the shell falls below the back pressure the condensate has to overcome, condensate stops draining, and the unit floods and hammers. We size the condensate drainage, trap or pump trap, for the lowest load the unit will run at, not just the peak.
- Turndown. A unit sized for full load alone still has to control at the small loads it spends most of its life at. On the Kellogg's package, the water flow ranges from 0.3 to 15 litres per second. The package holds temperature across that range.
- Fouling. Surfaces scale and foul over time. We allow extra area so performance holds up between cleans.
We explain the method, with the formulas, in how to size a steam heat exchanger.
Why build locally?
Imported units arrive on a ship with generic sizing and a long lead time. Building here means every unit is sized to your measured flows and temperatures, fabricated to fit the space you have, and backed by engineers you can call.
Industries we work in
- Meat processing and abattoirs. Plant hot water for washdown and sterilising at high volume, rendering heat recovery, condensate cooling.
- Food and beverage. Pasteurising, CIP heating and process water where temperature has to be precise and the unit has to be cleanable.
- Healthcare. Hot water and sterilisation loads where reliability matters more than first cost.
- Timber and paper. Process heating and drying at scale.
- General manufacturing. Steam to water, steam to oil and heat recovery on any plant that raises steam.
Results from the plants we work with
- EC Throsby and Hilltop Meats, Young. A compact heat exchange unit producing 60,000 litres per hour from 15 to 90°C, replacing 25 instantaneous gas units that could not meet demand. Read the EC Throsby hot water upgrade.
- Kellogg's. A vertical shell and tube package using 8 bar g steam to make hot water from 20 to 70°C, with steam and water flow meters and pressure and temperature transmitters built in. The package reuses condensate sensible heat to reduce live steam demand and shuts the steam supply when no pumps are running. The client reports a 30% improvement in equipment life.
- Teys Wagga. A flash steam recovery skid and vapour condenser recovering about 3.3 GJ per hour that was vented to atmosphere. Read the Teys Wagga flash steam project.
Each of these started with a measured duty and a unit designed for it.
How we work
- Specification. We work from measured flows, inlet and outlet temperatures, available steam pressure and the turndown range. If you do not have those numbers we measure them through our steam consultancy and system design service, or recommend steam and water metering so the unit is sized for the plant that exists.
- Engineering design. We select the exchanger type, size it with a fouling allowance, design the condensate drainage for the stall case, and issue P&IDs and a general arrangement drawing.
- Fabrication and testing. The unit or skid is built locally and pressure tested before it leaves the workshop.
- Delivery, commissioning and support. Shipped anywhere in Australia. We commission it ourselves or support your contractor, and supply the steam, condensate and water valving around it. Where you want one point of responsibility for the whole job, we deliver it under turnkey installation and project management. The full range of skids is on our standard and bespoke packages page.
Related reading
- How to size a steam heat exchanger correctly
- Heat recovery systems: turning wasted heat into lower fuel bills
- How condensate recovery improves steam efficiency
- Case study: hot water system optimisation at Kellogg's
- Case study: hot water production upgrade at EC Throsby
- Case study: flash steam recovery at Teys Wagga
Frequently asked questions
What information do you need to quote an exchanger?
The application, the fluids on each side, the flow rate, the inlet and outlet temperatures you need, and the steam pressure available at the unit. The lowest load the unit must control at matters as much as the peak. If you have a plant drawing or photographs of the space, send those too.
What is the stall point and why does it matter?
When a steam heat exchanger runs at part load, its control valve closes in and the steam pressure inside the unit falls. If it falls below the back pressure in the condensate line, condensate stops draining, the unit floods and you get unstable control, corrosion and waterhammer. We design the condensate drainage, with a trap or pump trap, so the unit drains across its whole load range.
What is flash steam and why should I recover it?
When hot condensate drops to a lower pressure, a portion of it immediately re-evaporates as flash steam. Vented to atmosphere it is energy you have already paid for leaving the building. A flash recovery package captures it to preheat feedwater or supply a low pressure load. At Teys Wagga this is part of a system recovering about 3.3 GJ per hour.
Are custom heat exchanger packages more expensive than off-the-shelf units?
The upfront cost can be higher. A unit sized to your actual load runs at its design efficiency, controls properly at low load and does not need to be replaced when it turns out to be wrong. On the plants we work with, the energy saved has outpaced the difference in capital cost quickly.
Can you install the package as well as build it?
Yes. We supply the package loose for your contractor, commission it for you, or install and commission it ourselves with our mechanical installation partners under turnkey installation and project management.
Get a quote for your heat exchanger package
Send us the duty, or ask us to measure it. Call +61 493 272 864, email sales@energyspecialties.com.au, or use the contact form.
Get a quote