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| 800 Series | 800-5 Series | 900 Series | 1200 Series | |||
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| 1200-5 Series | 1300 Series | 8012 Series | F-600 Series | |||
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| Refinery Tube Expander | Sugar Refinery Expander | |||||
HEAT EXCHANGER - CONDENSER TUBE EXPANDERS:
Equipment And Support offers the next generation of Condenser Tube Expanders today! The purpose of a tube expander is to cold work a tube into a mechanical leak proof seal between a tube and a tube hole.
A Condenser Tube Expander contains the following components:
Mandrel, Rolls , and Cage are the primary components of a tube expander. Parts of the tube expander are often modified or components added to accomplish a manufactures need. This is a specialty at Equipment And Support. We can custom design, and supply tube tools to support your specific needs.
Mandrel - The taperd shaft that pushes the rolls against the tube as it advances through the cage.
Rolls - A set of 3 or 5 rolls are pushed into the tube as the mandrel advances in the cage. Depending on the application, rolls are available in mulitiple lengths. 5-roll tube expanders are ideally suited to expand thin wall Titanium, Stainless Steel, Incoloy and other exotic metals with thick tubesheets. The 5 roll tube expander will accomplish a more concentric, uniform expansion & reduces spring back action, often referd to as memory, on thin alloy tubes.
Cage - This is the housing of the tube expander that hold the mandrel and rolls in place. The lenght of the Cage determines how much reach/ or how thick a part the tube expander can roll. The primary difference between the different series of condenser tube expanders are the length of their respective cages. Step expanding is necessary when the thickness of the tubesheet is greater than the length of the rolls. However; why buy a " C Reach " 1200 series expander with 11 inches of reach when you only have a 1 1/2 " thick tubesheet. The 800 series would be much more affordable for this application. Our support staff will gladly make reccomendations upon request.
Thurst Assembly - The thrust assembly is the bearing housing that is attached to the cage. You control the depth that the tube is rolled in the tubesheet by adjusting the location of the thrust assembly on the cage. All of our 1200 series tube expanders come standard with a flip collar. The flip collar allows for setting the tubes flush on the face of the tubesheet or with 1/8th of an inch projection. One end of the flip collar is flat faced and the opposite end has a 1/8th recess to allow the tube to project above the tubesheet when rolled.
Things to consider when selecting the correct tube expander:
1. The tube O.D.
2. The tube wall thickness
3. The tube material
4. The tubesheet thickness
5. Any conditions that limit access or require extra roll steps
Setting the Thrust Collar:
It is critical to set the thrust collar in the correct position so the tube will be rolled inside the tubesheet properly. You must NEVER roll a tube behind the backside of a tubesheet. In fact it is customary not to roll the last 1/8th of an inch of the tube from the backside of a tubesheet. This allows for expansion and contraction as the tube heats and cools while the unit is in service. If the tube is rolled behind the tubesheet, the thermal expansion and contraction will cause the tube to fail. A grove is provided in the cage to seat the set screw when tightening the thrust collar. Equipment and Support also includes a locking thrust nut at the back of the collar for added security. This has become a standard in Oklahoma to satisify the request of the heat exchanger shops located in Tulsa. When tubes are welded to the tubesheet the weld bead puts extra strain on the tube expander. The shops in Tulsa discovered that an extra backup nut behind the thrust collar extended the life of the tube expander. This worked so well on the welded tubes, they knew it would extend the life of the expaner on tubes that only roll and do not weld. This not only increased productivity, but obviously profitability.
