Frequently Asked Questions

Mueller's gasketed plate and frame exchanger. A pack of corrugated stainless plates hangs on guide rails between two end frames and is compressed by bolts. Each medium is individually gasketed. The corrugations create turbulence at low velocity, which is what gives a plate exchanger its very high heat transfer coefficient and its two to three degree approach temperature.

Mueller's inflated heat transfer panel, sometimes called dimple jacket or pillow plate. Two sheets of metal are spot or laser welded in a pattern, seam welded around the perimeter and then inflated so the unwelded areas form flow passages. The result is a fully welded pressure boundary with no gaskets that can be formed into almost any shape.

The heat transfer line: Accu-Therm plate and frame in all its variants, Temp-Plate inflated heat transfer assemblies, falling film chillers, Fre-Heater heat recovery and brazed plate exchangers.

Two to three degrees Fahrenheit is achievable, because the flow is true counterflow and the plate coefficient is very high. That is far closer than a conventional exchanger will manage, and on heat recovery and free cooling duty that closeness is the entire value.

Yes, provided the frame was specified with room. Plates are added within the existing frame and the pack is retightened to a new dimension. If you expect the duty to grow, say so at quotation and we will specify a frame with expansion space.

Frequently. Custom frames can be built to land on an existing foundation and pipe run, which eliminates concrete work and piping modifications. Send the existing footprint, connection locations and the duty and we will tell you whether a drop-in is realistic.

Yes, genuine plates, gaskets, frames and hardware. Parts are identified from the unit serial number on the nameplate rather than by measurement, because visually similar plates from different families are frequently not interchangeable.

Both fluids identified with flow rates, inlet and required outlet temperatures, operating and design pressures, the allowable pressure drop on each side, and any code, material or hygienic requirement. Fouling history and turndown range help considerably. If some of it is unknown, tell us which part.

Accu-Therm is a plate and frame heat exchanger: two pumped fluids flow between corrugated plates. Temp-Plate is an inflated panel that puts heat transfer surface directly against something, in a tank, on a vessel wall or inside a chiller. If the fluid can be pumped through an exchanger, Accu-Therm. If it cannot, Temp-Plate.

We supply the Mueller heat transfer line: plate and frame exchangers, Temp-Plate inflated heat transfer, falling film chillers, Fre-Heater heat recovery and brazed plate exchangers.

Nitrile, EPDM, silicone, Viton/FKM and butyl. EPDM for steam, hot water and caustic and the sanitary default. Nitrile for general water and oil. Viton for hydrocarbons and many acids but not steam. Match the compound to the duty the unit performs now rather than to what was fitted last.

From the unit serial number on the nameplate. Photograph it and send it with the enquiry. Measuring a plate is unreliable, because visually similar plates from different families are frequently not interchangeable.

A conventional plate will block. The Accu-Therm Free-Flow plate has a much more open channel and passes particles up to around 3/8 inch and fibrous material. Where solids are heavier still, a Temp-Plate bank assembly with removable plates is the practical answer.

A falling film chiller has refrigerant directly in Temp-Plate evaporator plates with water running down their face, so it chills water directly. A packaged chiller cools glycol, which then cools your water through a second exchanger. Removing that middle step is why a falling film chiller reaches lower water temperatures.

Yes, with a Temp-Plate clamp-on jacket. Panels bolt to lugs welded to the outside of the shell with heat transfer mastic between, so the pressure boundary is never cut and downtime is minimal.

Yes, on every quotation. Send both fluids with flow rates, inlet and required outlet temperatures, pressures and the allowable pressure drop each side, and the unit is rated before it is priced.