Cleaning heat exchanger tubes has historically been a time-consuming, tedious and often dangerous process that requires operators to have advanced training to ensure adequate performance. The movement toward automation and robotic solutions in industrial cleaning targets these issues to ensure the safety of those performing industrial cleaning applications and drive operational efficiencies.
StoneAge Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-pressure waterblast tools and automated equipment worldwide, recently released the Sentinel Automation Technology, a high-tech system consisting of a controller and sensors that enables automated heat exchanger tube cleaning. The Sentinel Automation Technology complete system is now available for rent, purchase and also as a conversion for StoneAge positioner setups like the ABX-3L.
One early adopter of the Sentinel ABX-3L conversion shared how they completed a heat exchanger cleaning application that typically takes 16 hours in just four hours.
Hylle Pol of Reym, an industrial services provider in the Netherlands, used the Sentinelenabled ABX-3L alongside a standard 3L in cleaning two identical heat exchangers, each containing 540 tubes coated in palm oil residue with some likely leaking.
"The key problem was that the head had a depth of 0.9 meters, and we had to jet with hot water, resulting in zero visibility," Pol explained.
Limited visibility when cleaning heat exchanger tubes causes the pump to be powered down until sight is improved. Powering the pump off and on requires extra time and fuel and causes added wear on parts like a pump's pressure valves. Additionally, the challenge of accurately indexing a standard tractor is intensified by factors such as debris and operator fatigue.
The customer's first crew used a standard 3L to clean their bundle, while the second crew used the Sentinel-converted ABX-3L. The traditional method followed by trained members of crew one involved shutting down the pump and waiting to proceed with cleaning until adequate visibility returned to the work area. Mitigating pump shutdowns due to limited visibility, crew two used the ABX-3L's pitch setting to operate the automated cleaning application as intended from the intuitive controller.
"It normally takes us 16 hours to clean one bundle. Now with the Sentinel, this bundle was fully cleaned within four hours," Pol concluded.
Crew one needed to shut down their pump after cleaning three tubes throughout the duration of the operation. The crew's attempts to find the following three tubes "blind" as well as to improve visibility using suction and blowing air were unsuccessful.
Crew two experienced infrequent pump shutdowns. The crew monitored the automated operation to know which direction to steer the equipment. Novice operators used the controller for a short time before cleaning at the same confidence and productivity levels as other crew members.
Overall cleaning time and productivity significantly improved using the Sentinel-enabled system. These results are consistent with the outcome contractors and industrial companies should expect from modern automated cleaning solutions.
StoneAge is a leading manufacturer of high-pressure waterblast tools and automated equipment for industrial companies and contractors worldwide. Its focus is on developing the highest-quality products for industrial and sewer cleaning as well as custom equipment for application-specific challenges.
For more information, visit www.stoneagetools.com or call (970) 259-2869.
