Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Shell and tube heat exchangers are comprised, as the name suggests, of an exterior shell with a bundle of tubes running through the middle of it. These exchangers are the most common type of tube heat exchangers used in the process, petroleum and HVAC industries, and are used widely in large chemical processes.
Shell and tube exchangers are intended for heating and cooling process fluids at high pressures and due to their design offer a large heat transfer area, making them a provider of high heat transfer efficiency. They are used widely as water to water heat exchangers and water to air heat exchangers. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
Enerquip, LLC
Medford, WI | 715-748-5888Enerquip is your trusted shell and tube heat exchanger partner. Our in-house, thermal design engineers and ASME welders and fabricators can design and build custom engineered solutions for your company’s specific needs. Our experience and expertise have earned us a preferred supplier status with leading companies in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cannabis, personal care, chemical, refining, and renewable energy markets. When you need a solution that is guaranteed to work, trust the helpful heat exchanger experts at Enerquip.

Mason Manufacturing LLC
Decatur, IL | 217-422-2770Mason Manufacturing is a custom fabricator of shell and tube heat exchangers, ASME pressure vessels, columns, and tanks. Located in Decatur, Illinois, Mason has over 60 years of experience providing customers with custom fabricated vessels that conform to customer specifications, applicable codes, accepted industry standards and that are consistently shipped on time with competitive pricing. It’s our promise.

CG Thermal LLC
Twinsburg, OH | 330-405-0844CG Thermal LLC is a customer focused, technology driven, solution oriented company. We provide process technology solutions for harsh and corrosive process streams. Our services range from providing customer specific process equipment and technical support to consulting and turn-key engineered solutions.

Xchanger Inc.
Hopkins, MN | 952-933-2559Xchanger, leading manufacturer of industrial air cooled & liquid cooled heat exchangers for faster, safer & more cost efficient processes, offers 10 standard heat exchanger & blower aftercooler lines. Using proven designs optimized for your specific demands & built-to-order, Xchanger prides itself on custom & completely unique configurations utilizing fin-tube or fin-plate heat transfer surfaces.

AGC Heat Transfer
Bristow, VA | 703-257-1660Since 1991, AGC Heat Transfer has been producing sanitary plate frame heat exchangers. We offer regasketing for all makes and models of plate heat exchangers. AGC provides replacement parts or frames if your heat exchanger needs repair or upgrading and do field leak checks and upgrades.

Cust-O-Fab
Sand Springs, OK | 918-245-6685CUST-O-FAB has been a trusted leader in the heat exchanger industry since 1972. Our years of experience have equipped us with the talent and skills to manufacture the best heat exchangers in the industry. We are dedicated to advancing our company and creating innovative strategies and solutions.

The larger the surface area available for heat exchange, the more efficient the heat exchange process will be. Therefore, bundles of tubes are often used to create the largest surface area possible. The shell or pressure vessel holds the bundle of tubes that are connected at either end. The tubes themselves are hollow and act as flow channels for one fluid that runs through them, the other fluid flows around them through the shell.
The tubes themselves may differ in type according to the desired results. The tube walls are made of a thermally conductive material in order to transfer heat from one substance to the other. However, as one side of the tube will have a different temperature to the other side of the tube, it must be durable enough to undergo structure stress during the heat exchange process.
As shell and tube exchangers are usually used for high pressure applications in the first place, the added structural stress of temperature shifts should also be considered when deciding upon a tube material. Metals such as copper alloy, steel - both stainless and carbon, nickel and titanium are ideal choices. Waste heat from industrial manufacturing processes can be fed into a shell and tube heat exchanger and used to heat a substance for another stage in the process.
This method of heat exchange is not only efficient, but also conserves energy and is more cost-effective than relying on another source of heat production. Shell and tube heat exchangers are found in steam engines, power plants and nuclear power plants. They are often classified by the number of times the materials pass through the tubes in a complete cycle.
Shell and tube heat exchangers can be used for both liquids and gases as both are able to transfer heat. Shell and tube heat exchangers serve a wide range of applications in compressor systems, hydraulic systems, stationary engines, pain systems, vapor recovery systems, air dryers, lube oil consoles, and several marine applications.