COVID-19 Update: Advanced Coil Technology Remains Open 25 Mar 2020, 9:51 pm

To our valued customers,

As we are all experiencing, the COVID-19 crisis is causing a lot of changes in both our professional and personal lives. The landscape is constantly changing and we are continuing to monitor and follow guidance issued by both the public health and governmental officials.

At this time, Advanced Coil remains open and fully operational. We are still operating at full capacity, have a strong inventory position and have not heard of any delays from our supply chain. Some of our staff are working remotely but are still available to service your needs. To ensure the safety of our employees we are following all CDC recommendations regarding cleaning, disinfecting, hygiene, and social distancing.

At this time, we plan to remain in production to meet your needs. Should there be any changes to our plans we will inform you as soon as possible.

Advanced Coil will continue to do everything we can to help slow the virus transmission and we all hope to return to normal soon.

Best wishes to you, your family and your entire staff,

Devon Barnes

General Manager

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What are Steam Distributing Coils or “No-Freeze Coils”? 27 Dec 2017, 8:32 pm

What are Steam Distributing Coils or “No-Freeze Coils”?

Steam distributing coils are designed to minimize the potential of freezing when the coil sees air temperature below 40˚F or operates on a system with modulating steam pressure.

Steam Distributing coils insert an inner tube down the entire length of the outer tube. The steam is fed to the inner tube and escapes into the space between the inner and outer tube and condenses. The outer tube is plugged or capped so that the condensate under pressure has no place to go but down the outer tube toward the return header.

The idea behind the original design of this coil was to evenly distribute the steam and condensate throughout the coil so there are no “dead spots” or “cold spots” in the coil – spots that could potentially freeze. What also happens is that the steam moving down the inner tube keeps the condensate in the outer tube warm so that it does not freeze before it drains out into the header. Keep in mind, while these coils are commonly installed in applications where entering air is 40F or below it is still possible for them freeze.

Steam distributing coils can be built with same end or opposite end connections depending on the application. It is recommended that steam coils be pitched toward the condensate header for proper drainage.

Give us a call or email if you have any application that sees cold air or operates with modulating steam temperature.

Click to download the PDF version.

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Single Source Responsibility 27 Dec 2017, 8:16 pm

Single Source Responsibility

There are many coil manufacturers to choose from when buying a new or replacement steam or fluid coil. The list gets much smaller if you need a heavy-duty industrial coil. The list gets really small if you also need a housing, transition, filters, fans or other components.

There are many advantages to working directly with a supplier that can design and build all the components related to your industrial coil project. Below are the top four reasons to find a single-source supplier.

1. Singular Responsibility
One company is held responsible for the full scope of delivery. No pointing fingers. This assumes that the supplier has both the experience and resources required to design, engineer, fabricate and manage the project.

2. Reduced Risk
We are all in the ‘risk reduction’ business. By reducing the number of people/companies involved in a project you decrease the probability that something will be missed, changed or misinterpreted. Why should an owner or rep assume any risk for the design and manufacturing of a system? Even if you have some knowledge or capacity you are still better off to pass the work off to an experienced company who designs and builds integrated, custom systems daily.

3.Minimize Design and Installation Discrepancies
Projects change, details get missed, communication gets dropped – all part of life. This is very problematic when you are dealing with multiple components, from multiple vendors that get integrated on site. Reduce the number of people working on the project and you dramatically improve the odds that the equipment will fit and perform to the specs when it arrives on-site.

4.Lower Administrative Costs
It takes time to manage multiple vendors versus just one. When you factor in the bid/selection process, placing PO’s, communication, receiving and managing payables, a significant amount of time can be saved by working with just one supplier.

Advanced Coil has been designing and building industrial coils, cases, housings, and integrated systems since 1995. Call or email us – we are ready to help you engineer a system for your next project.

Click to download the PDF version.

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Common Industrial Coil Terms 27 Dec 2017, 8:06 pm

Industrial Coils: Common Terms

Fin length – length of finned area measured in the same direction as the tubes

Fin height – height of finned area measured in the same direction as the header (90o to tubes, or “tubes high” direction)

Case height – height of the coil measured from outer case flange to outer case flange, in the same direction as the header

Case length – length of the coil measured from outer case flange to outer case flange, in the same direction as the tubes

Case depth – length of the coil case measured in the direction of airflow

Airflow – Flow rate of process air that is passing over fins of coil, expressed either volumetrically (see ACFM) or in terms of mass flow (SCFM (see below), lb/hr, kg/hr, etc)

SCFM – standard cubic feet per minute. Although it is expressed in volumetric terms, this is actually a mass flow rate of standard air which has a density of 0.075 pounds per cubic foot (sea level and 70oF)

ACFM – actual cubic feet per minute. Volumetric flow rate of air. To calculate the mass flow rate, you must know the air density, which depends on temperature, humidity content, elevation, among other factors.

Face velocity – volumetric flow rate of air divided by coil face area (fin height x fin length). Typically reported in ft/min.

Fluid flow – tubeside stream flow rate. Steam is typically reported in lb/hr, or volumetric flow rate at a given pressure. Liquids are typically reported either in mass flow (lb/hr) or volumetric flow rate (gal/min or GPM).

Glycol – refers to either ethylene or propylene glycol, both common components of tubeside stream in fluid coils. Specified as either a % mass or volume of solution in water.

MAWP – maximum allowable working pressure. The highest pressure that a coil’s construction is designed to withstand, always specified with a maximum temperature.

FPI – fins per inch. Most common units of fin spacing, commonly in the range of 2-14 FPI. Fin spacing is sometimes reported in fins per foot.

Standard steam coil – Steam coil designed in which steam is delivered directly to the tubes where it condenses and then drains from the tubes.Visit our Steam Coils page for more information.

Steam distributing coil – Freeze-resistant (not freeze-proof) coil designed with tube-within-a-tube steam delivery. Visit our Steam Coils page for more information.

Corrosion – chemical degradation of the tube or fin material due to the presence of corrosive agents in either the airstream or tube-side stream

Erosion – physical degradation of the interior of the tube walls due to high tube-side stream velocities or a fluid stream contaminated with particulate

Single circuited – used to describe a fluid coil that has a single, full row of tubes joined to each header

Double circuited – used to describe a fluid coil that has two full rows of tubes joined to each header

Partial circuited – used to describe a fluid coil that has less than a full row of tubes joined to each header

Saturated steam – steam that is 100% vapor and exactly at water’s boiling temperature at a given pressure

Superheated steam – steam that is heated above water’s boiling temperature at a given pressure

Click to download the PDF version.

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Coil Housing Types 27 Dec 2017, 7:48 pm

Coil Housing Types

Slide-out housings

Slide-out housings are used in applications where the coils need to be easily removed to facilitate inspection, cleaning, or replacement. The housing contains slots which are sized for the individual coils, which slide in/out and are secured with an attached front bolting plate (see slide-out case design). This type of housing allows for easy coil removal to facilitate inspection, cleaning, or replacement.

Airtight housings

Airtight housings are built to ensure that there is no cross-contamination between the process air stream and the environment. These housing can be designed to withstand pressures ranging from full vacuum to over 100 psig.

Air handling units

In addition to the various types of coils and housings we design and manufacture, Advanced Coil also builds custom, complete, and robust air handling units. Apart from the coils themselves, we can include in these units: dampers/louvers, filter banks, blowers/fans, and access doors and panels. In larger air handling units where weight or size may make installation difficult, the separate components can be designed to detach from one another. Manufacturing the entire air handling unit at a single site ensures the compatibility of the individual components and eases the packaging and installation burdens on the end user.

Fig. 1 – Air Handling Unit with a filter bank, access door, two steam coils stacked on top of each other, and two more access doors arranged in series. The access panels ease the processes of replacing the filters and inspecting and cleaning of the coils.

Fig. 2 – An air handling unit that has a filter bank, a steam coil, a bolted access panel, and a fluid coil arranged in series. A side access panel near the filter bank allows the filters to be easily removed for replacement, and the access panel between the coils permits easy access to inspect and clean each of the coils.

Fig. 3 – Air handling unit with louvers, an access door, a steam coil, and another access door arranged in series. The bolting pattern around the louvers are designed to meet with an existing duct, and the access doors provide a convenient way to conduct maintenance on all components of the air handling unit.

Click to download the PDF version.

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Coil Case Types 27 Dec 2017, 7:18 pm

Coil Case Types

All the case types listed below can be constructed with level tubes or with tubes pitched for condensate drainage.

Standard – This case has a perimeter flange enclosing the finned area, with headers, connections, and return bends (if applicable) extending beyond the casework. 
This is the lowest cost of the case options and is appropriate for applications with a low airside pressure drop across the fins, where absolute air-tightness of the process air stream is not essential.

Baffled – Like a standard case, but the casework extends over the headers to block the airflow around the headers.  It is a cost-effective way to prevent the air stream from traveling around the fin bundle.  Like the above standard case option, the baffled case is appropriate when keeping the process air stream air-tight is not critical.

Slide-out – Essentially a baffled case with an airtight front cover for easy installation and removal from an external housing.  The relative ease of installation and removal of a slide-out coil makes this case design a good choice for applications with unfiltered or dirty airstreams that require frequent cleaning of the fins.  The bolted front plate ensures that process air will not leak into the plant environment.

Airtight – Completely enclosed headers and finned area with only the connections extending beyond the case.  This case can be constructed either as nominally airtight (riveted construction) or welded airtight.  The airtight case design has a bolting flange around the perimeter of the case to enable the coil to be easily mounted in a duct.

Click to download the PDF version.

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What does a 5-year warranty mean to the end user? 27 Dec 2017, 5:34 pm

What does a 5-year warranty mean to the end user?

Simple, it means that you can have peace of mind that you selected and installed the right coil.

Any manufacturer can choose to offer an extended warranty, especially when pushed by the end user as a condition to close a sale. It is a simple risk/reward decision.

But, in a competitive market, if you make it part of your normal business then you better be sure about the decision. It is one thing to deal with the financial ramifications of a project by project basis but dealing with the risk to your company’s reputation is much more significant. Remember what they say, “It takes a lot of Attaboys to make up for one Oh, damn”.

Advanced Coil offers a standard 5-year warranty on all its welded products. We have offered the same warranty for over 20 years. And, we all sleep well at night.

To the end user there are many benefits:

• Trust that the coils have been engineered for the application
• Knowledge that the manufacturing process results in a superior product
• Very low risk of a major failure
• Increased uptime and longer life result in lowest Total Cost of Ownership

Why can we offer such a great warranty:

• Because we know that our design and manufacturing process results in a superior product
  • Ask us about the benefits of press fit fins, unexpanded tubes, and free-floating segments
• Because all our people are good at what they do
• Because we have 20+ years of experience and data that tells us that it is the right thing to do

Call or email us if you want to learn more about our design and how it can benefit your operations, or simply if you want us to provide a quote for your project.

Click to download the PDF version.
 

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Design Factors for Steam Coils 28 Jul 2017, 2:54 pm

Designing Heat Exchanger Coils

Selecting an air-cooled heat exchanger involves many considerations, and the choices can be daunting for an engineer who is not familiar with this piece of equipment. The consequences of using the wrong heat exchanger can be serious. In the best-case scenario, the consequences are costly in terms of replacement of the failed heat exchanger, system downtime, and ruined product, while in the worst-case scenario, the ramifications can mean injury or death of personnel. There may be certain cases, like replacing a previous heat exchanger, where many of these decisions can be made by simply following the previous specification. However, industrial steam coils can last years or decades, during which time process conditions or performance requirements may have changed. By understanding the critical factors that determine proper coil selection, one can be confident that they have chosen a piece of equipment that will be both reliable and high-performing.

What are the primary and secondary factors that affect coil design? E.g. length vs height, materials, fin spacing, air flow, orientation, etc.

The factors that affect the coil design can be separated into two categories: primary factors which are essential to the operation of the coil, and secondary, nonessential factors which can be used to tune or optimize the performance or price of the coil. Here, we will explore both categories and give some examples of applications and coils that would be a good match.

Primary Factors

What are the primary factors for designing steam coils?

The most important factors to consider when designing heat exchanger coils are those that determine the operation and durability of the coil:

• Temperature of the airstream
• Presence of corrosives in the airstream or steam
• Level of filtration of the airstream

Temperature of the Airstream

It is always important to consider the temperature extremes of both the entering airstream and the steam. When the entering air temperature is close to or below the freezing temperature of water, there is a risk that condensate will freeze inside the coil. Because water expands upon freezing, tubes that contain condensate can be forced to expand until they burst. Oftentimes this problem will only be caught once steam is observed to be leaking into the process air stream. To avoid in-service failure such as this, it is recommended to use a “steam distributing” coil.

A steam distributing coil uses a tube-within-a-tube design, where the steam is delivered through the interior tube and condenses on the inside of the exterior tube (see Figure 1). The interior tube acts a heat tracer which helps prevent condensate from freezing before it can be drained from the coil. Steam distributing coils are typically more expensive than standard steam coils, but they can be wise investments in situations that may see freezing air temperatures.

Figure 1: Steam delivery in a steam distributing coil versus a standard steam coil. In a steam distributing coil (left), steam is delivered through an interior tube and condenses on the inside of the exterior tube. In a standard steam coil (right), steam is delivered through and condenses in the same tube.

Presence of Corrosives

Another common cause of failure of steam coils is to have corrosives present in either the airstream or tube-side stream. Although corrosion can occur anywhere on the coil, it is typically in high-stress areas such as welds or in microscopic cracks that form in tubes that have been expanded. It is most important to be aware of potential corrosion of pressure parts such as tubes and headers, but corrosion of fins can also occur and result in the depleted performance of the coil.

Steel is well-known to rust in the presence of water, and this must be accounted for by using thick-walled materials which can be both expensive and costly in terms of heat transfer efficiency. If carbon dioxide is present in the steam system, it can dissolve in the condensate and form carbonic acid which may corrode carbon steels. The combination of corrosion-resistance and strength of stainless steel makes it a common choice for pressure parts in steam coils, but even stainless steel is susceptible to corrosion in certain environments.

Chlorides in either the airstream or tube-side stream can cause corrosion in stainless steels, which after a long enough time will consume enough metal to produce a leak. When the airstream possesses a high concentration of chlorides, it may be necessary to coat the exterior of the coil with a protective coating. The high salinity content of air on coasts near oceans can also be destructive to stainless steels, and this should be accounted for in the material selection.

Although different from corrosion, which is the chemical breakdown of metal material, erosion of the internal tube wall can also cause failure. Erosion is the physical degradation of the tube material from steam traveling through the tubes, and care should be taken to use reasonable steam velocities in order to mitigate the risk of damage from erosion.

Fin Density & Filtration

The last of the primary considerations in coil design is the fin density. On one hand, the fin density (or fins per inch, FPI) is a parameter that can be tuned to allow a coil to meet a performance goal. As the FPI increases so does the heat transfer area. This results in an increase in coil capacity, but also an increase in air pressure drop across the coil. However, FPI should not be viewed as a parameter to be maximized if the coil stays under the maximum allowable air pressure drop. As the fins get closer together, they will have a greater tendency to catch debris on the face and inside of the bundle. When debris accumulates inside the fin bundle, it will contact tubes with surface temperatures in excess of 300-400oF. This can create a serious fire risk. When an airstream is unfiltered, it is good practice not to exceed 8 fins per inch; if there are a lot of particulates in the airstream then 5 fins per inch or less is a wiser maximum fin density.

There are applications where the heat transfer demands require as many as 14 fins per inch, but care should be taken to ensure that the airstream is well-filtered and the coils are regularly cleaned.

Secondary Factors

What are the secondary factors for designing steam coils?

The secondary factors are those that are not critical to the safe operation of the heat exchanger, but can be tuned as a way of optimizing performance and/or cost of the unit:

• Aspect ratio (ratio of finned length to finned height)
• Orientation
• Case design

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio of the heat exchanger can be defined as the ratio of the finned length to the finned height. From the perspective of the coil manufacturer, large aspect ratios are the most cost effective. Longer finned length means that fewer tubes are required to reach the target finned area. This minimizes the number of joints that need to be welded, which is usually the largest driver of labor costs in heat exchanger manufacturing. However, it is best practice to keep aspect ratios under 2:1 as a means of maintaining even airflow inside the duct. Also, if the coil is meeting up to a preexisting duct, then it may be more cost effective to match the coil dimensions to those of the duct; although this may not minimize the cost of the coil, eliminating the need for transitions often will outweigh any marginal increase in coil fabrication cost. Thus, the cost of the coil-to-ductwork section should be considered when deciding on an optimal aspect ratio.

Orientation

Like the coil aspect ratio, the orientation is also a parameter that may be tuned to suit the application best. If there is existing piping that the coil will meet up to, then the coil connection locations may need to match. Alternatively, if there is some flexibility regarding the piping, then either same-end or opposite-end connections may be employed, although this should be understood at the outset of the coil design process. The direction of airflow is not always a critical design parameter, but this is also best known at the start of coil design. Vertical airflow dictates that the heat exchanger tubes will be horizontal, but horizontal airstreams can be accommodated using either horizontal or vertical tubes. Like connection location, this choice should usually be made based on ease of meeting pipes to the supply and return lines of the heat exchanger.

Coil Case Design

The design of the coil casework is another decision that does not affect the performance, although details of the application may dictate one design or material over another. The least expensive option is to leave the headers exposed outside of the case, with the casework surrounding only the fin bundle (Figure 2).

This design is ideal when the airside pressure drop is relatively low and completely sealing off the process air from the ambient air is not a paramount concern. If the airside pressure drop is quite high, then significant loss of process air may occur, and an airtight case design would be a wiser choice (Figure 3).

Other types of cases are available allowing for options to meet a variety of cost and system requirements. Additionally, case material need not be identical to either the tube or fin materials. Since in most cases the case material does not contact the tube-side fluid stream, only potential corrosives in the ambient air and process air streams need to be considered when selecting a material. In some cases, there may be industry standards of cleanability or finish that must be met, and this should be understood by the end user or process engineer designing the unit.

Figure 2: Standard case design (exposed headers)

Figure 3: Airtight case design (enclosed headers).

Summary

This article provided a brief overview of some of the design considerations when either designing or selecting a heat exchanger for an application. Some of the choices, such as method of steam delivery, materials of construction, or fin spacing can be critical to the safe operation of the heat exchanger. Other factors such as aspect ratio, orientation, or casework design can be tuned to optimize performance and/or cost of the equipment. Although no single article can exhaustively cover all the important factors in the proper selection of a heat exchanger, it is hoped that the reader now has a better understanding of the process and some of the questions that should be asked.

Click to download the PDF version.

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How to Field Measure a Steam Coil 28 Jul 2017, 2:14 pm

How to Measure a Coil

Steam Coil Measurement Notes:

1. Collect any / all dimensions available.
2. For direct replacement coils, the most important dimensions are the overall space available and the connection dimensions.

B – Case Height: Height of the coil is measured from outer case flange to outer case flange, in the same direction as the fin height.

C – Fin Length: Length of the fins measured in the same direction as the tubes.

D – Case Length: Length of the coil is measured from outer case flange to outer case flange, in the same direction as the tubes.

E – Case Depth: Measure how thick the coil is in direction of airflow.

F – Overall length: Length of the coil is measured from the outer case flange on the back of the coil to the front of the header, not including connections.

G – Return Connection Location: Connection location is measured from the bottom of the coil to the centerline of the connection.

H – Feed Connection Location: Connection location is measured from the bottom of the coil to the centerline of the connection.

I – Fins Per Inch: Count the number of fins in a 4” space and divide by 4.

J – Number of Rows of Tubes: On the back side of the coil (opposite header end) count how many rows of tubes there are.

K – Tube Diameter: This is the size of the tubes in the fin bundle feeding the header.

L – Return Connection Size: For pipe sizes measure the inside diameter of the connection.

M – Feed Connection Size: For pipe sizes measure the inside diameter of the connection.

N – Connection Length: Length that the connection extends from the face of the header.

O – Connection Center Line: Centerline of each connection measured from the edge of the coil case.

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What does 5-year warranty on heat exchangers mean to you? 9 Oct 2015, 2:55 pm

Many know that since 1995 Advanced Coil has been building heavy-duty, air-over-fin, welded joint heat exchangers for the industrial and process industries. And we recognize there are many other manufacturers that make the same claims.

But what many do not realize is that one of ACT’s biggest differentiators is our 5-year warranty.

The Only Kind of Warranty in the Industry

When offering a warranty that exceeds traditional standards, as a company, you better have the utmost confidence in your product. When we advertise that ACT heat exchangers are “Engineered to perform and built to last,” the only way to back it up is a different kind of warranty.

Peace of Mind

Not only does our warranty represent confidence in our manufacturing process and quality, but it also represents your peace of mind. This peace of mind comes in knowing that by relying on ACT heat exchangers, you have mitigated your downtime and loss of productivity to a far greater extent than any other products in the market. Your bottom line says it all.

Durable Reliable Proven

Again, the way to prove that ACT heat exchangers are superior in durability is through a maximized warranty. But you also need to know we, through our customer service, will be as reliable as the products we sell. This is why we invite anybody to visit us, take a tour, and ask for case studies or client testimonials. Let us prove it to you.

This is why we have launched a special promotional campaign to highlight and communicate the peace of mind you can attain that our warranty represents. You’ll be seeing it everywhere.

So, what does a 5-year warranty on your heat exchangers mean to you?

Learn more about our warranty or contact us for a free consultation.

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