Tips for Plate Cooler Gaskets

When purchasing a plate cooler gasket, one needs to keep a number of things in mind since it is important to get all the right components for the equipment to work properly. Communication with the manufacturer is very important since that is how one will know what type of gasket will work best for their equipment. The manufacturer will be able to tell the buyer about the gaskets they have in stock and which type will work great with their equipment. Moreover, the buyer will be able to tell the manufacturer about his/her own requirements. This will ensure that only the most compatible components are ordered.

Coming to compatibility, it is important that the buyer himself checks the compatibility of the plate cooler gasket as well. Most importantly, chemical compatibility needs to be checked. The buyers need to make sure that the heat exchanger component and the liquids they use in labs work great with all equipment to be bought. Many of these components will contain the pH of 316, which is the element for stainless steel. 

Most of the chemicals used during labs are unable to harm stainless steel with a pH of 316. However, chlorine, which is often used in lab experiments can corrode the steel and thus, one needs to ensure a higher pH if they are to work with the aforementioned chemical. Also, the food industry uses certain chemicals to clean their equipment which may not work with a 316 pH.

Try and avoid situations which result in pressure spikes in the plate cooler gasket. 

Some manufacturers do make allowances with the engineering and the design, allowing the component to withstand some pressure but mostly, it is better to ensure that there are not many pressure spikes in place. These can be caused by immediately closing off a valve, a water hammer. These precautions will have to be taken otherwise, it can result in very lethal leakages that can even result in blowouts. Do not allow pressure changes which are more than one hundred and fifty psig every minute. Relief valves can be sued as remedies in such situations. 

Make sure that the plate cooler gasket remains clean and regularly check it for particles. Even though it is recommended that one thoroughly checks through the entire thing and eliminate particles of all kinds, it is okay if one misses out a couple of small particles. However, the large particles are what users will have to be wary about. This is because the movement of fluid within the equipment can be badly hampered if these large particles are blocking the way. The movement of the fluid can stop and one particular zone in the gasket can overflow, causing leakages and emergency situation, consequently. Make sure the particles are no bigger than 0.0625 inches. In an open tank, one will have to be even more careful.

Make sure that the integrity of the frame dimensions and plate pack dimensions in the plate cooler gasket are checked periodically. This can be vital to stop leakages when they occur and sometimes, even before they actually take place. The manufacturer will provide the details on the dimensions and the pack when the purchase is carried out and it is highly recommended that corks and screws are checked every so often to ensure that the necessary safety precautions are taken. Also, the equipment must be checked for damage and corrosion so that one can know when the equipment will have to be replaced.

A plate cool gasket is a very important component in a number of equipment and one must use it properly and after checking and inspecting it properly.