Box cooler service: cleaning and maintenance to fight corrosion and fouling
SÄKATONIT Extra AR-F
Proper cleaning and maintenance of vessel box coolers help prevent corrosion and marine growth, reduce repair costs and even ensure more environmentally friendly shipping operations –if done with the right processes and products.
What’s a box cooler?
Box coolers are a specific type of heat exchanger developed as a water cooling system for vessels of any kind, for instance yachts, ferries, trawlers, tugboats, barges, carriers, dredgers, supply vessels, ice breakers, cargo freighters, tankers, gas tankers and offshore structures.
A box cooler consists of a U-tube bundle fitted in the sea chest, saving space in the engine room. Its functioning principle is relatively simple: seawater enters the sea chest and circulates around the tubes, thus cooling the tubeside cooling water. That is highly useful in various temperature-reducing duties, from cooling engines to air conditioning.
What does jeopardize box coolers’ performance?
The optimal performance of box coolers is especially put at risk by two factors: galvanic corrosion and fouling. Marine growth on their tubes is the first issue arising. Such contamination can damage the coating applied on their surfaces, which are ultimately exposed to seawater, which creates a galvanic cell between the tubes’ noble metal (generally, copper-nickel, Cu-Ni) and the steel (generally, carbon steel, CS) structure surrounding the box cooler. That starts a galvanic reaction that corrodes the boat’s steel.
How do you maintain, clean and repair box coolers?
Box coolers can have longer or shorter maintenance schedules depending on service conditions. The maintenance operations required can range from simple cleaning to a complete re-lining process. SÄKAPHEN, together with its global partners, offers a worldwide service including as follows:
- on-site cleaning
- abrasive blast cleaning
- re-coating in the shipyard or a suitable, available facility
We can maintain, clean and repair box coolers in all designs, including round, rectangular or stepped.
As for the coating application, we have developed a specific, floodable 2-pack cold-cured epoxy hybrid lining:SÄKATONIT Extra AR-F. Its unique blend of resin and a hardener, also combined with specialized application methods, ensures a smooth hydrophobic finish offering outstanding protection against abrasion and reducing caking, fouling and incrustation, as well as superior electro-chemical insulation. The heat transfer rate of carbon steel coated with 150 microns of SÄKATONIT Extra AR-F is 25 W/mK, as third-party tested by 3M.
In particular, when coating box coolers, it limits the adhesion of marine growth, including barnacles, and provides safe and reliable operation and, above all, protection against galvanic corrosion.
SÄKAPHEN’s coating is not negatively affected by the use of Marine Growth Prevention Systems (MGPS), such as Impressed Current Anti Fouling (ICAF) systems. Finally, it contains no biocidal filler for more environmentally friendly, greener shipping operations.
A success case: 5-year track record for on-site box cooler re-coating
Two years ago, we had the opportunity to check its excellent performance over a 5-year span. The set of 31 box coolers had been re-coated in Norway in early 2018. Not only was marine growth less than expected but any barnacles and incrustation present were easily removed. Further inspection showed minimal mechanical damage, largely caused by routine handling during service. Neither the Marine Growth Prevention System (MGPS) and the Impressed Current Anti Fouling (ICAF) system, nor erosion had any adverse effect on the coating. The mechanical damaged areas were duly repaired, and the box coolers returned to service, reducing the initial 21-day schedule to an impressive 8-day one.
You can read the full case study here.
Do you need help with your box cooler service operations?
SÄKAPHEN can support you by providing the ideal lining for your application, performing all the required cleaning and (re-)coating processes and, if necessary, even providing fully skilled supervision when vessels are in dry dock.
Get in touch with us to find out how we can help!
