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Author Topic: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger  (Read 1087 times)

Offline Santiagoprpe

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Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« on: February 08, 2021, 10:55:23 pm »
Hi, I would like to know how can I clean a Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger taking into account that copper reacts with almost all detergents. In order to develop a CIP cleaning, what cleaner would be used?

Offline mabrungard

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Re: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2021, 04:42:36 pm »
All SST plate chillers have copper brazing. My Blichmann Therminator has served me well and I do perform caustic and acid circulations for cleaning and sanitizing. One thing is for sure,  don’t do them for long. That will erode the copper. I figure it will probably erode through when I’m 100. I don’t worry about it.
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Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2021, 05:48:08 pm »
Are you sure that it is copper brazed and not hard silver soldered?  The alloy used in hard silver soldering contains a significant amount of copper.

Offline mabrungard

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Re: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2021, 06:11:40 pm »
I'm not sure, but the brazing that is exposed at the edges of my chiller is copper colored. I'm assuming it's copper.
Martin B
Carmel, IN

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Offline kgs

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Re: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2021, 07:12:21 pm »
I'm not sure, but the brazing that is exposed at the edges of my chiller is copper colored. I'm assuming it's copper.

Copper, per https://www.blichmannengineering.com/therminator.html
K.G. Schneider
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Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: Copper Brazed Stainless Steel Plate Heat Exchanger
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2021, 04:01:43 pm »
That is good to know.  Hard silver soldering is actually silver brazing because hard silver solder melts at over 1000F.  What is referred to as silver soldering in the homebrewing community is not silver soldering.  It is just soldering with a solder that contains a small amount of silver that melts below 850F.