Heat exchanger, tube sheet and water box repair
Dissimilar tube metals set up galvanic corrosion at the tube sheet and water box, attacking the steel around each tube end and opening leak paths.
The need for heat exchanger, tube sheet and water box repair
BHI Coatings performs heat exchanger, tube sheet and water box repair across Alvin and the Texas Gulf Coast. Put two dissimilar metals together at a tube-to-tube-sheet joint and you have built a galvanic cell. It eats the steel around every tube end and works out across the water box wall. Leak paths open, tubes get plugged, heat-transfer capacity falls away, and a bundle pulled for re-tubing can hold up an entire turnaround.
How BHI Coatings does heat exchanger, tube sheet and water box repair
BHI Coatings rebuilds the tube sheet and water box and electrically isolates the joint with ceramic-filled epoxy systems such as Belzona 1391T and 1321, with no hot work near the tubes. We grit-blast the face and the pits, rebuild the wasted steel, then lay down a barrier film that breaks the galvanic cell. It all cures cold, inside your turnaround window.
Typically applied with Belzona 1391T, Belzona 1321, matched to the service conditions.
The bundle is back in service in days rather than the weeks a re-tube would take. With the galvanic cell broken by the barrier coating, the same corrosion does not come back on the next run.

More Metal Repair applications
Bearing-bore wear, split-line distortion and oil-leak paths at gasket faces retire compressor, engine and gearbox housings before the internals wear out.
Learn more →Crack and hole repair on casings and equipmentWelding on pressure separators and code-stamped vessels triggers re-stamping, stress relief and thermal distortion that can cost more than the defect.
Learn more →General metal-loss rebuilding compositesMetal loss from corrosion, erosion or pitting retires equipment once it reaches a code-trigger thickness, and weld build-up adds heat distortion.
Learn more →On-site flange face and nozzle insert repairHeat cycling, gasket-witness machining and dropped tools deform flange faces and corrode nozzle sleeves, so the line leaks and stays out of service.
Learn more →Plain bearing, bushing and bearing-housing repairWorn bearing bores, fretted bushing seats and vibration-loosened housings shift the rotating axis and shorten coupling and seal life.
Learn more →Pump impeller and casing rebuildingErosion-corrosion and cavitation reshape impeller vanes and casing profiles, pulling the pump off its head curve and cutting efficiency.
Learn more →All 11 in Metal RepairThe whole capability in one place, with the work grouped.
See the capability →Contact BHI Coatings
Have equipment that needs to stay in service?
Tell us what is failing. We respond quickly, and we offer 24-hour on-call service.

