cleaning out cleaning system from broken impeller...

rasbury

I am really confused..on the other thread I have going, I ran my raw water pump dry and destroyed the impeller. I have the 1/2 closed loop system with a heat exchanger. I've been told to remove the end cap off the heat exchanger to clean out the bits-what I fail to understand is how the water gets into the tubes- if coolant surrounds the tubes and I pull the end cap off, aren't I just releasing the coolant? I would think I'd be pulling off a hose and back flushing the system to blow the bits back out, what am I missing?

Handymans342

Usually that end cap is Raw water side so you can remove it to clean the tubes. 

LaRea

The coolant is totally separated from the end cap.  There might be a bit of raw water, but probably not more than a few teaspoons.  

LaRea

Ras - it's kinda like this:



The raw water enters through the end cap, flows through a bundle of closed straight tubes, and exits through the other end cap.  When you take off the end plate, you're looking lengthwise through the bundle of tubes.  The coolant comes in through a separate entry, flows AROUND the tubes, and exits at the other end.  The coolant has no direct contact with the raw water or the end caps.

The hot coolant heats up the bundle of tubes, and the raw water in the tubes carries the heat away.

rasbury

so when I pull that end cap off, I will loose the coolant in there, correct? So I should drain it before I pull it off I'd think? If my exchanger looked like the one above, it would make total sense, but, the inlet for the water into the exchanger does not go through the end cap, it's just a cap and the water goes into a tube kind of right where the picture above says shell-side fluid out I think, kind of perpendicular to the tubes and not through the end cap itself.....guess it will make more sense when I take it apart.....thx

rasbury

10-4, will dive in! Thank God for this forum, this would have been a costly mistake if I had to take it to a shop, that's for sure...hopefully there are no further issues and I can clean up my mess on this one.......