Background
Sandhurst Plumbing & Maintenance Ltd was instructed by the managing agent to attend a residential development in Stratford, London, following concerns over the condition of the plant room’s plate heat exchanger (PHE). The PHE is central to the building’s communal heating and hot water system, transferring heat from the primary circuit to the building’s heat network.
Any failure of the unit would have left the entire building without heating and hot water, so early identification and replacement of the failing plates was critical to avoiding a building-wide service outage.
Investigation
On attending site, our engineers inspected the plate heat exchanger and found the heat transfer plates in poor condition: the gaskets had become brittle and the front plate was badly corroded. Left in service, the unit was at real risk of developing leaks or failing outright — with the building’s heating and hot water supply entirely dependent on it continuing to function.
We contacted our network of suppliers to source a suitable replacement plate heat exchanger and were able to turn around a cost quickly, which the client approved.
The Works
- Isolated and drained the existing plate heat exchanger in the plant room.
- Removed the plate pack, disconnected the frame and took the failed unit out of the plant room.
- Inspected the removed plates and gaskets, confirming corrosion and gasket degradation as the cause for replacement.
- Assembled a new heat exchanger frame and installed the replacement plate pack, tightened to the manufacturer’s specified dimension.
- De-isolated the system and carried out a full functional test, confirming no leaks before handover.
The replacement plate pack is manufactured by Cipriani PHE for Ormandy Rycroft, rated to 16 bar working pressure and 100°C, giving the building a heat exchanger fit for continued long-term service.
Result
The plant room’s plate heat exchanger was replaced before the degraded unit could fail, avoiding any interruption to heating or hot water across the building. The new plate pack was functionally tested with no leaks observed, and the works were signed off to the client’s satisfaction with full photographic evidence provided for their records.
By identifying the failing plates and acting swiftly to replace them, Sandhurst protected the managing agent and the building’s residents from the risk of a total loss of communal heating and hot water.
About Sandhurst Plumbing & Maintenance Ltd
Sandhurst Plumbing & Maintenance Ltd is a commercial and residential plumbing, heating, drainage and maintenance contractor operating across London, with a strong presence in East London. We work with managing agents to deliver planned and reactive plant room works, keeping communal heating, hot water and mechanical systems running reliably.
