Power Plant Condensers: Retubing and New Units
Retubing, emergency repair and new-unit tube installation for surface condensers: tools for pulling, cutting, rolling, welding and leak testing, plus field crews.
Typical jobs
- Planned outage retubes: copper tubes replaced with stainless steel or titanium, on a tight schedule
- Leaks in service: find the leaking tubes and joints first, then plug or retube
- New units: installing, rolling, trimming and welding tens of thousands of titanium or stainless steel tubes
- Nuclear condensers: rolling torque must be recorded and traceable
Work steps and tools
- Cut the old tubesDNQ-B internal tube cutter, used with the tube puller
- Pull the old tubesYKB series hydraulic tube pullers with collet-type spears
- Clean the tube holesTube hole brushes and flap wheels
- Install the new tubesTube pilots protect the tube end and guide it through the baffles
- Roll the tubesSR servo tube rolling system or XR high-torque servo tube roller; torque records can be exported
- Trim and faceDNQ-A internal tube cutter and GXD tube end facing tools
- Weld the tube endsWZM1-200TX-B orbital TIG tube-to-tubesheet welder; one operator can run 2–3 units
- Leak testVTLD vacuum tube leak detector and VJLD vacuum joint leak detector
What Lanbo provides
- Complete retubing tool sets
- Field crews for tube pulling, installation, rolling and welding
- Tools and crew together when the outage is short
Reference: three condensers at a power plant in Fujian, China – 68,024 tubes in total: steam-side cleaning, titanium tube installation, push-pull cleaning, rolling, trimming and welding.
Products
Recommended equipment
Tube Pullers
YKB-5 Hydraulic Tube Puller, Collet Type
- Tube OD: φ16–φ28 mm
- Rated pull: 6200 kgf
- Gun weight: 2.2 kg
Tube Pullers
YKB-4 Hydraulic Tube Puller, Screw Type
- Tube OD: φ12–φ28 mm
- Rated pull: 6200 kgf
- Gun weight: 2.2 kg
Internal Tube Cutters
DNQ-B Internal Tube Cutter
- Tube OD: φ12–φ38 mm
- Tube wall: 0.3–2 mm
- Cutting depth: 70 mm (custom; long-reach versions up to 5000 mm)
Servo Tube Rolling Systems
SR Series Servo Tube Rolling System
- Torque range: 0.2–77.9 N·m / 0.1–57.5 ft·lbf (depending on motor)
- Tube OD: 6.35–38.1 mm
- Power supply: 200–240 V single-phase
Servo Tube Rolling Systems
XR Series High-Torque Servo Tube Roller with Telescopic Shaft
- Torque range: 5–300 N·m / 3.7–221 ft·lbf
- Working window: 1000 × 1000 mm
- Tube OD: φ12.7–φ101.6 mm
Orbital TIG Tube Welders
WZM1-200B Tube-to-Tubesheet Orbital TIG Welder
- Tube OD: φ12–φ51 mm
- Tube wall: 0.3–1.5 mm
- Welding time: 18–40 s per joint (depending on tube size)
Vacuum Leak Detectors
Vacuum Tube Leak Detector
- Tube size: 6.3–76.2 mm（1/4"–3"）
- Compressed air: 0.7 MPa，285 L/min
- Weight: 1 kg
Vacuum Leak Detectors
Vacuum Joint Leak Detector (VJLD)
- Tube size: 9.52–31.75 mm（3/8"–1.25"）
- Compressed air: 0.6 MPa，285 L/min
- Weight: 1.5 kg
Talk to an engineer
Tell us about your project
We'll recommend the equipment, estimate the schedule and, if required, provide a field crew.
