Plate Refurbishment

DraCool-USA currently provides plate refurbishment services from both our Pennsylvania and Ohio facilities. Plate refurbishment includes cleaning, dye penetration testing, re-gasketing and heat curing of all plate packs. Our standard turnaround for plate pack refurbishment is 10-12 working days. We also offer expedited “Quick turnaround” service for customers with emergency repairs or limited down time.

THE REFURBISHMENT PROCESS

  1. Plates arrive at DraCool-USA dirty and clogged. They are received and logged prior to processing.
  2. Our non-abrasive cleaning process restores your plates by removing product buildup and water deposits.
  3. Between each step of our cleaning process the plates are power washed with hot water in our professionally designed plate washing facilities.
  4. Once the plates are clean they are checked and validated to be free of defects. Every plate is tested with a fluorescent penetrant method to ensure there are no cracks or pinholes. Early detection of plate defects eliminates cross contamination concerns and saves you costly downtime.
  5. Once plates are cleaned and validated, new gaskets are installed. For most plate packs the gaskets are installed on the plates using a variety of adhesives. Then the plates are heat cured (baked) at over 300 degrees in our large ovens. This process ensures a solid bond between the gasket and plate and a much better seal when your plate pack is installed.
  6. Plates are then inspected and packaged for return to the customer.
    In some cases the customer sends the entire heat exchanger to us for service.