Free Case Study: discover how a purpose-built access solution solved a long-standing maintenance challenge.
CASE STUDY
How Do You Clean and Inspect a Fired Heater You Can't Get Into?
Overcoming Maintenance Challenges in Common-Header Fired Heaters Using a Header Bypass System
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Common-header fired heaters present a problem that has no good traditional answer. Smaller process tubes branch off large-diameter inlet and outlet manifolds, but without dedicated launch and receive points on each pass, cleaning and inspection pigs simply can't get in. The usual fix is to remove the header and install flanged connections, which is costly, time-consuming and adds new joints that increase the risk of failure.
In this case study, we share how Cokebusters' purpose-built Header Bypass System solved exactly this problem on a gasoline platformer heater and what 56 inspected arbour coils revealed about the condition of the asset.
What You'll Learn
- Why common-header fired heaters have traditionally forced a choice between costly modification and deferred maintenance
- How the Header Bypass System couples directly to individual passes, enabling pigging from outside the processing unit without removing or modifying the header
- How fouling was identified, confirmed and resolved mid-project using real-time wall thickness and internal radius data
- The project's full results: how many of 56 inspected coils contained defects below the client's minimum wall thickness threshold, and the severity of the most significant finding
- Why delivering cleaning, inspection and access technology through a single contractor removed handover risk and shortened the reporting window