Copper-brazed or nickel-brazed?

Copper for clean HVAC/refrigeration duties — best price/performance. Nickel for ammonia, deionized water, or media that attack copper, and where higher temperature is needed.

Can a BPHE be cleaned?

Mechanical cleaning is not possible. For mild fouling, CIP (clean-in-place) with a suitable chemical is effective. For heavy fouling services, choose a gasketed or four-side-detachable plate exchanger instead.

What pressure can it hold?

Standard units to 30–45 bar depending on size; specialized constructions are available for CO₂ transcritical systems to 140 bar.

All products

Industrial Heat Exchanger

Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger

Sealed brazed construction without gaskets or bolts — ideal for compact OEM applications, refrigerant evaporators and condensers, and domestic hot water.

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Typical applications

Refrigeration circuits
Heat pump evaporators and condensers
Domestic hot water
Compact OEM equipment

Specified per duty

· Plate / tube material
· Design pressure & temperature
· Connection type and size
· Code and certification

Overview

A Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger (BPHE) is a fully sealed plate-pack assembly in which stainless-steel plates are vacuum-brazed together using a copper or nickel filler. The result is a compact, gasket-free, bolt-free pressure vessel with the thermal performance of a plate exchanger and the pressure integrity of a welded vessel.

Because there are no elastomer gaskets, a BPHE can be specified for higher pressures and lower temperatures than a gasketed unit, making it the standard choice for refrigeration evaporators and condensers, heat-pump systems, oil cooling, and compact OEM equipment.

Copper-brazed units are the workhorse for HVAC and refrigeration duties with clean, non-corrosive media. Nickel-brazed variants are used where copper would be attacked — ammonia systems, deionized water, and certain process chemicals.

Operating Conditions

Design pressure	Up to 4.5 MPa (45 bar) standard; high-pressure versions to 14 MPa (140 bar) for CO₂/R744
Design temperature	−196 °C to +225 °C (copper-brazed); to +400 °C (nickel-brazed, short-term)
Heat transfer area	0.01 – 60 m² per unit
Connection sizes	From ¼" / DN6 up to DN100, threaded, soldered or victaulic
Plate thickness	0.3 – 0.5 mm AISI 316 / 316L

Materials of Construction

Plates	AISI 316 or 316L stainless steel, herringbone pattern
Brazing filler	Copper (HVAC and refrigeration) or nickel (ammonia, deionized water, aggressive media)
Connections	Stainless, carbon steel, or specialized refrigeration fittings

Selection Parameters

Information our engineering team uses to size and quote this unit.

Refrigerant or process medium on each side
Evaporating/condensing temperature and pressure (for refrigeration)
Mass flow rate and required heat duty
Subcooling / superheat requirements
Connection style required by the system (solder, flare, victaulic, threaded)
Whether the duty involves ammonia or demineralized water (drives copper vs. nickel brazing)

RFQ Data Checklist

Send the items below with your inquiry for the fastest accurate quotation.

Application (chiller, heat pump, oil cooler, DHW, etc.)
Refrigerant or medium on each side
Capacity (kW) and operating temperatures
Design / max working pressure on each side
Connection type and orientation required
Quantity and target unit price band

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Industry Cases

Heat-pump evaporator

R32 evaporator for residential and commercial heat-pump systems, copper-brazed 316L, optimised for low refrigerant charge.

Oil cooler on hydraulic power unit

Lube-oil to water cooling on an industrial hydraulic system, compact unit mounted directly on the reservoir.

Domestic hot-water module

Instantaneous DHW production from district heating supply — sized for 60 °C delivery with 80 °C primary.

Ammonia refrigeration

Nickel-brazed BPHE used as economizer on a screw-compressor ammonia plant for industrial cold storage.

Brazed Plate vs Gasketed Plate Heat Exchanger

Both are plate heat exchangers, but the construction drives very different operating windows, service strategies and price points. Use the table below to pick the right one for your duty.

	Brazed Plate (BPHE)	Gasketed Plate (GPHE)
Construction	Vacuum-brazed plate pack — sealed, no gaskets or bolts	Plate pack with peripheral gaskets, clamped between frame plates
Max design pressure	Up to 45 bar standard; 140 bar for CO₂ versions	Typically up to 25 bar
Max design temperature	+225 °C (copper-brazed); +400 °C (nickel-brazed, short-term)	≈ +180 °C, limited by gasket compound
Heat transfer area range	0.01 – 60 m² per unit	0.1 – 2,500 m² per unit
Field serviceability	Not openable — CIP cleaning only, no plate or gasket replacement	Fully openable — inspect every plate, replace gaskets, add/remove plates
Footprint & weight	Most compact option, ideal for OEM packaging	Compact vs shell-and-tube, larger than BPHE for equivalent area
Typical media	Clean refrigerants, water, glycols, oils — no ammonia with copper brazing	Water, glycols, oils, mildly aggressive chemicals (gasket-dependent)
Best-fit duties	Refrigeration evaporators/condensers, heat pumps, oil cooling, DHW modules, OEM chillers	District heating, dairy/food, central HVAC, process cooling, large industrial duties
Relative cost	Lower at small sizes; fixed unit (replace if it fails)	Higher at small sizes; lower lifetime cost on serviceable duties