Heat Exchanger Moved with Hydra-Slide

Hill Crane & Rigging (HCR) used a 500-ton capacity heavy-track HT500 hydraulic skidding system from Hydra-Slide to change-out a stacked heat exchanger at a Carson refinery in its home state of California, USA recently.

HCR accepted a scope of work that covered the emergency removal of a 260,000-lb. (117.9t) stacked heat exchanger and its replacement with a new 279,000-lb. (126.5t) unit. The principle complications were caused by major obstructions onsite, a tight schedule, and project delays inherited from other contractors. The HT500, engineered 100-ton capacity modular support stands, and Hydra-Pac synchronous hydraulic power unit, all from Hydra-Slide, were selected for the task alongside additional equipment from HCR’s diverse fleet.

The full scope of work included transportation of the old exchanger to its manufacturer, transportation of the new 27 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft. (8.38m by 2.28m by 4.57m) exchanger to the refinery, and final installation in the same position as the original. HCR also employed a 500-ton capacity Enerpac gantry to load and offload the exchangers on a dual lane, eight-line trailer. The project took five days to complete and was delivered on schedule.

Featured Title photgraph HCR crew keep a watchful eye on the push/pull cylinders during the slide.

Obstructions and restricted access presented challenges onsite.

Both heat exchangers weighed in excess of 250,000 lbs. (>113t)  Shown here loaded on the HT500 system and engineered 100-ton modular support stands.

HCR utilized a 59-8-8P Hydra-Pac synchronous hydraulic power unit to operate the HT500 system.

Source Hydra-Slide