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Faster On The Shell Side

Shell Side Cleaning: Where Traditional Methods Fall Short

Getting the shell side of a badly fouled heat exchanger truly clean - we’re talking bare metal clean - is a tall order. Our clients tell us the same story again and again: traditional hydroblasting just doesn’t cut it. Even after hours (or days!) of blasting, bundles come back with less than 80% of their heat recovery performance.

Why? Because the real problem is the outer diameter of the tubes - the "shell side" - where hydrocarbon sludge loves to hide. And here’s the dirty secret: hydroblasting can’t reach it. The inner rows are protected by outer ones, and by the time a water jet even gets close, it’s lost most of its power. The result? You’re just pushing gunk around - not removing it.

A heat exchanger gets a thorough tube side cleaning with a high-pressure water jet.

During turnarounds, cleaning often ends when the clock runs out - not when the bundle is actually clean.

Enter Tech Sonic.
Our ultrasonic cleaning method combines deep-penetrating sound waves with warm bath chemistry to break up and rinse out even the most stubborn fouling - from the outside in. The result? Bare metal. True restoration. Like-new performance.

And when we deploy our Shell Side Robot, it gets even better. Fully automated, precision-controlled, and integrated with cutting-edge hydroblasting, it delivers faster, more consistent, proven results every time.

So, how much faster is Tech Sonic?
It’s not even close.

We often hit better-than-75% clean performance within the first hour. But we don’t stop there. Our standard target is 95% or better—something hydroblasting simply can’t do, no matter how long you blast.

In most cases, we fully clean two bundles in 1- 4 hours, depending on size and fouling. Compared to hydroblasting, that’s…

✅ Twice as fast, if we’re being conservative
✅ Infinitely faster, if your goal is full restoration

 

Our clients say it best:

“Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning is at least twice as fast as conventional methods.”

 

Faster On The Shell Side

Faster On The Tube Side

Tube-Side Cleaning, Reinvented.

Cleaning the inside diameter (ID or "tube side") of a heat exchanger bundle is usually a slow, exhausting process. Traditional methods - like hydroblasting at 20,000+ psi - use rigid or flexible lances to blast each tube one at a time. Sometimes brushes, drills, or darts are used, but the process is always the same: one tube, one pass, one long shift (or more) per bundle.

 A worker in a yellow hazmat suit is hydroblasting a large heat exchanger for tube side cleaning in an industrial setting A worker in a control booth oversees a heat exchanger being cleaned with high-pressure water jets.

Tech Sonic changes everything.
Our ultrasonic cleaning technology slashes cleaning time and boosts performance by doing what hydroblasting can’t:

🔧 5 Ways Tech Sonic Cleans Tubes Faster and Better:

1. Pre-Loosened Fouling
Our ultrasonic bath and chemistry weaken or dissolve fouling before jetting starts - making the water blasting (if needed at all) dramatically faster

2. No Lancing Needed
In many cases, fouling is fully removed or loosened in the ultrasonic bath. A simple rinse is all that’s needed. That means no lancing. No slowdowns. Just clean

3. Automated Tube Lancing
When mechanical lancing is required, our robotic lancing systems crush manual speeds - delivering consistent, precise, full-coverage cleaning performance every time

4. Inspection-Ready, The First Time
One of the biggest time-killers in a turnaround? Re-cleaning after failed inspections. If tubes aren’t spotless, inspectors send the bundle back
Not with Tech Sonic. Our ultrasonic process ensures tube cleaning results are inspection-ready from the start, saving critical path time and eliminating rework

5. Repeatable, Reliable Speed
Every step of our process is optimized to eliminate bottlenecks. Better cleaning performance, less downtime, faster turnarounds and proven results.

Inside a heat exchanger tube, rust and deposits coat the walls. A small light reveals the heavy fouling, signaling a need for cleaning.

So, How Much Faster Does Tech Sonic Clean Heat Exchangers?
When you stack all these advantages, the numbers speak for themselves. Our customers know:

“Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning is at least twice as fast as conventional methods.”

Faster On The Tube Side

Inspection-Ready - The First Time

A heat exchanger’s tube sheet, marked with A worker in gloves marks a heat exchanger’s tube sheet with chalk during tube side cleaning preparation.

Inspection Delays Are Killing Your Schedule.

Eddy Current. IRIS. No matter the method, if the inside of the tubes aren’t spotless, your inspection can’t move forward. And when bundles get kicked back for re-cleaning, your entire washpad timeline takes a hit.

Our customers tell us that with traditional hydroblasting, 25–50% of bundles get rejected by inspectors and sent back for more cleaning.

That’s not just a hassle—it’s a schedule risk.

What if your bundles were inspection-ready the first time, every time?

With Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning, we take tubes down to bare metal. The result?
✅ No missed spots
✅ No do-overs
Zero returns to the washpad

In 2023–24 alone, we cleaned over 1,500 bundles - both in the field and at our offsite facility.
Not a single one needed to be re-cleaned for inspection.

That’s 100% inspection-ready cleaning success.

 

Zero rework. Zero delays.

Inspection-Ready - The First Time

Faster Parts Cleaning

A pile of scrapped industrial equipment, including heat exchangers, sits in a junkyard.

Stop Scrapping to Save Time. Start Cleaning.

Valves. Internals. Shields. Spools. Fittings. Fasteners.
These fouled parts pile up fast during a turnaround - and most never get cleaned. Why? Because hydroblasting them is dangerous, slow, and almost always ineffective.

So what happens?
They get scrapped as hazardous waste, creating environmental liability, and costing millions in replacement parts - and even more in delays when replacements aren't available in time.

Some components, like structured packings, are too fragile or complex for traditional methods. If they foul, you’re stuck waiting on supply chains or rushing emergency orders just to stay on schedule.

Here’s where Tech Sonic flips the script:

We don’t blast - we restore. Using ultrasound + rinsing, our process cleans parts safely, effectively, and in bulk, without the risk or downtime of manual hydroblasting.

Why is Tech Sonic faster and better for parts cleaning?

Here’s how we do it:

A column tray with clean, shiny metal plates, showcasing proven results, lies on a concrete surface.

We Bulk Clean Small Parts
Fittings, bolts, valves - no more wasting hours manually blasting each one. We clean them all at once with a gentle rinse after ultrasonic treatment. Fast, safe, and clean.

 

A structured packing, wrapped with metal mesh, displays a clean, shiny surface after cleaning, backed by Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic guarantee.

Handle Fragile, Complex Parts with Ease
Parts that hydroblasting would destroy? No problem. Our method restores delicate components without damage—eliminating costly replacements and schedule risk.

 

A metal bin filled with various industrial valves, tagged for cleaning performance evaluation

Send Clean Parts for Repair or Inspection—Faster
Dirty parts slow down maintenance teams. Clean parts speed things up. With Tech Sonic, parts go straight from cleaning to repair - no waiting, no backlogs.

Faster Parts Cleaning
Read Next:

Shell Side Cleaning: Where Traditional Methods Fall Short

Getting the shell side of a badly fouled heat exchanger truly clean - we’re talking bare metal clean - is a tall order. Our clients tell us the same story again and again: traditional hydroblasting just doesn’t cut it. Even after hours (or days!) of blasting, bundles come back with less than 80% of their heat recovery performance.

Why? Because the real problem is the outer diameter of the tubes - the "shell side" - where hydrocarbon sludge loves to hide. And here’s the dirty secret: hydroblasting can’t reach it. The inner rows are protected by outer ones, and by the time a water jet even gets close, it’s lost most of its power. The result? You’re just pushing gunk around - not removing it.

A heat exchanger gets a thorough tube side cleaning with a high-pressure water jet.

During turnarounds, cleaning often ends when the clock runs out - not when the bundle is actually clean.

Enter Tech Sonic.
Our ultrasonic cleaning method combines deep-penetrating sound waves with warm bath chemistry to break up and rinse out even the most stubborn fouling - from the outside in. The result? Bare metal. True restoration. Like-new performance.

And when we deploy our Shell Side Robot, it gets even better. Fully automated, precision-controlled, and integrated with cutting-edge hydroblasting, it delivers faster, more consistent, proven results every time.

So, how much faster is Tech Sonic?
It’s not even close.

We often hit better-than-75% clean performance within the first hour. But we don’t stop there. Our standard target is 95% or better—something hydroblasting simply can’t do, no matter how long you blast.

In most cases, we fully clean two bundles in 1- 4 hours, depending on size and fouling. Compared to hydroblasting, that’s…

✅ Twice as fast, if we’re being conservative
✅ Infinitely faster, if your goal is full restoration

 

Our clients say it best:

“Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning is at least twice as fast as conventional methods.”

 

Tube-Side Cleaning, Reinvented.

Cleaning the inside diameter (ID or "tube side") of a heat exchanger bundle is usually a slow, exhausting process. Traditional methods - like hydroblasting at 20,000+ psi - use rigid or flexible lances to blast each tube one at a time. Sometimes brushes, drills, or darts are used, but the process is always the same: one tube, one pass, one long shift (or more) per bundle.

 A worker in a yellow hazmat suit is hydroblasting a large heat exchanger for tube side cleaning in an industrial setting A worker in a control booth oversees a heat exchanger being cleaned with high-pressure water jets.

Tech Sonic changes everything.
Our ultrasonic cleaning technology slashes cleaning time and boosts performance by doing what hydroblasting can’t:

🔧 5 Ways Tech Sonic Cleans Tubes Faster and Better:

1. Pre-Loosened Fouling
Our ultrasonic bath and chemistry weaken or dissolve fouling before jetting starts - making the water blasting (if needed at all) dramatically faster

2. No Lancing Needed
In many cases, fouling is fully removed or loosened in the ultrasonic bath. A simple rinse is all that’s needed. That means no lancing. No slowdowns. Just clean

3. Automated Tube Lancing
When mechanical lancing is required, our robotic lancing systems crush manual speeds - delivering consistent, precise, full-coverage cleaning performance every time

4. Inspection-Ready, The First Time
One of the biggest time-killers in a turnaround? Re-cleaning after failed inspections. If tubes aren’t spotless, inspectors send the bundle back
Not with Tech Sonic. Our ultrasonic process ensures tube cleaning results are inspection-ready from the start, saving critical path time and eliminating rework

5. Repeatable, Reliable Speed
Every step of our process is optimized to eliminate bottlenecks. Better cleaning performance, less downtime, faster turnarounds and proven results.

Inside a heat exchanger tube, rust and deposits coat the walls. A small light reveals the heavy fouling, signaling a need for cleaning.

So, How Much Faster Does Tech Sonic Clean Heat Exchangers?
When you stack all these advantages, the numbers speak for themselves. Our customers know:

“Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning is at least twice as fast as conventional methods.”

A heat exchanger’s tube sheet, marked with A worker in gloves marks a heat exchanger’s tube sheet with chalk during tube side cleaning preparation.

Inspection Delays Are Killing Your Schedule.

Eddy Current. IRIS. No matter the method, if the inside of the tubes aren’t spotless, your inspection can’t move forward. And when bundles get kicked back for re-cleaning, your entire washpad timeline takes a hit.

Our customers tell us that with traditional hydroblasting, 25–50% of bundles get rejected by inspectors and sent back for more cleaning.

That’s not just a hassle—it’s a schedule risk.

What if your bundles were inspection-ready the first time, every time?

With Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic cleaning, we take tubes down to bare metal. The result?
✅ No missed spots
✅ No do-overs
Zero returns to the washpad

In 2023–24 alone, we cleaned over 1,500 bundles - both in the field and at our offsite facility.
Not a single one needed to be re-cleaned for inspection.

That’s 100% inspection-ready cleaning success.

 

Zero rework. Zero delays.

A pile of scrapped industrial equipment, including heat exchangers, sits in a junkyard.

Stop Scrapping to Save Time. Start Cleaning.

Valves. Internals. Shields. Spools. Fittings. Fasteners.
These fouled parts pile up fast during a turnaround - and most never get cleaned. Why? Because hydroblasting them is dangerous, slow, and almost always ineffective.

So what happens?
They get scrapped as hazardous waste, creating environmental liability, and costing millions in replacement parts - and even more in delays when replacements aren't available in time.

Some components, like structured packings, are too fragile or complex for traditional methods. If they foul, you’re stuck waiting on supply chains or rushing emergency orders just to stay on schedule.

Here’s where Tech Sonic flips the script:

We don’t blast - we restore. Using ultrasound + rinsing, our process cleans parts safely, effectively, and in bulk, without the risk or downtime of manual hydroblasting.

Why is Tech Sonic faster and better for parts cleaning?

Here’s how we do it:

A column tray with clean, shiny metal plates, showcasing proven results, lies on a concrete surface.

We Bulk Clean Small Parts
Fittings, bolts, valves - no more wasting hours manually blasting each one. We clean them all at once with a gentle rinse after ultrasonic treatment. Fast, safe, and clean.

 

A structured packing, wrapped with metal mesh, displays a clean, shiny surface after cleaning, backed by Tech Sonic’s ultrasonic guarantee.

Handle Fragile, Complex Parts with Ease
Parts that hydroblasting would destroy? No problem. Our method restores delicate components without damage—eliminating costly replacements and schedule risk.

 

A metal bin filled with various industrial valves, tagged for cleaning performance evaluation

Send Clean Parts for Repair or Inspection—Faster
Dirty parts slow down maintenance teams. Clean parts speed things up. With Tech Sonic, parts go straight from cleaning to repair - no waiting, no backlogs.