Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-10-08 Origin: Site
Every gas compressor station must remove the heat of compression before the gas re-enters the pipeline or the next stage, and most stations have no cooling water — so the job falls to air cooled heat exchangers. The plug header (plug type) construction is the standard for this duty because compressor discharge is a high-pressure service: the welded rectangular box header with a threaded plug opposite each tube carries pipeline pressures that a bolted cover plate cannot, while still allowing every tube to be inspected and cleaned from the header face. CSTHEATEXCHANGER manufactures plug header air coolers for compressor stations as single bays or multi-bay banks, with separate sections for discharge gas, interstage gas, lube oil and engine or motor jacket water on one structure, built to the compressor vendor's heat-rejection data and the station layout.
Also searched as: plug header air cooled heat exchanger, plug header air cooler, plug header fin fan cooler, plug type air cooled heat exchanger, plug type air cooler and plug type fin fan cooler for gas compressor stations. All six terms describe the same CSTHEATEXCHANGER product: a finned-tube air cooler with welded box headers and a removable plug opposite every tube.
Service | Fluid | Typical requirement |
|---|---|---|
Discharge (after) cooler | Natural gas at pipeline pressure | Cool compressed gas to pipeline temperature limit (protects coating, keeps density up); high design pressure |
Interstage cooler | Gas between compression stages | Reduce temperature before next stage to cut power and protect the machine |
Lube oil cooler | Compressor / driver lubricating oil | Hold oil supply temperature; moderate pressure, viscous fluid |
Jacket water / glycol cooler | Engine coolant or motor cooling water | Reject driver heat; glycol for freeze protection |
Fuel gas heater / cooler | Fuel gas | Where required by the driver |
A single plug header air cooler structure commonly carries two or more of these as separate tube sections sharing the same fans — one footprint, one fan drive, several duties.
Station condition | Plug header advantage |
|---|---|
High discharge pressure | Welded box header with plugged tube holes is the strongest header style for high-pressure gas; wall thickness and plug design follow the design code |
Remote, unmanned sites | Each tube can be inspected or plugged by a two-person crew with hand tools — no bundle lift |
Gas may carry liquids, compressor oil, pipeline debris | Rod or lance tubes from the header face |
Pulsating flow (reciprocating compressors) | Welded construction resists fatigue better than gasketed covers |
Wide ambient range (summer heat, winter freeze) | Auto-variable-pitch or VFD fans, louvres and recirculation for winter; glycol in water sections |
Hazardous area | Explosion-proof fan motors; non-sparking components |
Element | Specification |
|---|---|
Gas-section tubes | Seamless carbon steel or low-alloy, wall thickness to design pressure; stainless where gas is sour or wet |
Oil / water section tubes | Carbon steel or stainless; copper where water chemistry permits |
Fins | Aluminium, embedded or extruded type by tube-wall temperature; coated for corrosive sites |
Headers | Plug type welded rectangular box; threaded shoulder plugs with gaskets; nozzles to pipeline flange class |
Fans | Axial, forced or induced draft; explosion-proof motors; VFD or auto-variable pitch for temperature control across seasons |
Structure | Galvanized or painted steel; multi-bay banks with common walkways; shipped as pre-assembled modules where transport allows |
Winterisation | Louvres, recirculation plenum, steam or electric heating coils where specified |
Testing | Hydrostatic test to code; dimensional and nozzle-position check against approved drawing |
Our dry cooler and generator cooling skid lines already handle the jacket-water and lube-oil duties for gensets and engines; the compressor station plug header air cooler adds the high-pressure gas sections on the same structure.
Compressor vendor heat-rejection data per service (gas, oil, water): flow, inlet/outlet temperature, allowable pressure drop
Gas composition, design pressure and temperature, design code, flange class
Site design ambient (summer high, winter low), altitude, hazardous-area class
Plot plan, forced/induced draft preference, noise limit, transport route
Control philosophy (VFD, variable pitch, louvres)
Cover plate headers are limited to low pressure; compressor discharge is high pressure, so plug header is the standard.
Yes — separate tube sections with their own headers and nozzles on a common structure and fan set.
Variable-speed or variable-pitch fans, louvres, recirculation plenums and glycol in water circuits; we design for the site's minimum temperature.
Yes. Remove the plugs at both ends, insert tube plugs, refit header plugs — the cooler continues at reduced capacity.
Yes. Send header drawings and nozzle positions; we match the existing structure.
Send CSTHEATEXCHANGER the compressor heat-rejection data, gas conditions and site information. We will size the plug header air cooled heat exchanger — all sections — and return drawings for approval before manufacture.
Email: info@cstheatexchanger.com
International business: +86 0519 8878 2189
Website: https://www.cstheatexchanger.com/
CSTHEATEXCHANGER — plug type fin fan coolers that take the heat of compression out, bay by bay.
