Temp-Plate® Inflated Heat Transfer Products

Did you know that pillow plate technology was invented by Paul Mueller himself in 1969? He developed it to solve a reliability issue with refrigerant evaporators in the company’s flagship product, the Bulk Milk Cooler. This groundbreaking innovation, which was patented, gave the Paul Mueller Company a significant competitive advantage. Over time, manufacturers worldwide have sought to replicate this pioneering design, a testament to its lasting impact on the industry.

Temp-Plate is Paul Mueller Company's proprietary brand name for its inflated heat transfer surface, commonly known as a pillow plate. This innovative and highly efficient technology has been widely used across industries for decades, playing a crucial role in thousands of products and applications worldwide.

Temp-Plate can be used as direct immersion, clamp-on, or integrated heat transfer surfaces, but its applications are practically limitless. With over 50 years of expertise in the design, development, and manufacturing of inflated pillow plates, our team is equipped to make Temp-Plate an essential part of your system's ongoing success.

How is Temp-Plate Manufactured? 

Temp-Plate is manufactured by spot welding two sheets of material together with our highly efficient spot welding machines or by laser welding equipment. The panel is then continuously seam-welded around the outer perimeter edges. This creates a pressure-retaining boundary where the panels are inflated to form internal channels for the heating or cooling medium to flow through. Finally, fittings are installed as specified by your needs and the panels are hydrotested and inspected to ASME code standards to ensure you receive a top quality product. 

If two sheets of the same thickness are used, both sheets will become inflated, thus creating a double-embossed panel. This panel type is most effective when both sides of the panel are used as an effective heat transfer surface area. 
When one sheet is significantly thicker than the other, the inflation process creates a single-embossed panel. This design is great when a smooth side of the plate is needed, like for integrating into tank walls or as troughs/pans for the food industry.

Benefits of Inflated Heat Transfer:

• Automated welding equipment reduces welding costs by providing fast, precise, and energy-efficient welding, minimizing material waste and labor time
• Thinner materials can be used while maintaining a high pressure retaining capability
• Unlike gasketed or shell-and-tube heat exchangers, a process circulating pump is not required
• The inflated design inherently introduces turbulence to the heating or cooling media thus providing higher heat transfer efficiencies at lower flow rates
• Lower heating or cooling media volumes are needed to be pumped through the jacket compared to traditional dimple jacketing, thus saving you money on pump expenses
• Highly versatile design that can be formed to nearly any shape or size
• Fully welded assembly, no need for gaskets or parts replacement

Applications/Industries:

The applications that Temp-Plate can be used in are practically endless. The list below is just to name a few. If you have a heating or cooling need, our team of dedicated engineers are ready to help design a solution for you. Check out some of our other related product pages for more in depth information on how Temp-Plate can be used.

• Direct immersion for plating/anodizing tanks
• Clamp-on jackets to retrofit virtually any tank with heating or cooling
• Integrated single-embossed shell sections for tank fabrication
• Heating troughs/pans integrated into food, chemical, or waste processing equipment
• Energy recovery systems so waste heat can be recycled back into your process

Specifications:

Material Types

• Austenitic stainless steels (304/304L, 316/316L, AL6XN, 254 SMO)
• Carbon steel (SA-1008)
• Duplex materials (2205)
• Nickel alloys (Nickel 200, Hastelloy C276 or C22, Alloy 20, Alloy 625)
• Titanium

Material Thickness

Below are the commonly used material thickness combinations available for Temp-Plate. If there is a specific combination that would be required for your application, please reach out to our engineering and sales team as we are always ready to design something new to fit your specific needs.

Double Embossed:

• 20GA / 20GA
• 18GA / 18GA
• 16GA / 16GA
• 14GA / 14GA
• 12GA / 12GA
• 10GA / 10GA

Single Embossed:

• 20GA, or 18GA on 12GA
• 20GA, 18GA, or 16 GA on 10GA
• 18GA, or 16GA on 7GA
• 16GA on 1/4”*
• 16GA, or 14GA on 5/16”*
• 16GA on 3/8”*
• 16GA on 1/2”*

*Underlined combinations are available only as laser welded sections 

Panel Sizes

Depending on material type and thicknesses, a single Temp-Plate panel can be fabricated in sizes up to 60” x 240”. Based on material type and application, special sizes can be supplied. 

Heating or Cooling Mediums

Temp-Plate can be used with a wide range of heating or cooling media based on the utilities you have available. For heating, steam, hot water, ethylene or propylene glycol or heat transfer oils are the common fluids.  For cooling, chilled water, glycol, or direct expansion refrigerants are the common fluids.

Surface/Weld Finishes & Coatings

As a leading manufacturer of stainless steel vessels, we have extensive expertise in delivering high-quality solutions tailored to your specific requirements. Our deep understanding of surface and material finishes allows us to meet your exacting standards for Temp-Plate heat transfer surfaces in the integration of your vessel.

• Wide range of surface finishes available
• Electropolished
• Passivated
• Foul Free 100 coating

Design Pressure and Temperatures

As a standard, Temp-Plate is ASME code rated to a 150psi design pressure at 400F / -20F. For high-pressure applications, Temp-Plate can withstand pressures exceeding 2,000 psi.

Qualifications/Certifications

• ASME code ‘UM’ or ‘U’ stamp
• CRN
• PED