Efficiency Research & Development
Corrosion Resistance Begins With The Manufacturing Process.
Trane manufactures Spine Fin® on patented high-speed machines that cut, form and wrap aluminum fin stock around aluminum tubing. The tubing rises through a colored adhesive bath in the center of the machine, which coats the tube. Tension rollers wrap the ribbons tightly to the tube using the bonded adhesive. A seam of the adhesive extrudes between the fin wraps, which not only locks the fin stock on the tube, but also forms a protective barrier against moisture and contaminants, minimizing corrosion.
The Spine Fin® Difference: A Protective Cabinet And A Cleanable Design.
A Protective Cabinet Prevents Damage.
The outdoor coil in an air conditioner or heat pump can easily get damaged in a backyard environment. Lawn equipment, damaging hail, even baseballs, sticks and tree limbs can all add years of wear and tear to a heat exchanger. Trane’s protective cabinet design prevents coil damage by encasing the heat exchanger in heavy gauge steel louvered panels. These panels allow air to pass through the cabinet, but seal out dangerous external elements.
Ease Of Cleaning A Definite Plus.
One of Spine Fin’s strengths is that because of its design, any potential surface loading and clogging – when and if it occurs – is insignificant to its performance. First of all, its large surface area permits more airflow volume at a lower velocity. This lower velocity means that fewer solids, such as dirt, grass clippings or leaves are picked up in the airstream, which reduces the possibility of normal dirt build-up.
If dirt build-up does occur, the thousands of leading edges of Spine Fin® distribute the dirt and debris throughout the depth of the coil. Airflow and heat transfer are maintained. When required, Spine Fin® coils can be easily cleaned with a reverse flow of low velocity water.
The Spine Fin® Difference: Continuous Research And Development.
Perfecting The Process.
Spine Fin® is the product of extensive research – research that has been conducted over the course of 75 years, dating back to 1927, when the first compilation of the laws and data on heat transfer began. Over the years, third-party testing continues to show that all-aluminum heat exchangers are not only more thermally efficient than all-copper or copper/aluminum heat exchangers, but they’re also much more resistant to corrosion.
Most recently, a study conducted at the Ray Herrick Laboratories of Purdue University in 2001,* showed that a typical system’s efficiency degrades twice as much with enhanced plate fin versus Spine Fin® when a three to four-year buildup of graded dust is present. Even in the event that Spine Fin® is loaded with more particulate than enhanced plate fin, more system efficiency is retained with Spine Fin.® This study proves the fact that surface loading and clogging are not typical to Spine Fin.®
U.S. Navy Research Testimony
In a corrosive environment (coastal or urban), heat exchanger performance can degrade quite rapidly. According to an unbiased study performed by the United States Navy Civil Engineering Laboratory, Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, California, evidence of the fact, and support of all-aluminum coils in such environments is presented. Technical Report #N-1560 observes that after 24 months, aluminum tube/aluminum fin, heat exchangers are performing 32% better than copper tube/aluminum fin units. One conclusion of this research was that “uncoated aluminum tube/aluminum fin heat exchangers are more thermally efficient than either the uncoated copper tube/aluminum fin heat exchangers after two-years of operation in a temperate marine environment.”
The recent development of Trane’s woven coil technology takes the success of Spine Fin® one step further. Its increased surface area offers an even greater prevention of dirt build-up, providing superior longterm efficiency and effectiveness against the environment outdoors.
