ASTM A213 / ASME SA-213 / ASTM A1016 / EN 10204 3.1
For surface condensers and cooling-water service, Thaida Stainless Steel Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. manufactures stainless steel condenser tubes at its Ban Bueng, Chonburi plant, with quotations handled by our office in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. Every tube is seamless ASTM A213 / ASME SA-213 heat-exchanger tube supplied for condenser duty, from UNS S30400 condenser tube for fresh cooling water to WNR 1.4404 condenser tube where chlorides are present. All five grades belong to our stainless steel seamless tubes range.
Stainless Steel Condenser TubesASTM A213 / ASME SA-213 / ASTM A1016
EN 10204 3.1 certificate / 3.2 on request
The table sets out the envelope we produce for condenser bundles. All five grades share it, so one inquiry can cover a full retubing package, with each item fixed by grade, outside diameter, wall and cut length.
Each stainless steel condenser tube we supply is made to ASTM A213 as heat-exchanger tube and put into condenser service; ASME SA-213 is the related specification used for boiler and pressure vessel code work. A213 requires the seamless process, delivery in the heat-treated condition and pickling free of scale unless the tube is bright annealed. Most dimensional tolerances and the test methods come from ASTM A1016, the general requirements specification behind A213, while average-wall tolerances are set in A213 itself.
Condenser tubing is ordered by its actual outside diameter and wall thickness, never by NPS and schedule, and the wall can be stated either as a minimum or as an average figure.
Outside diameter tolerances follow ASTM A1016 and are set by OD band. For cold-finished seamless austenitic tubes under 2 in. (50.8 mm) OD, A1016 also limits how far the largest and smallest diameters at any cross section may depart from nominal. That roundness check matters in a condenser, because each tube end is expanded into a drilled tube-sheet hole, and A213 requires tubes inserted in a tube sheet to stand expanding and beading without showing cracks or flaws.
A product analysis is taken from each heat, and every lot is sampled for tension, hardness, flattening and flaring tests, on top of the hydrostatic or nondestructive electric test applied to each stainless steel condenser tube. Results go onto an EN 10204 3.1 (3.2 on request) certificate tied to the heat number, and third-party inspection is available on request.
Two A213 supplementary requirements suit chloride-bearing cooling water and apply only when specified on the order. S1 provides stress-relieved annealed tubes for service where chloride stress corrosion may occur; among our condenser grades it covers TP304L and TP316L. S4 adds an intergranular corrosion test.
Our condenser tube stainless steel range covers five grades, and cooling-water chemistry decides between them. Fresh water generally suits the chromium-nickel grades, chloride-bearing water calls for molybdenum, and acidic or strongly chloride-laden media lead to the high-alloy nickel-molybdenum-copper grade.
TP304 is the basic chromium-nickel austenitic grade, with good weldability and general corrosion resistance in fresh cooling water. UNS S30400 condenser tube can pit once chlorides enter the water. Drawings with European numbering call it WNR 1.4301 condenser tube; full grade data sits with our stainless steel 304 seamless tubes.
TP304L lowers the carbon level of 304, which reduces sensitization in the heat-affected zone where tube ends are welded to the tube sheet. That makes it the fresh-water choice for condensers built with welded joints rather than expanded-only joints. Composition, strength and sizes for TP304L seamless tubes appear on the grade page.
Molybdenum separates TP316 from 304, improving resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in chloride-bearing water, seawater included. A213 sets the same minimum strength for TP316 as for TP304, so the reason to step up is corrosion resistance. Tube sizes and grade data for stainless steel 316 seamless tubes are on their own page.
TP316L combines molybdenum with low carbon, so it resists chloride pitting and reduces sensitization where tube ends are welded. That pairing makes UNS S31603 condenser tube the usual specification for chloride cooling water. European lists name it WNR 1.4404 condenser tube, and our 316L seamless tube page gives full grade data.
A213 lists 904L by UNS number only. Nickel, molybdenum and copper on a low-carbon base resist reducing acids and chloride pitting, and UNS N08904 condenser tube serves power-plant and coastal condensers. European drawings call it WNR 1.4539 condenser tube; grade data is on our UNS N08904 seamless tubes page.
Our condenser tubing is produced from 6.35 to 257 mm OD and 0.89 to 12.7 mm wall, supplied as straight tube cut to the ordered length, up to 22 m. Within that envelope the OD and wall follow your datasheet rather than a fixed size list, so a retubing order can repeat the original bundle dimensions. For each SS condenser tube size, give the number of tubes and the length between tube-sheet faces.
Tubing from our mill goes wherever steam, gas or process liquid is cooled by water across a tube wall. Exchanger duty outside condensing is covered by our stainless steel heat exchanger tubes.
In power plants, turbine exhaust steam condenses on the outside of the tube bundle while cooling water runs through the bore, so the tube grade is chosen for the cooling-water side.
Chemical and petrochemical plants cool process liquids in shell-and-tube exchangers, and the tube grade has to suit the process fluid on one side and the cooling water on the other.
Refineries and offshore platforms cool gases and liquids in tubular coolers, including compressor and turbine coolers. Where the cooling medium carries chlorides, TP316L is the starting grade for the bundle.
Water-cooled chillers and industrial refrigeration plants reject heat through condensers, where the refrigerant condenses on one side of the tube wall and cooling water carries the heat away.
Thermal desalination plants condense steam against seawater, so the tube faces chlorides on the water side, and we put forward TP316L or WNR 1.4539 condenser tube for this duty.
Bundling
Tubes grouped by grade, size and heat, wrapped against moisture and dust, and crated in timber for ocean freight.
Identification
Each ASTM A213 condenser tube carries our name, the specification, grade, finishing condition and wall basis, stenciled on the tube or, for small diameters, on a tag fixed to the bundle.
Bore protection
Plastic caps on both ends of every tube keep the bore clean until the tube goes into the tube sheet.
Cut length
Every tube trimmed and deburred to the ordered length before packing.
Commercial basis
FOB, CIF or CFR, agreed in the order confirmation.
Delivery reach
By truck to sites across Thailand, and in export containers to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.
Tubes are pierced, drawn, heat treated and tested at our factory, 154 Moo.1 Map Phai, Ban Bueng, Chonburi 20170, Thailand. Drawings, quotations and certificates are handled by our office at 89/18 Moo.15 Enterprize Park, Bangna-Trad Road, Bang Kaeo, Bang Phli, Samut Prakan 10540, Thailand. Each quotation states the production schedule and the test plan for every grade of condenser tube stainless steel on the order.
TP316L is the usual starting point, ordered as UNS S31603 condenser tube. Where chloride stress corrosion is a risk, add A213 Supplementary Requirement S1: the stress-relief anneal follows roll straightening, and the tubes are not mechanically straightened afterwards. For fresh water low in chlorides, WNR 1.4301 condenser tube in TP304 usually does the job with less alloy.
Order on the basis your design calculation used. A minimum-wall order carries no under-tolerance, so no tube is thinner than the stated wall, while an average-wall order allows variation either side of the nominal figure. If the order is silent, A213 applies minimum wall, and the wall basis is part of the tube marking.
Send the tube-sheet hole diameter together with the OD, wall and wall basis of the original tubes. The A1016 diameter and wall tolerances apply to the tube before expanding, so matching the tube to the hole is settled at quotation, before production starts.
Each tube is tested individually, by hydrostatic test or by eddy current or ultrasonic examination; the method is our choice unless your order names one. Only the lot tests for tension, hardness, flattening and flaring, plus the product analysis per heat, are sampled. If your specification requires electric examination, state it on the order; the certificate records the method used.
Up to 22 m in a single straight length, so long surface condensers can be tubed without joints between the tube sheets. Order the exact cut length you need: A1016 length tolerances are plus-only, so no tube arrives shorter than the ordered figure.
Yes, as A213 Supplementary Requirement S4, performed when it is specified on the order. It demonstrates that the tubes were cooled fast enough after solution treatment to prevent carbides from re-precipitating at the grain boundaries. Results are reported on the EN 10204 3.1 (3.2 on request) certificate.
Yes. A213 allows the tubes to be bright annealed, in which case no pickling is needed to remove scale. A smooth bore helps the tube resist fouling and scaling on the cooling-water side. Name the surface condition on your inquiry; otherwise tubes are supplied pickled free of scale.
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