Coolers

Cooler Information

In operation since 1979, these types of mud cooler units were originally used by contractors such as Impact Drilling and Canadian Marine Drilling. The coolers have operated both onshore and offshore on drill ships. All of our units have been built, refurbished and/or upgraded within the last 15 years and have excellent run-time capability. Some units are of a simple design and operators require minimal knowledge to operate the machinery as they consist of plate Alpha Laval heat exchangers and air cooled radiators.

All fluids are circulated with low pressure centrifugal pumps. Units are stored in the trucking firm’s yard, so they are available 24/7 and are ready to ship immediately. On site installation and hook-up is done by MCII personnel and is accomplished in as little as 2 hours.

The units have not had any incidents while operating and adhere to the highest safety standards.

The heat exchanger is an Alfa Laval AM20 low LMTD (log mean temperature differential) two pass plate type heat exchanger made of titanium alloy to minimize corrosion. The heat exchanger plates are wide spaced to allow passage of fine drilled solids. Cooling is accomplished by circulating ethylene glycol fluid through the coolant side of the heat exchanger.

The low LMTD design of the system allows the drilling fluid to be maintained to within 3-5 degrees centigrade of the cooling medium inlet temperature. The coolant fluid is circulated through a fan coil fluid/ambient air heat exchanger by a centrifugal pump. Temperature is controlled by a thermostat in the cold drilling fluid stream return line that modulates a bypass valve on the fan coil heat exchanger loop.

Drilling Fluid Cooler Results

• Safety – Reduction of Shaker Temperatures creates a Safer Environment for Floor Hands and Mud Engineers who are working with 60 Degree Drilling Fluid
• Drilling Fluid Life – Reduced Temperatures increase the life and overall cost of expensive Oil Based Drilling Fluid
• Directional Tools – Reduced Temperatures increase the life and accuracy of Directional Drilling Equipment