Flexible Shafts
Flexible Shafts are needed to make the connection between the machine and the brush. Furthermore, water can be fed through the mantle of the shaft. This not only provides cooling for the core, but also acts as a flushing effect for the contamination.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between the various types of flexible shafts?
There are 4 types of flexible shafts that Goodway Benelux supplies, below you will find a brief overview of each flexible shaft and where it is used for.
- Standard blue flexible shaft: you always use this type of shaft in combination with a water flush. You can recognize this shaft by the blue outer shaft casing. You can use this shaft for cleaning heat exchanger tubes from 6,4 millimeters and up.
- Standard black flexible shaft: you always use this type of shaft dry, so without a water flush. You can recognize this shaft by the black outer shaft casing. You can use this shaft for dry cleaning of larger fire tubes, production pipes, etc. from 25,4 millimeters and up. This shaft can withstand temperatures up to 149°C.
- RAM-5 blue flexible shaft: you only use this special type of shaft in combination with a RAM-5 tube cleaning system. You can recognize this shaft by the blue outer shaft casing with an extra spring. You can use this shaft for cleaning heat exchanger tubes with the RAM-5 system.
- High temperature flexible shaft: you always use this special type of shaft dry, so without a water flush. You can recognize this shaft by the silver (stainless steel) outer casing. You can use this shaft for dry cleaning of larger fire tubes, production pipes, etc. from 25,4 millimeters and up. This special shaft has been developed to withstand temperatures up to 232°.
2. What is important to pay attention to when choosing the right flexible shaft?
There are many different variations of flexible shafts, this is because each installation has a different internal tube diameter and length. So you have to make sure that the flexible shaft is suitable for the application for which you intend to use it. For example: for an internal tube diameter of 15 millimeters, we recommend a GTC-703 blue shaft. This shaft has an outer diameter of 13,0 millimeters and therefore fits well in the tube. If the tube has a length of 7,5 metres, we recommend taking a length of 10,7 metres. Always choose a longer shaft than the tube length, because you also have to bridge the distance between the machine and the tube plate.
3. Do you have any tips for using thin flexible shafts?
The thinner the flexible shaft, the thinner the core. A thinner core can handle less resistance/stress than a thicker core. It is therefore important to pay close attention to which brushes you connect to thin flexible shafts. If the brush is too big or heavy, it can cause the core to helix and break. So always try to combine the right shaft with the right brush size for a long service life.
4. How do you maintain a (blue) flexible shaft?
After a cleaning/maintenance job, some left over water will always remain inside the blue casing. If this water is not removed, it will cause corrosion and oxidation inside the shaft. This ultimately leads to shafts which cannot be used for the next job and/or have a significantly reduced total lifetime. In this blog you can read how you can easily maintain a blue flexible shaft.