Full-bore, full temperature
Unlike a length of pipe the shell has no gradient worth speaking of. Shell, heads and drain leg all sit at line temperature.
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Dirt separator1.6 kWbare81 Winsulated94.7 %less
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Inzonex Modular Insulation · Hot-water skid
Dirt separator
A separator holds its charge at line temperature. Drag the divider: the right-hand side is a fitted removable module on this exact geometry.
Energy cost saving / year€78460 €/MWh fuel
Heat retained / year11.8 MWhAt 8,000 operating hours
Emissions avoided / year2.63 t CO₂e201.6 kg CO₂e/MWh fuel
Modelled outer surface23.5 °CBelow the 45 °C design target
Estimate: 2 × 1.400 m² · 60 °C bare surface · 8,000 operating hours/year.
€784energy cost saving / year11.8 MWhretainedDirt separator,
01 / Energy 02 / Surface 03 / Maintenance 04 / Layout
For your operating conditions
Your savings
Change any input and every figure recomputes. The defaults describe the equipment modelled here.
What this is
Dirt separator,
and what it costs bare.
A separator holds its charge at line temperature.
A dirt separator is an in-line vessel. It slows the water enough for magnetite and debris to drop out of the flow. They collect in a chamber, which is drained on a service cycle.
On this hot-water skid there are 2, each about 1.4 m² of surface above room temperature. At 60 °C they shed 1.6 kW into the plant room. With 50 mm of removable insulation the same surfaces shed 81 W, 94.7 % less. The module settles at 23.5 °C, at or under our 45 °C touch-safe target. We set that target against the burn thresholds in EN ISO 13732-1.
These are steady-state model estimates using the stated areas and class assumptions. Agreement with site measurements or a survey report has not been established.
Inzonex benefits
Where the heat goes.
Dirt separator on the hot-water circuit, downstream of the Y-strainer and the KM-5 heat meter. Confirmed by the owner. Modules unclip for operation and inspection, then refit onto the same geometry.
Cleaned on a cycle
The separator is opened to clear the collected sludge, and drained to do it. Anything glued or wired over the connections comes away and rarely returns.
Vent and drain stay clear
Both small ball valves are left outside the module, so the separator can be vented and drained without touching the insulation.
The drain leg runs cold and wet
Below the separator is where corrosion under insulation starts. It is treated differently and it is inspected.
Area and temperature scenarios
Area at each service temperature.
Bare surface loss per item. Nothing here is interpolated — each cell is a separate solution of the same balance, at 20 °C ambient.
| Shell area | Area m² | 50 °C | 55 °C | 60 °C | 65 °C | Insulated 60 °C | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 0.4000 | 156 W | 188 W | 222 W | 256 W | 12 W | 94.7 % |
| 0.6 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 0.6000 | 234 W | 282 W | 332 W | 384 W | 17 W | 94.7 % |
| 0.8 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 0.8000 | 312 W | 376 W | 443 W | 512 W | 23 W | 94.7 % |
| 1.0 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 1.00 | 391 W | 470 W | 554 W | 640 W | 29 W | 94.7 % |
| 1.4 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 1.40 | 547 W | 659 W | 775 W | 896 W | 41 W | 94.7 % |
| 1.8 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 1.80 | 703 W | 847 W | 997 W | 1.2 kW | 52 W | 94.7 % |
| 2.2 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 2.20 | 859 W | 1.0 kW | 1.2 kW | 1.4 kW | 64 W | 94.7 % |
| 2.8 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 2.80 | 1.1 kW | 1.3 kW | 1.6 kW | 1.8 kW | 81 W | 94.7 % |
| 3.5 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 3.50 | 1.4 kW | 1.6 kW | 1.9 kW | 2.2 kW | 102 W | 94.7 % |
| 4.5 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 4.50 | 1.8 kW | 2.1 kW | 2.5 kW | 2.9 kW | 131 W | 94.7 % |
| 6.0 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 6.00 | 2.3 kW | 2.8 kW | 3.3 kW | 3.8 kW | 175 W | 94.7 % |
| 8.0 m²shell, heads and drain leg | 8.00 | 3.1 kW | 3.8 kW | 4.4 kW | 5.1 kW | 233 W | 94.7 % |
Shell, both heads and the drain leg. The vent and the drain valve stay outside the module so the separator can be vented and drained without touching the insulation.
Insulated column: 50 mm lamella at λ 0.038 W/m·K. Outer surface calculated without clamping. Our 45 °C design target is checked against the burn thresholds in EN ISO 13732-1
What this means
What it comes to.
At the modelled defaults, on this equipment.
- Outer surface at 50 mm
- 23.5 °CMeets the 45 °C design target
- Bare metal at 60 °C
- Above the 45 °C study targetContact risk depends on material and duration; no burn time is calculated
- Simple payback
- 8 monthsAt 190 EUR/m² supply and fit, saving €784 a year
Asked about dirt separator
Questions.
Answers distinguish modelled heat-loss estimates from equipment selection and service guidance.
What does a dirt separator do?
It drops magnetite and debris out of the circulating water so they do not reach the plate pack or the pump seals. It is opened and drained on a cycle. Anything glued or wired over its connections comes away and rarely returns.
Why does a separator lose more than the pipe it sits in?
Unlike a length of pipe it has no temperature gradient worth speaking of. Shell, both heads and the drain leg all sit at line temperature, and the shell diameter is several times the pipe.
How much heat does a dirt separator lose?
Modelled here: 2 units of 1.4 m² at 60 °C lose 1.6 kW bare and 81 W with 50 mm — 94.7 per cent less.
What the numbers mean
How the figure is produced.
Steady-state estimate using convection, radiation and an insulation energy balance. Equivalence to a surveyed equipment model has not been established.
- Shape
- Horizontal cylinder, characteristic length 0.150 m
- Convection
- Churchill–Chu on air properties at film temperature
- Radiation
- Stefan–Boltzmann at emissivity 0.92
- Bare-case allowance
- ×1.20, assumed class multiplier; not an inventory of actual thermal bridges
- Insulated case
- Outer-surface energy balance, without temperature clamping. 45 °C is a design target; plus an assumed 5% heat-loss allowance for seams. The exterior uses a 0.3 m vertical-plate approximation; conductivity is constant.
Going deeper
How to specify and service them.
The figures on this page say what the heat costs. These say what the strainer ahead of it is for and which way round it goes.
The rest of the skid
Other equipment
Hot water
Plate heat exchangers
A plate pack runs hot on every face.
OpenHot waterPumps
The casing stays hot. The motor must not.
OpenHot waterBall valves
The smallest surfaces lose the most.
OpenHot waterFlanged joints
Every joint is a fin the pipe did not ask for.
OpenHot waterY-strainers
A sieve in the line, and it is opened on a cycle.
Open