Blocked heat exchangers and coolers are not efficient and can lead to significant performance problems and damage to the engine. Pressure increase in the cooler can cause minor leaks. These small leaks can lead to major corrosion of the cooler housings. Aluminium housings can be very expensive to repair.
Modern Heat Exchangers and coolers are commonly lightweight pieces of equipment. The housings may be made from some form of aluminium alloy and the end caps are sometimes made from a plastic or delrin material. These different materials can expand and contract at different rates during normal use. Once a small sea water leak has started, it will only get worse. Sea water can corrode an aluminium alloy housing surprisingly quickly. As the leaks get worse, so the corrosion gets worse, a vicious cycle.
Heat exchangers and coolers should be monitored regularly and some sort of maintenance carried out annually whether it is an onboard clean and inspection or removed from the vessel and serviced as per the workshop manual.
Blocked heat exchangers and coolers can be chemically cleaned using Rydlyme Marine. Always follow the guidelines and instructions from the manufacturer.