Heat exchanger

DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to the present invention there is provided a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of coils of tubing operative in parallel wherein the coils are of cylindrical conformation and of differing diameters, each coil being mounted co-axially about the coil of next smaller diameter characterised in that the tubing is flexible tubing of plastics material and in the arrangement for the support of the tubing.
According to this invention each coil is supported on a plurality of longitudinally arranged slat members lying in spaced radial planes with respect to the coil axis.
Preferably the slat members have a plurality of recesses on their outer longitudinal edges successive recesses being adapted to releasably hold successive turns of the coil therewithin.
Preferably, the recesses are shaped so that their bodies fit the cross-section of the tubing and their necks are sufficiently narrower than the cross-section of the tubing to achieve, having regard to the resilience of the materials of the tubing, a deformation fit of the tubing into the recesses.
It is seen that, if the slats are supported in a suitable array, the coil to be supported may be readily wound onto the outside of the array and clipped into place within the slat recesses by virtue of the tubing, or even the slats, or both, being made of a resiliently deformable material.
Similarly, the coil may be equally readily unwound.
Preferably the innermost plurality of outer edge recessed slats is attached to a central axially positioned frame member of cylindrical section, by winding the innermost coil onto that array so that it is supported thereon coaxially of the frame member.
It is a particularly advantageous arrangement according to this invention that the coils other than the innermost may be supported on slat members which are recessed on both edges and each slat member is itself supported by the turns of the coil of next smaller diameter being held within the recesses of its innermost edges.
The entire assembly is therefore supported through the innermost coil on the central frame member