Dry Ice Blasting for Radiators, Coolers & Heat Exchangers
A radiator loses capacity long before it overheats. Fins pack with dust, oil mist, chaff, and insects until airflow collapses and the unit derates on a hot afternoon. Dry ice blasting clears the fin pack without bending fins or soaking the core.
Air-cooled equipment fails in a predictable way: contamination bridges the fin gaps, airflow drops, approach temperature climbs, and the machine either derates or trips. The fix has to reach deep into the fin pack while leaving the fins straight — which is exactly where pressure washing goes wrong, since it flattens fins and drives oily debris deeper into the core.
CO₂ pellets enter the fin gap and release the deposit through thermal shock rather than force, so the fin geometry survives. Crews clean FRAC and drilling pump radiators, air-cooled heat exchangers, charge-air and oil coolers, transformer radiators, condenser and evaporator coils, and generator set radiators — usually in place, in the field.
Because the process is dry, there is no wastewater to contain on a lease site, no corrosion risk from standing moisture between fins, and no drying period before the unit restarts. On remote equipment, that removes the water logistics problem entirely.
What We Remove
- Packed dust, dirt, and road grime in fin gaps
- Oil mist bonded with airborne debris
- Chaff, seed, insects, and organic debris
- Salt and corrosion products on coastal units
- Frac sand and drilling dust on oilfield equipment
- Biofilm and scale on HVAC coil faces
What You Get
- Restored airflow and cooling capacity
- Lower approach temperature and fewer heat derates
- No bent or flattened fins
- No wastewater to contain on remote or lease sites
- Immediate restart — no drying period
How a radiator cleaning Job Runs
- 01Assess fin condition, coating, and depth of the pack before selecting parameters
- 02Lock out fans and drives; protect motors, sensors, and belt guards
- 03Blast the fin face at a controlled angle to release debris without deforming fins
- 04Vacuum or sweep the released debris away from the unit
- 05Verify airflow improvement and hand the unit back for restart
Also Called CO₂ Cleaning
Maintenance teams search for this work as radiator cleaning, dry ice blasting, CO₂ cleaning, CO₂ blasting, dry ice blast cleaning, carbon dioxide blasting, and cryogenic cleaning. They all describe the same process — solid CO₂ pellets in compressed air, with no water, chemicals, or abrasive media, and no spent media to dispose of afterward.
How a radiator cleaning Project Runs
Every project follows the same disciplined sequence — scoped to your facility, your safety program, and your shutdown window.
1. Site Walkdown & Scope
A specialist reviews your equipment, contaminants, access constraints, shutdown window, and safety requirements — by phone, video, or on-site walkdown.
2. Plan, Quote & Schedule
You receive a written scope of work and quote. We coordinate JSAs, lockout/tagout, hot work, confined space, and any plant-specific safety paperwork before mobilization.
3. Mobilization
Our crew arrives with diesel air compressors, blasting equipment, hose, PPE, CO₂ pellets, and supporting tools. Most projects are fully self-contained — no plant utilities required.
4. Cleaning & QC
Trained operators clean in place using non-abrasive dry ice. We work in shifts to match outage windows and document progress as we go.
5. Walkthrough & Turnover
A final walkthrough confirms results with your team. We leave the work area clean — no grit, no media, no slurry to dispose of.
Why Facilities Choose This Method
Dry — No Water
CO₂ pellets sublimate on impact. No water intrusion into bearings, electrical components, or insulation; no drying time before restart.
Non-Abrasive
Helps protect tooling, fins, gaskets, and finished surfaces that grit blasting would profile or pit.
Non-Conductive
Suited for cleaning around electrical components when paired with proper LOTO, PPE, and clearance procedures.
No Secondary Waste
Only the removed contaminant needs to be collected. No spent blast media, no slurry, no chemical wash water.
In-Place Cleaning
Most equipment can be cleaned without disassembly — reducing labor, downtime, and re-commissioning risk.
FDA-GRAS CO₂
CO₂ is recognized by the FDA as Generally Recognized as Safe under cGMP, supporting use on food-zone equipment by trained operators.
Equipment & Surfaces We Commonly Clean
- Conveyors, augers, and rollers
- Motors, pumps, gearboxes
- Robotic cells and end-of-arm tooling
- Injection and compression molds
- Heat exchangers and tube bundles
- Switchgear, MCCs, transformers
- Generators, rotors, stators
- Turbines and inlet houses
- Bakery ovens, mixers, fillers
- Tanks, vessels, and structural steel
Frequently Asked Questions
Will blasting bend the fins?
Not at correct parameters and angle. Dry ice cleans through thermal shock, not force, and pressures are set well below what deforms fin material. Fin damage is far more common with high-pressure water, which is what most units have been through before we see them.
Can you clean radiators in the field?
Yes. Field and lease-site work is routine because the equipment is fully mobile and no water supply or containment is required — which is usually the deciding factor on remote sites.
How much cooling capacity comes back?
It depends on how packed the core was and whether there is also internal-side fouling, so we do not publish a figure. We document fin condition before and after so your team can measure the change against your own temperature data.
What about internal tube-side fouling?
Dry ice cleans the external fin pack and accessible faces. Internal tube-side scale is a different scope requiring chemical or mechanical tube cleaning, and we will tell you when that is what you actually have.
Does dry ice blasting damage equipment?
Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive. Solid CO₂ pellets are much softer than sand, walnut shell, or soda media. The cleaning action comes from thermal shock and the kinetic effect of sublimating pellets — not abrasion. When operated correctly it removes contaminants while leaving the underlying substrate intact.
Can equipment stay in place during cleaning?
Yes. The dry, non-conductive process allows most equipment to be cleaned in place — including production lines, motors, robotics, switchgear, and turbines — provided proper lockout/tagout and clearance procedures are followed.
Looking for service in a specific state? See our locations, browse all services, or explore industries we serve.
Other Equipment We Clean
Dry Ice Blasting for Gas & Steam Turbines
turbine cleaningDry Ice Blasting for Generators & Electrical Machines
generator cleaningHRSG Tube Bundle, SCR Catalyst & AIG Cleaning
HRSG cleaningDry Ice Blasting for Molds & Production Tooling
mold cleaningDry Ice Blasting for Ovens, Dryers, Conveyors & Food Lines
food equipment cleaningDry Ice Blasting for Printing Presses & Converting Equipment
printing press cleaningDry Ice Blasting for Radiators, Coolers & Heat Exchangers
Talk to a specialist about your equipment and your window.