Abstract: An orbital rod drive arrangement for an orbital tube whip rod heat exchanger includes a single drive plate driving a plurality of countercranks, each countercrank supporting a whip rod from its upper end within a tube and from a radially extending slot therein as it is driven in an orbital manner. The countercrank provides for balancing the whip rods within the tubes by mounting them in an offset manner. Furthermore, the whip rod is suspended as well as driven at its upper end to thereby leave the lower ends of the tubes unobstructed for the free flow of process fluid out the bottom of the tube. The countercrank includes an upper peripheral lip for supporting a single drive plate and the countercrank may be supported by the tube sheet which mounts the uniformly spaced tubes in the heat exchanger vessel. The radially extending slot accommodates migration of the whip rod in a radial direction in response to any buildup of material along the sidewall of its associated tube.

Abstract: An orbital rod drive arrangement for an orbital tube whip rod heat exchanger includes a single drive plate driving a plurality of countercranks, each countercrank supporting a whip rod from its upper end within a tube as it is driven in an orbital manner. The countercrank provides for balancing the whip rods within the tubes by mounting them in an offset manner. Furthermore, the whip rod is suspended as well as driven at its upper end to thereby leave the lower ends of the tubes unobstructed for the free flow of process fluid out the bottom of the tube. The countercrank includes an upper peripheral lip for supporting a single drive plate and the countercrank may be supported by the tube sheet which mounts the uniformly spaced tubes in the heat exchanger vessel. Variations are disclosed for the countercrank including providing different numbers of holes in the countercrank for balancing the whip rod mass about the circumference of the countercrank.