Heat exchanger with telescoping expansion joint

A method for making a shell and tube heat exchanger comprising a plurality of tubes disposed within a shell, the method comprising the steps of:

• placing a number of tubes within a body of the shell, wherein the body has an axial length sized to permit opposed ends of the tubes to project outwardly a distance from opposed shell body ends, the shell including a pair of shell end members slidably disposed along an outside surface of the shell body away of the shell body ends to provide access to the tube ends;
• fixedly attaching tube header plates to the opposed tube ends;
• moving the shell end members along the shell body towards the tube header plates;
• fixedly attaching the shell end members to respective tube header plates and attaching the shell end members to the shell body;
• before the step of attaching the shell end members to the body, attaching an expansion element that is positioned around the shell body, wherein the expansion element is attached at one end to an end of one of the shell end members opposite the respective tube header plate, and is attached an opposite end to a surface of the shell body, and wherein the expansion element facilitates expansion movement between the shell body and respective shell end member.