Inline heaters, sometimes referred to as circulation heaters are often used to heat hazardous fluids and liquids. Specifically, they are used when the fluid being heated is part of a larger, on going process (not being stored).

The workings of an inline heater aren’t as complex as they may seem at first instance. Simply put, inline heaters make sure that the electrical power generated is transferred as heat into the target fluid.

Characteristics of Inline Heaters

Inline heaters have several key characteristics including:

• They are efficient in their transfer of heat, allowing very little or no heat to be wasted
• They are easy to install and considerably hassle free in terms of maintenance
• The technical prowess of the inline heaters means that they are capable of integrating with even the most modern industrial piping technology standards today.

Applications

There are many types of applications for inline heaters. The leading uses are to process substances such as steam, water, and waste oil and control their temperatures. It can also be used to make sure these fluids are regulated and that their viscosity is maintained.

Maintaining fluid viscosity is an important aspect, especially because a liquid with a less than ideal viscosity will gradually slow down the overall processing time. To make sure such a delay does not occur, inline heaters are used to heat the liquid to maintain viscosity at an appropriate temperature.

The most common industries that uses inline heaters are the oil and gas and power generation industries. This is because the cost of a delay in their processes can be enormous.

The Structure

An inline heaters structure is slightly different to that of a normal heater due to the addition of several types of technologies. The heater consists of a metallic chamber with an anti-corrosion coating covering the immersion heater. The reason for such a casing is to avoid as much heat loss as possible in order to increase efficiency. In a competitive environment, heat loss will not only hurt the overall process, it will also cause unnecessary operational expenses.