THE INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF CIRCULATION HEATERS
Also known as flanged immersion heaters, circulation heaters are the most efficacious and cost-effective industrial heating devices that are flexible, easy to operate and require minimal maintenance. They are popular in many industrial applications in areas such as Birmingham, Alabama, that span many products and services.
Their use as heating devices for large amounts of fluids like oil, water and chemical solutions, including gases, is becoming increasingly popular with many industrial processes. Modern heating appliance manufacturers offer immersion heaters in various sizes and mounting options. These allow for efficient utilization in different industrial environments ranging from medium to highly corrosive and indoor applications to large-scale outdoor processes.
What are Circulation heaters?
Circulation heaters are a popular type of immersion heater. Their use is common in preheating, regulating and maintaining temperatures of gases and fluids that are a part of large-scale military, commercial and industrial processes. There are various installation or configuration types for circulation heaters. These include closed-loop installations with indirect or direct heating and open heating configurations.
Indirect Heating Configuration
In this installation, the circulation heater is mounted in an industrial system with tanks containing large vessels or pumps through which liquids, steam or gases are used in the industrial process flow. Circulation heaters provide heat to these vessels through which liquids or gases recirculate to maintain temperature. Applications of closed-loop systems include heating corrosive solutions like acids and chemical solvents, viscous heating mediums like chocolate, syrup and adhesives, and systems installed in the food and textile industry.
Direct Heating with Circulation Heaters
The circulation heater in this configuration is directly installed in the reservoirs or industrial systems that contain the heating medium or liquid to be heated. The liquid or gas to be heated is recirculated through the heater to regulate its temperature. Monitoring the exact power requirement or wattage density in such configurations is crucial. Such closed-loop installation applications include research and development systems, testing applications and experimental laboratories.
Open Heating Configuration for Circulation Heaters
In this heating configuration, the liquid or gas to be heated is circulated through the industrial heater once only and then expelled into the industrial system. It is suitable for applications that require quick liquid heating just before entering the industrial process. Typical applications include cleansing of parts using steam and booster heating applications like commercial dishwashing, oil heating for viscosity reduction and spraying applications that require heavy mediums to be heated to ease proper flow to the process, as in purification systems.
Applications and uses of Circulation Heaters
- Typical applications of circulation heaters include heating liquids and gases like fuel oils, water, lubrication oils, ammonia, adhesives, hydraulic oils and gases like nitrogen.
- They are also used in freeze control, steam cleansing, refining gasoline, the textile industry, tank washing, air cleansing, deionized and process water, heat transfer systems and pipeline heating.
- Circulation heaters come with different mounting options and can be easily installed away from direct processing equipment, which provides safety. They contain drains to help cleanse impurities or residual substances that might otherwise deposit on the heating element.
- The circulation heater can be easily removed for maintenance without the need to drain water tank or reservoir.
- Installation types provide easy cleansing for reservoirs.
Get a quote on a circulation heater today. WATTCO also manufactures other industrial heating products, such as infrared heaters, temperature control panels and more. Click here to view all of our products.