D
id you know that the average lifespan for a Babcock Wanson Thermal Fluid Heater is 25+ years? Mind you, we have a number of Thermal Fluid Heaters fully operational after 50 years of ongoing service, and we’re not alone. I’m sure other Thermal Fluid Heater manufacturers can also boast product longevity. But not all. The key to long, reliable life isn’t really down to ongoing maintenance, as Thermal Fluid Heaters require very little maintenance (although I’m in no way advocating ditching planned preventative maintenance). It isn’t really in how you use it, and it’s not really about the environment in which it’s used. The comes down to the quality of the Thermal Fluid Heater.
The word ‘quality’ gets bandied about all over the place, but just saying it doesn’t make it so. How do you choose between the different Thermal Fluid Heaters on the market and ensure you select a quality one?
PRODUCT DESIGN
Whilst all Thermal Fluid Heaters work on the same closed loop principle; featuring a heater through it as the heat transfer medium. The design of that heater is key.
Thermal Fluid Heaters based on cone designs, where the combustion chamber used to heat thermal degradation is much higher due to a a coil type, multi-pass design is preferential. middle, travelling up and down between the coils.
In this type of design, the combustion air is the burner and it also enables the outer skin of the heater to be cooled down. This not only the requirements for insulation. If you’ve got less insulation, it’s much easier to maintain. In a coil design, you can also control the velocity minimise thermal degradation of the thermal
On the subject of keeping the outer skin of the heater cooler, look for a heater that has been designed with a barrier between the hot
THERMAL FLUID QUALITY AND WHY IT
By Etienne Fourie, technical sales manager, Babcock Wanson
combustion gases and the outer structure. This will help encourage long heater life, as the higher pressure and cooler outer air helps prevent any escape of combustion gases whilst the plant ages over time. It also makes for a safer heater that won’t burn to the touch. Babcock Wanson’s TPC and EPC range of Thermal Fluid Heaters, for example, come with an integral, air-cooled outer case that provides this barrier, as well as acting as both a combustion air preheater/economiser. The standard pre-heated jacket is bolstered with an additional shell and tube type heat recovery device built into the actual case of the heater. It enables even more heat to be combustion air, which reduces the amount of energy required to take it from ambient to normal combustion temperature. This can mean novel design allows 5-6 percent energy recovery with no operator involvement or further heat
20 FEBRUARY 2025 |
sink required. It’s an entirely self-contained solution.
When it comes to choosing downward or almost certainly depend on the space you have available and the site layout. However, heaters that will best stand the test of time are mostly which ensures stress free and unrestricted expansion of the heater coils during normal operation.
Burners are the next big consideration. Wherever possible opt for a Thermal Fluid Heater with integrated burner rather than a third party packaged burner. Matching the burner to the heater’s combustion chamber and exhaust gas passes is fundamentally important and is very easy to get wrong, resulting in the few Thermal Fluid Heater manufacturers that makes its own burners that have been designed in parallel with the design of the
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