Oil heaters – solutions for the industrial sector

Heating processes for liquids oil
The variety of solutions for heating oil is in no way inferior to that of water heating. As a general rule, oil heaters require a comparatively larger heat exchange surface, since the surface load capacity of oils is much lower. The quality of the plant depends greatly on the specification of appropriate surface load for the particular oil and its flow rate: If the film temperature is too high, the oil will crack on the heater. Break-offs in the flow should also be taken into account during design and construction.
As a replaceable solution for oil tanks, Siekerkotte offers its customers cartridge heaters whose tubes are screwed in or flanged to the tank. The heat source consists of a ceramic heater, a tubular heater or a high density cartridge heater in the tube(s), which can be replaced without draining the oil. But long-term stable solutions are also possible with conventional screw-in or flanged heaters, including as continuous tankless water heaters based on tubular heaters.

Viscosity

The viscosity of oil, such as hydraulic or lubricating oils, changes with temperature. When cold, it is more viscous: In the case of lubricating oil supply systems for gearboxes, this can lead to faster wear of machinery and equipment in the long term. At low temperatures, the viscosity of heavy oils is even so low that they cannot be pumped. This is why we use electric oil preheaters. These heaters maintain or bring the oil quickly and precisely to a certain minimum temperature in advance and thus to a viscosity level that prevents machine damage. The preheater emits a clearly defined heat depending on the individual properties of the oil.

Surface load

Depending on the oil to be heated, different maximum surface loads must be chosen. The range goes from < 1 W/cm² for heavy fuel oil to 4 W/cm² for diesel and up to 10 W/cm² for specially developed heat transfer oils.

Cracks

The quality of oil heaters depends greatly on the specification of appropriate surface load for the particular oil and its flow rate: If the film temperature is too high, the oil will crack on the heater. The design, construction and safety concept should aim at avoiding breaks in the flow.

Material quality

Compared to other media, selecting oil heaters is pretty straightforward. Screw-in/flanged heaters use tubular heaters with a quality of 1.4301/ 1.4571. In the case of cartridge heaters, cartridge tubes may even be made of steel, and parts not in contact with the medium can be coated steel.

Warm Up – clear and simple explanation of technical terms

Details

Tubular heater

Screw-in heater

Flange heater

Cartridge heater

Tankless water heater

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No electric heating solution is exactly like the other! Let us advise you on what your optimal heating solution looks like.

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