Process Heating Engineering: Pumps Too Hot?

June 28, 2017

Process Heating process heating engineering Process Temperature Control pump blankets pump heater Uncategorized

Process Heating Engineering: Pumps Too Hot?

Valin Corporation is a leading technical solutions provider for the technology, energy, life sciences, natural resources, and transportation industries. They came to Powerblanket with a process heating engineering dilemma, and Powerblanket world-class engineers came up with a solution.

What was the heating dilemma?

Valin’s problem centered around the oil and gas industry. Pumps were getting too cold and shutting down, slowing production and wasting time and money. They had tried to employ EHT to solve the problem; however, this got too hot and melted the rubber portion on the pump. Ultimately, they needed heating blankets that were C1D2 certified with self-regulating thermostats. This became a custom process heating engineering project because of the pumps’ varying shapes and sizes and because of the very specific C1D2 requirements.

How did Powerblanket create a solution?

The Valin field site sales manager offered key information and measurements to ensure Powerblanket engineers could create a solution with a good fit for each pump. After Valin tested the initial blankets for form and fit, we made minor modifications for the final order and provided a pricing level that met the end-item budget. Each pump had a heating blanket to meet C1D2 specifications that also contained a self-regulating thermostat.

Time, Money, and Stress Averted

Valin no longer worries about pumps/stators freezing and shutting down operations. The blankets will not get too hot or damaging rubber rings on pumps. Because of this process heating engineering solution, Valin can install their blankets and rest easy about the efficiency and safety of their operations.

Process Heating Engineering: Vanilla Beans

by Launa Albrecht

June 6, 2017

Custom Heater Custom Heating Solution Customization Industrial Heating Blankets process heating engineering

Process Heating Engineering: Vanilla Beans

Often, when your industry is unique, there is not a ready-to-ship solution for your specific process heating needs. Powerblanket’s process heating engineering uses ingenuity and Powerblanket technology to solve the temperature needs of many different companies throughout many different industries.

Powerblanket is currently working with Tahitian Gold, vanilla producer of choice for master chefs and culinary institutions, gourmet cooks and food connoisseurs, to find the best process heating engineering solution for their vanilla beans.

The Heating Problem

Tahitian Gold has vanilla beans that require heating before processing, and they do not currently have an effective means for consistent, safe heating. Right now, Tahitian Gold is testing various Powerblankets for buckets, barrels, totes and even a flat blanket to determine which process heating solution is most effective for their current temperature needs.

While this is not an overly complicated process heating dilemma, the mass of the beans and uncontrolled air gaps, along with awkward sizes and complex temperature and wattage requirements cause problems with consistent heating. Hence, the reason for testing multiple Powerblanket options to ensure optimal results.

Each Powerblanket option provides concentrated heat to help consistently heat the beans throughout each container.

Powerblanket will approach your process heating needs with creativity built around your heating requirements.

Choosing Process Heating Equipment Vendor Tips

by Launa Albrecht

May 26, 2017

Custom Heater Custom Heating Solution Customization Process Heating

Choosing Process Heating Equipment Vendor

Are you choosing process heating equipment vendor? You may be experiencing some anxiety and option overload. A lot of time has probably been dedicated to determining the details of your requirements, researching options, getting bids, and analyzing those proposals. The question now is, “Which process heating equipment vendor is best for you?” How do you make this decision? Powerblanket has some suggestions.

Choosing Process Heating Equipment Vendor

Visit the vendor’s production facility

If you really want to know who you are working with and what kind of product they produce, go to where the magic happens. Spend a day or two getting to know the staff and the facility. It is worth the time. There is really nothing that can replace old-fashioned, face-to-face interaction. You have probably had plenty of interaction with the sales personnel, but now you can talk directly to the engineers who will build, test, implement and service your process heating solution. Get a feel for the atmosphere of the work environment and the relationship of the team. Happy employees usually indicate that you will also be a happy customer.

Ask to see the testing facilities. This will give you a chance to observe the tools they use and the team that conducts tests. Watching their problem-solving process can give you great insight to the actual expertise of the team. Don’t be afraid to ask questions during your observations.

Visit actual customers in your industry

When choosing process heating equipment vendor, go visit another company that uses this vendor’s product. Ideally, you will want to be pointed in the direction of a company that works in an industry like yours with heating equipment similar to your needs. You don’t typically buy a car without a test drive. This process will allow you to see the equipment in action. Talk to the staff about reliability, consistency, and quality output. Ask about the vendor’s customer service, reliability, and responsiveness.

Ask for References

When an individual or company offers a reference you can expect that it will be a glowing reference with only fantastic things to say about the vendor in question. Seek out a variety of references. Find a reference that will tell you about the ups and downs of working with this process heating equipment vendor. Find a reference who has had a long-term relationship with the vendor. Do your homework and ask a lot of questions:

How does this vendor handle setbacks?
How did this vendor work with your industry standards?
If a problem arose, how quickly and efficiently did they respond?
Did they do the right thing, even if it wasn’t the convenient thing?
Do they stand behind their equipment?

After all this hands-on research, you should have a new perspective on the original bid. Choosing a process heating equipment vendor becomes much easier after you have invested the time and effort to see and hear about how this vendor really works. Now proceed with confidence.

Process Heating with Powerblanket

Often, when your industry is unique, or your product very specialized, there is not an off-the-shelf solution for your specific process heating needs. In these cases, Powerblanket engineers take a hands-on approach to creating a custom solution just for you. Powerblanket engineers use their ingenuity and Powerblanket technology to solve the temperature needs of many different companies throughout many different industries, saving time, money, and/or headache for our clients. With Powerblanket custom process heating solutions, you’ll benefit from quick turn-around times. Our products are certified to universal safety standards and are easy to install, use, and store. If you can build it, produce it, or store it, Powerblanket can cover it and protect it.

Process Heating Engineering: Heat Tape

by Launa Albrecht

April 6, 2017

Curing Custom Heater Custom Heating Solution Customization High Heat Applications Process Temperature Control

Process Heating Engineering: Heat Tape

Powerblanket makes industrial heating blankets; however, for this process heating project, we skipped the outer jacket and went straight for the heat tape on the inside.

Upgrade Your Security Clearance

For the third installment of Powerblanket Engineer Favorites, we delve (really only dip our toes) into the world of defense contracting.

The Heating Dilemma

This company needed to cure carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. They were on a very tight timeline and their current suppliers were unable to react quickly enough to meet their needs. This became a custom project because the composites had a complex geometry that could not be evenly heated/covered with a standard industrial heating blanket.

The Powerblanket Custom Solution

Powerblanket recognized that a standard blanket could not meet the process heating needs of these complicated composites. So we offered them the electrical heating tape normally used inside PB400 blankets that would adhere directly to the surfaces they wanted to heat. In addition, we built them a custom power cord and wiring harness to power several pieces of heat tape at once.

They had their own temperature control system, so our offering was incredibly simple: a plug, a cord, and a wiring harness used to power several pieces of adhesive-backed high-temperature heat tape (300 F°/149°C rated). We designed the heat tape to be one-time-use disposable and the power cord and wiring harness to be reusable and easily be disconnected.

Powerblanket Custom Team

Powerblanket’s custom engineering team prides itself on creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, quickly dreaming up a solution that met all of the customer’s technical requirements. Despite this being a new product category for Powerblanket, we provided a quote within 24 hours of the initial conversation, and built and shipped the process heating product within a week of receiving the PO.

When you purchase a Powerblanket custom process heating solution, you will enjoy quick turn-around times and the ability to choose from varying levels of customization. Our products are certified to universal safety standards and are easy to install, use, and store.

So whether you need a heat solution for complicated composite curing, tank heaters for your three phase horizontal separator used during drilling operations, or process heating temperature control on your assembly line, our custom approach can provide you with the perfect custom process heating solution. Powerblanket has you covered.