Does your company handle potentially explosive gasses, liquids, or other materials in freezing environments? To heat critical systems, equipment, and work areas require heaters certified to operate in hazardous locations or “Hazloc.” Ordinary gas and electrically powered heaters can create a potential explosion hazard.
There are two ways you may have heard of hazloc heaters. The generic nickname for hazardous location is hazloc. You may also recognize the name from a heater manufacturer with the brand name “Hazloc Heaters™.” They manufacture forced air heaters for large areas and are a good solution if you want to keep employees from freezing who work in hazardous areas.
However, when you need to heat and protect critical materials and equipment such as pipe runs, vessels, tanks, or sensitive instruments from freezing, Powerblanket makes custom explosion-proof heaters.
What are Hazloc Heaters™?
Hazloc Heaters™ are convection-type space heaters. They heat the surrounding air by circulating a heated liquid into a coil where a fan blows the air across it, exchanging the heat. The liquid can be steam, hot water, glycol, or other fluid. For hazardous locations, the unit has an explosion-proof electric motor.
Are Convection Heaters Energy-Efficient?
For Hazloc heaters using forced air convection, the efficiency will be between 80% and 90%. An all-electrical heater is close to 100% energy efficient, converting all its electrical energy into heat. Powerblanket offers the most efficient electric heating solution for industrial and explosion-resistant hazardous atmospheres.
How Do Explosion Proof Heaters Transfer Heat?
Forced air heaters transfer heat from a circulating liquid across metal fins by convection. Like a car’s radiator, heat in the metal transfers to the air by convection as the air circulates.
Pipes, tanks, and other equipment require direct heat transfer. For example, hazardous area drum & tote heaters wrap around the surface. The heating elements transfer heat directly from the explosion-proof electric heater to the surface of the drum into the interior. There is no opportunity for a motor to cause a spark because there are no moving parts. The electrical heating elements have no possibility of contacting explosive gas or dust particles because a rugged, weatherproof material surrounds them.
Explosion-Proof Heaters for Hazardous Locations
Typical hazloc heater applications include paint storage areas, chemical storage areas, oil/gas rigs, sewage treatment plants, and petrochemical processing facilities.
Powerblanket offers complete custom hazardous location solutions for direct heating. Our hazardous location heaters are approved for use in Class I, Division 2: Groups A, B, C, and D Hazardous Environments. They have a maximum Temperature Classification of T4.
Custom Temperature Control for Hazardous Locations
Hazardous location freeze protection requiring hazloc heaters is a global challenge for various industries. One example is gas delivery systems. Powerblanket manufactures custom explosion-proof tank heaters for stationary, truck-mounted, and railroad car gas tanks that carry natural or propane. Industries currently using our custom solutions include Oil & Gas, Mining, Chemical Manufacturers, Agriculture, Food Processing Plants, and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF).
A Case Study for Hazloc Explosion-proof Electric Unit Heaters
Freeze protection is a primary challenge for industries that handle flammable fluids with tanks, pipes, pumps, valves, and actuators. Other processes that cannot afford a change in temperature, viscosity, or freezing rely on Powerblanket to build intrinsically safe heaters.
Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline, LP in Eastern Utah had two 12” FI215 valves and actuators and two 16” FI212 valve/actuators that were freezing up and shutting down operations. Another company, Equistar Chemicals, LP, located in Illinois, had 12 Fisher valves freezing due to extreme conditions. Due to the potential of fugitive emissions from the petrochemicals, these areas are considered hazardous locations requiring specially designed heaters.
After consulting with Powerblanket engineers, they solved the issues with custom-designed hazloc valve heaters. You can download the case study here.
The Solution to All Hazloc Freeze Protection Requirements
Powerblanket’s custom explosion-proof electric heating solutions provide more than freeze protection. They reduce or eliminate downtime and provide peace of mind by maintaining optimal temperatures and protecting against freezing in the harshest environments. All our equipment meets ETL certified to UL & CSA safety standards.
If you need help with a custom explosion-proof heating solution for your operation, click this link to get the hazardous location unit heater spec sheet.
Keep your equipment running smoothly and prevent damage with Powerblanket's advanced hazardous location heating systems.
