Insulated Band Heaters vs. Traditional Band Heaters

If you’ve dealt with traditional band heaters, then perhaps you have some reservations regarding the usefulness, efficiency, and safety of such a solution. If you’ve never heard of insulated band heaters, then you’re in for a treat. Here we compare the two to see who comes out on top.

Clash of the Titans

In one corner we have the long-standing, often-used traditional band heater, and in the other corner, we have the heavy-hitting, highly efficient insulated band heater. Let’s start with comparing maximum temperatures. Traditional band heaters can heat as high as 400° F, insulated band heaters, well, they can too. Here’s what that looks like:

Traditional Band Heater	Insulated Band Heater
Heats as high as 400° F	Heats as high as 400° F

Traditional Band Heaters: 1 pt.

Insulated Band Heaters: 1 pt.

Next, we look at heating efficiency. Traditional band heaters use anywhere from 600-1200 watts of electricity to heat the material inside a barrel or drum. What’s more, a good portion of this is wasted as heat is lost to the air around the heater. Insulated band heaters, on the other hand, don’t lose as much energy to their surroundings. With insulated band heaters, much more heat is channeled into the product, and much less into the thin air.

Traditional Band Heater	Insulated Band Heater
Wastes a lot of energy	Delivers energy to the load

Traditional Band Heaters: -1 pt.

Insulated Band Heaters: 2 pt.

And finally, when it comes to that most important topic of safety, insulated band heaters win out here too. Traditional band heaters can be extremely hazardous. Since they’re heating as high as 400° F, this means their non-insulated, external temperature is about the same. Essentially, you have a belted band of silicone wrapped around your drum or barrel that is as hot as 400° on the surface. If something touches this on accident, it could mean fire or third-degree burns. Insulated band heaters are a lot safer. Since they’re insulated, the surface that is exposed to the user  is safe to touch.

Traditional Band Heater	Insulated Band Heater
Hazardous (fire hazard and burn hazard)	Safe to touch when installed and running

Traditional Band Heaters: -1 pt.

Insulated Band Heaters: 2 pt.

So this puts the final score of the comparison at…

Traditional Band Heater	Insulated Band Heater
Heats as high as 400° F (1 pt.)	Heats as high as 400° F (1 pt.)
Wastes a lot of energy (-1 pt.)	Delivers energy to the load (2 pts.)
Fire and burn hazard (-1 pt.)	Safe to touch when installed and running. (2 pts.)

Traditional Band Heaters: -1 pt.

Insulated Band Heaters: 5 pts.

We have a winner!

Insulated Heating Blankets 

Insulated band heaters have served the needs of businesses operating in cold environments for years. The same technology that makes insulated band heaters so effective has been duplicated and improved in Powerblanket’s insulated heating blankets. Unlike a band heater, heating blankets offer full coverage over barrels and other containers, spreading even heat throughout the coverage area.

At first appearance, band heaters and heating blankets don’t seem to be too different. Both have their similarities, such as conserving energy to prevent waste heat by delivering energy to the load. Both also are safe to the touch.

However, heating blankets are a massive upgrade from band heaters. Unlike the “one size fits all” mentality of a band heater, heating blankets come in different sizes to adequately provide protection against the elements specific to your situation. These sizing options take away the worry of scorching or burning sensitive material and maintain optimal viscosity. If the choice arises to choose between a band heater and a heating blanket, choose the heating blanket to get the best in flow control solutions.

Powerblanket provides the highest quality of insulated blanket heaters on the market. Contact us for more information at 855.972.2314 or at [email protected].