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Author:
Grassyknoll (HI)
OK, please excuse my limited level of knowledge regarding boilers/elements etc..
Here is my question. We are rehabbing a custom made boiler unit at the company I manage. We have hit a wall concerning what type of heating element we should be using in said boiler. The boiler unit itself consists of a re-purposed 45 gallon water heater that is filled with canola oil and heated to about 190f. the heated canola oil than is pumped to circulate around a jacketed vessel.
This unit had been working fine for about 10 years until the thermostats went out. During thermostat replacement my maintenance manager decided to replace the water heater as well. Unfortunately, that unit was discarded so we aren't sure what type of heating element was being used. The elements looked like standard 240v 1 1/4" threaded water heater elements. We have since then burned up a number of water heater elements and our research led us to the understanding that due to oils' slower heat transfer you can't use water heater elements as they will burn through very quickly.
So my question is whether anyone can provide some guidance on what type of element we should be using?
We have tried local plumbing professionals, but being on a tropical island in the middle of the pacific, we seem to have a shortage of plumbers with boiler experience.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Use stainless steel elements which do not have to be immersed to prevent burn out. You will know when you have the correct ones because they will cost in the neighborhood of $55.00 each.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
Grassyknoll (HI)
"Author: hj (AZ)
Use stainless steel elements which do not have to be immersed to prevent burn out. You will know when you have the correct ones because they will cost in the neighborhood of $55.00 each."
Is that pretty much the only criteria I need to be concerned with is that they are S units? One of the people we spoke with at a plumbing suppl store was mentioning something about watt density.
Again, this is outside my field of expertise so please excuse my ignorance.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
A 'single loop" is high watt density, which I NEVER use. A "double foldback loop" is low watt density, which extends the life of the element, but the cheap ones will still burn out if the heat does not transfer to the media fast enough and they overheat.
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