Industrial Pipe Heating – Freeze Protection & Process Heating
Chromalox’s Industrial heat trace cable is designed to maintain pipe temperature for either freeze-protection or process maintenance applications. System is composed of the following parts:
- Heat Trace Cable w/ Polyolefin or Fluoropolymer Jackets (SRL, SRP, & SRM/E)
- ITC, DTS, DL Series, U Series or Thermostat Controllers
- IntelliTrace & WeatherTrace Distribution & Control Panels
- RTD Temperature Sensors
- DL Series, U Series, EL Series, & HL Series Connection Kits
- Attachment Accessories (including attachment tape, pipe straps, caution labels, etc.)
- Thermal Insulation & Sealed Exterior Cover (provided by others)
Use of Heat Trace in the Application:
System is designed to maintain heat traced piping at a particular temperature. All of the cables above are suitable for freeze-protection applications dependent on the max exposure temperature of the pipe. The following show the different choices available when using for process temperature maintenance:
- SRL cable can be used to maintain pipes up to 150 deg F. with a max exposure temperature of 185 deg F.
- SRP cable can be used to maintain pipes up to 230 deg F. with a max exposure temperature of 275 deg F.
- SRM/E cable can be used to maintain pipes up to 302 deg F., with a max exposure temperature of 420 deg F.
- Please note that National Electric Code requires ground fault protection (GFEP) for all heat tracing.
Important Design Notes/Best Practices:
Calculate heat losses based on the following:
- Type and thickness of insulation
- Pipe material and diameter
- Set point for heat trace to maintain
- Material within heat traced piping
- Expected worst case ambient temperature
Calculate number of circuits based on the following:
- Supply voltage
- Circuit breaker size
Confirm the following:
- Number of pipes being heat traced
- Number of branch lines and their footages
- Controller communication requirement with BAS system (if communication is required)
- Area classification where heat trace material is located
