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Heating a tank using electric resistance heaters may be required to maintain pumping viscosity of heavy oil or resins, to prevent crystalline precipitation (sodium hydroxide), to facilitate production processes, for freeze protection, and hundreds of other applications. LEP & NEES can design and provide products for heating tanks of all sizes using various heating approaches.
Tank heaters can be used to maintain temperatures of gases and fluids in tanks from -300°F to 1000°F as they are designed with low watt density, open coil heating elements for uniform heating of the materials inside of a tank.
There are two main methods to tank heating; direct and indirect tank heating.
Direct tank heating consists of placing the heater in direct contact with the heated medium by placing the heater directly in the tank or circulating the fluid directly through the heater. The advantage of heating directly is that the heaters are nearly 100% efficient with this method. This is because all heat that is generated is absorbed directly by the process. This helps to speed heat-up and eliminate thermal lag. There is no intermediate heat transfer medium that could result in heat losses.
Indirect tank heating uses a heat transfer medium to apply the heat to the tank. Indirect methods can vary from external heating of the tank using the tank wall as the heating medium to utilizing a heat transfer medium to carry the heat to the tank. The biggest advantage to indirect heating is that the heater can typically be serviced without draining the tank. Second, indirect heating often allows watt density exposed to the process fluid to be lowered by spreading the heat over a larger surface.
Electric Tank Heater installed with controls
Immersion Heater from the inside
Immersion heaters are designed for direct contact (this is a must) heating of water, oils, viscous materials, solvents, process solutions and gases for many industrial heat applications. Various temperature control options permit very tight process temperature control. Basic mounting options of threaded screw plug connections, flanges, or simple over-the-side designs are available from stock for immediate delivery.
Flange Immersion Heater
The Chromalox Electric Tank Immersion Heater, Model LTFX, is designed to give years of virtually maintenance-free service and it is shipped ready for installation into a storage tank. LTFX provides low watt-density heating over a large heating surface with precise temperature control for such materials as asphalt, fuel oil, pitch and tar, liquid sugar, lube oils, linseed oil, biodiesel, glycerin, ethanol and many other heat sensitive compounds. The open coil heating elements (OCE) are housed in either 2” or 3” Schedule 40 carbon or stainless-steel pipes, which are welded into the 150# ANSI flange. Once the unitary immersion heater is mated to your tank, the heating elements may be removed and replaced without draining the tank.
Immersion Heater Diagram
Tank Heater with Removable Element
Storage Tank Heaters
Circulation heaters are utilized in direct heating applications. The process fluid is circulated directly through the heater. The reason you would choose a circulation heater over an immersion heater directly installed in the tank is either due to space limitations or watt density limitations requiring high fluid velocity over the elements to increase heat transfer. Furthermore, if the circulation heater is piped and valved properly, the heater may be serviced without draining the tank. The circulation of the process fluid is provided by a pump or natural convection.
Direct Contact Circulation Heater
The Epoxy Laminated Panel (ELP) are patented flat foil resistive elements that are laminated by heat and pressure in a multi-layer fiberglass construction with epoxy resin. The resulting electric heater design is a semi-flexible panel that is waterproof and durable that can be used in dry, wet, or corrosive environments.
ELP heating panels can be used in a variety of heating applications spanning from freeze protection to process heating with exposure temperatures ranging from -40°F to +212°F as with the low watt density of this heating panel, together with its low mass, it will provide unequaled thermodynamic performance.
ELP heating panels are available in both 120V/240V and can be used on either vertical or horizontal tanks with diameters of 48" and above, with either metallic or non-metallic construction. The heaters are usually installed by banding them to the tank with metal bands or polyester straps and then applying adhesive aluminum tape to the edges of the heaters which act.
Not only is the cost of these panels substantially less than other options, the installation cost is very minimal. To comply with the NEC 427.23 all heaters are supplied with an overall ground and ELP heating panel is approved for hazardous and non-hazardous areas.
Download the ELP Tank Heating Panel for all the technical specifications of this product.
For any application, it is essential that complete data be obtained and understood before an evaluation and selection of a suitable heating system can be made. Specifically, you will need:
Direct tank heating places the heating element in direct contact with the process fluid or gas, either within the tank or through a circulation loop. This method is highly efficient because virtually all generated heat is transferred directly to the process. Indirect heating uses a heat transfer path between the heater and the process, such as heating through the tank wall or an intermediate medium. While indirect systems may be less efficient, they can often simplify maintenance and reduce exposure of heating elements to the process fluid.
Immersion heaters are commonly selected when fast heat-up rates, high efficiency, and direct process heating are required. They are suitable for heating water, oils, solvents, gases, and other industrial fluids across a wide range of temperatures and power levels. Available mounting options such as screw plugs, flanges, and over-the-side designs make immersion heaters adaptable to many tank configurations. Their direct contact with the process medium allows rapid heat transfer and tight temperature control.
Circulation heaters are often used when tank space is limited or when high fluid velocity is needed to improve heat transfer and reduce watt density concerns. The process fluid is circulated through the heater using a pump or natural convection loop. A key advantage is that properly installed circulation heaters can often be serviced without draining the tank. This can reduce maintenance downtime while providing efficient heating for larger or more demanding applications.
Removable element immersion heaters are designed so the heating elements can be replaced without removing the entire heating assembly from the tank. This design is particularly beneficial for large storage tanks containing materials such as asphalt, fuel oil, biodiesel, liquid sugar, lubricants, and other heat-sensitive products. By allowing maintenance without draining the tank, these systems can significantly reduce service costs and operational interruptions.
Accurate sizing requires detailed application information including tank dimensions, construction materials, insulation characteristics, fluid properties, desired operating temperature, heat-up requirements, ambient conditions, and applicable code requirements. Process flow rates, product additions, hazardous area classifications, and environmental considerations may also be important. Gathering this information early helps ensure the selected heating system provides the required performance, efficiency, and reliability for the application.
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