Electric Heating Now Available On Viking Gear Pumps
For applications where it is necessary to heat the process fluid before start-up, Viking Pumps now provide the option of electric heating as an alternative to their pumps with jackets, which are heated by the more traditional methods of steam or hot oil.
Electric Heaing Pump (Image: Michael Smith Engineers)
Available on their Universal Seal cast iron gear pumps with flow rates up to 155 m3/hr, the electrically heated option will suit applications where steam or hot oil is not available or where it’s impractical to install long pipe runs.
Available from Michael Smith Engineers, Viking Universal Seal gear pumps with the electric heat option provide operators with potential cost-savings as well as safety benefits. For example, electric heating can result in lower installation costs because the need for long piping runs is eliminated. Also, the inherent risks to the environment of potential leakages from pipe connections in hot oil systems, together with the associated clean-up costs, are removed.
The electric heating option consists of a number of heat cartridges installed in the pump head, the bracket and the casing to get the pump up to temperature together with a temperature monitor and controller to maintain the temperature within a set band.
With Viking’s patent pending design, multiple heat cartridges are installed in the head and extend into the pump crescent. As the pump crescent is located in the centre of the pump casing, more of the heat is transferred directly into the liquid.
A Thermocouple, located by the stuffing box, signals when the set-point has been reached and the pumped fluid (such as asphalt or bitumen) is in a liquid state and therefore ready for pumping.
The electric heat option ensures more precise temperature control than steam or hot oil systems which need higher temperatures to compensate for any heat losses in the heat piping system resulting in higher energy operating costs. Also energy usage is minimised with the Viking electric heat option as the heater cartridges are shut off when the set band temperature is reached unlike traditional jacketed designs where the steam or hot oil is in constant circulation.
Originally designed for pumping Bitumen and Asphalt, the Viking Universal Seal pumps with electric heating can be considered whenever it is necessary to pump temperature sensitive liquids.
Source: Michael Smith Engineers
