About Nick Johanssen

Posted on: 6 November 2015

If your company is installing some liquid storage tanks that need to be warmed during the cold winter months to prevent their contents from freezing, then you will need to purchase some industrial tank heaters. If you need your company's stored liquids to meet a specific temperature standard, then these tank heaters can also be used in processing applications as well.

There are four options available for fluid storage tank heaters, and they are:

1. heating plates

2. immersion heaters

3. blanket heaters

4. strip heaters

See below for more information on each type of industrial tank heating option:

Heating Plates

Industrial tank and container heating plates are designed to look like weighing scales and contain heating elements inside of them. By placing a steel drum or a storage tank on the top of a heating plate, the heat will enter the tank at the bottom and warm the liquid through to the top over time. When excessive heating is needed, then heating plates are often used with immersion, blanket, or strip heaters to ensure equal heating between the lower and upper parts of the container.

Immersion Heaters

Storage tank immersion heaters are a special kind of heating element that are placed into the liquid in a holding tank. This type of tank heater is generally used in applications where heating solids like grease, lard, or wax are necessary. Immersion heaters cannot be used around flammable liquids, but they are very effective for heating liquids that need to be hot for a production process. This type of heater has a sensitive thermostat to allow you to closely control the temperature of your contained liquid.

Blanket Heaters

Storage tank blanket heaters are insulated blankets with heating elements installed throughout them. The blanket heaters are wrapped around the outside of metal tanks in the same way as you wrap your home water heater. The blanket heater heats the liquids from the outside of the tank inward. Blanket storage tank heaters are best used to keep materials warm and from solidifying in cold weather.

Strip Heaters

Finally, as the name implies, strip tank heaters are electric-powered wire tape strips that are applied to the outside of metal storage tanks and barrels to heat their contents. Strip tank heaters are safe for use in non-hazardous material areas and are most effective at heating smaller-sized conductive metal storage tanks. Strip heaters are very energy efficient and contain thermostats that control the heat level that comes from them.