Direct Vs Indirect Fired Heaters?

Direct vs Indirect Air Heater Infographic

What is the technical difference between direct fired and indirect fired? In terms of process air heaters, what are the features, benefits and applications of direct fired vs indirect fired? Direct Fired “Direct Fired” means just that; the burner is fired directly into the process air stream to heat it. Air heaters that are direct…

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Fluid Bed Dryers & Process Air Heaters

A diagram of the electrical system for a house.

The fourth and final type of dryer that we will discuss that utilizes air heaters is a fluid bed dryer (or fluidized bed dryer). According to Wikipedia: â€œA fluidized bed is formed when a quantity of a solid particulate substance is placed under appropriate conditions to cause the solid/fluid mixture to behave as a fluid.†Fluid Bed Diagram…

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Spray Dryers and Their Heat Source

A diagram of the process of spraying drying.

We have discussed flash and rotary dryers; the third type of industrial dryer that uses a process air heater for hot gas generation is a spray dryer. Spray dryers are known for distributing a consistent particle size and are the most prominent drying system in the food and dairy powder industries. Powdered colors, inorganic chemicals, insoluble organic…

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What Type of Air Heater Do Flash Dryers Utilize?

A diagram of an industrial process with the air dryer and the mixer.

As we mentioned last week, there are 4 main dryer systems that use process airs: rotary dryers, pneumatic/flash dryers, spray dryers, and fluidized bed dryers. This week we will focus on pneumatic/flash dryers (we will refer to them as flash dryers). Flash dryers make up some of the largest dryers in the world! These dryers are…

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Gun Style Air Heater: A Direct Fired Air Heater

A large tank with pipes and valves on top of it.

Overview of Gun Style Air Heaters: Stelter & Brinck designs and manufactures three types of Direct Fired Air Heaters: Packaged Air Heaters, Duct Style Air Heaters and Gun Style Air Heaters. This post will focus on Gun Style Air Heaters. This type of air heater is used in applications where the air stream is dirty…

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Duct Air Heater Overview

A large industrial machine with yellow pipes and controls.

Duct Air Heaters are one type of direct fired air heater used in industrial applications. These industrial heaters provide the hot air used to manufacture everything from clay and brick to coal and glass. Duct Air Heaters earned their name due to the fact that they are designed to be inserted right into the process ductwork.…

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Unmatched Process Air Heaters

A poster of various types of industrial equipment.

Stelter & Brinck process air heater types consist of indirect fired, gun style, packaged and duct style air heaters. Each of our air heaters is a product of over 95 years of combustion experience, is designed in-house by our engineers to be heavy duty, reliable and provide unmatched performance for your process. Because each S&B heater…

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Indirect or Direct Fired Air Heater Considerations

A series of images showing different types of air heaters.

Are you in the market for an indirect or direct fired air heater? Before making the capital investment, it’s important to take time to consider the following aspects of your process. Application & Reaction to Heat When beginning your search, you should first consider your application and answer the following:           What is the product…

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Air Heater Upgrade: Crane Composites

A picture of some equipment in the process of being installed.

Situation: Crane Composites is the leading supplier of fiber-reinforced composite products. Composite is used in virtually every industry- from wall and ceiling building products to truck and trailer products. Because their customers expect the highest quality products to be delivered to them on-time, Crane Composites’ manufacturing facilities cannot afford any unexpected equipment downtime.  Thus, when…

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