 | It has been long overdue but we have finally accomplished our goal of offering a heater that operates within our guidelines. This heater is the result of months of testing a number of different components and configurations. It became very obvious from the beginning that the standard set-up of a hot water heater equipped with a thermostat does NOT provide accurate results. This heater/thermostat set-up only works is if you find the exact flow rate where the desired temperature is reached while the heater is activated 100% of the time, if the heater has to turn ON and OFF multiple times during oil processing the oil only reaches the desired temperature for a fraction of the time (due to the thermostat's default ON/OFF operation). For instance when the oil reaches the desired temperature the thermostat completely turns OFF the heater resulting in cold oil flowing passed the heating element, by the time the thermostat reacts to turn the heating element back ON the hot oil has already passed by and the new cold oil needs to be heated. This event occurs over and over again because the thermostat is not made to operate under these conditions (made to heat a reservoir not flowing liquid in a pipe). The only way we determined that this phenomenon was taking place was by immersing a thermocouple in between the heater/thermostat and the centrifuge and recorded the temperature readings. The results were staggering, the oil would reach the desired temperature for only a few seconds and proceed to fall far below this setting, this happened over and over again. Our testing also indicated that heating oil upstream from the centrifuge was inaccurate due to the fact that the oil had a chance to cool prior to entering the centrifuge, thus decreasing cleaning efficiency. The heating element used is also an important factor, by using a low density heating element made for heating flowing liquids we circumvented the issues of burning the oil, as well as increased heating efficiency. The standard 240Volt hot water heating element (Home Depot) wired for 120Volt current converts it to a low density heating element, but these elements are manufactured to heat standing reservoirs of liquids NOT flowing liquids (we do not recommend using a 120Volt hot water heating element because it is a high density heating element with high operating temperatures which can result in oil burning). The heater bolts on to back of the ABSOLUTE CENTRIFUGE. The temperature is managed by an intelligent PID temperature controller located on the front of the heater assembly utilizing fuzzy logic to ensure that the oil is kept constant at the desired temperature. Fuzzy logic allows this temperature controller to incrementally adjust the power level of the heater in response to the measured temperature reading, thus outperforming all other temperature controllers that employ the default ON/OFF power strategy (ie. thermostats, other temperature controllers). Both the desired temperature and current temperature are displayed allowing for precise interpretation of temperature throughout the entire oil cleaning process. We include a 25Amp solid state relay (SSR) for prolonging the life of the temperature controller. Temperature measurement is made possible by a stainless steel K-type thermocouple (Temperature range 32-1,100ºF [0-600ºC]) that is immersed in the oil directly before it enters the centrifuge providing extremely accurate temperature readings. A 15Amp fast acting fuse located on the front of the heater is wired upstream to eliminate overloading the temperature controller with excess current. Along with the temperature controller, an illuminated light switch indicates when the heater is turned ON/OFF eliminating the need to "double check" the heater. The heating element used in this 120Volt application is a low density heating element which prohibits oil burning and is made for heating flowing liquids (not reservoirs of fluid like the standard hot water heating element). Black pipe is used as plumbing throughout the heater assembly providing polymerization/oxidation resistance while the outside of heater assembly is 100% aluminum (16 gauge) offering a durable corrosion resistant exterior. |