Suspended Air Cooled Refractory System
The Bigelow-Liptak suspended refractory system utilizes an air cooled suspended refractory construction, for which there is truly no equal in the market place. This type of construction was originally developed over 40 years ago for our coal fired hot air furnaces and is still used today for the same purpose. Needless to say, if this type of refractory system can stand up to the vigorous duty of coal firing, it performs incredibly well in both oil and gas fired applications. We have an outstanding service record with many units in operation for more than 25 years without the need for repairs to the suspended wall. No other company comes close to a service record such as ours. In addition to its enviable service record, this wall design cools the hot products of combustion progressively along the length of the furnace. As a result, there are no “hot streaks” leaving the unit, but rather one homogeneous mixture at the required temperature. As a result of our generous sizing and patented wall construction, our units operate cooler, last longer, have less refractory maintenance and produce “hot gas”, not “headaches”. At last count, we had more than 140 cylindrical oil and/or gas fired furnaces utilizing this type of wall construction.
This style of lining offers a number of advantages including:
- Air-cooled steel shell
- Air-cooling of the suspended refractory construction
- Air sweep of the hot face of the suspended refractory wall
- Increased service life
- Minimal heat loss, resulting in high thermal efficiency
- Allows for accelerated start-ups
- Uniform outlet temperatures due to the progressive introduction of the dilution air.
With hundreds of Bigelow-Liptak hot air furnaces installed worldwide, we have the experience to handle any air heating application.