Band Heater Photo Courtesy of Thermal Devices.

Electric blankets are one of my favorite items during the winter months, particularly since I moved into my lovely hardwood, vaulted ceiling apartment that has terrible insulation. Curling up in bed at night within the folds of my heated blanket is the highlight of a chilly day, and it can be very difficult to pull myself out from the heated cocoon every morning. If pipes, cylinders, nozzles and similar structures had feelings I am sure they would voice similar sentiments about the band heaters that wrap around them to keep the substance flowing within them warm.

Warmth is not only a comfort thing for us humans, but a vital piece in the protection of industrial products like piping systems. Winter means freezing temperatures, which means the liquid within water transporting systems and similar systems will freeze without their own version of an electric blanket. That is where the band heater comes in. This electric heater, which is also known as a “knuckle heater” and “barrel heater,” is able to provide direct heat to whatever object it is attached to between temperatures of 300º and 1400ºF.

Easy to install and available in a variety of dimensions to perfectly suit the application they are meant for, band heaters are essential to more then just pipes in cold environments. In fact, the extruding process of plastic, metal, rubber and vinyl would not be able to function without the aid of band heaters. The materials utilized in the following processes must be molten to be used properly, or the dip molding, injection molding, blown film extrusion, wire processing and other similar techniques would not work. Band heaters are able to fit around awkward pipe sizes in spaces where larger heaters would not be able to work effectively. However, because of the nature of the band heater shape, more then one are often required for large applications.