Selecting a location for installation
The preheater should be installed as close as possible to the outlet of the thermal fluid heater. Doing so is particularly important for a heater with a single thermal fluid circuit (Fig. 5). For a heater with a manifold for multiple circuits, location of the preheater is less critical (Fig. 6).
Location is important because HFP preheaters may use up to 450,000 Btu/hour during the first hour of operation. As soon as heated fuel is circulated back to the inlet side of the fuel pump, the preheater will use less energy.
Figure 5. HMA plant with single thermal fluid circuit. Preheater is in thermal fluid circuit immediately after the hot oil heater. Alternatively, it can be placed after the AC tanks.
Figure 6. HMA plant with multiple thermal fluid circuits. Preheater is in a seperate, dedicated thermal fluid circuit.
HFP preheaters are designed for a flow rate of 90 gpm of thermal fluid. We strongly recommend installing an independent thermal fluid circuit with its own pump and using it solely for the preheater.
| Important Notice
Depending on ploant operation and configuration, thermal fluid heaters with outputs less than 1 million Btu/hour may not provide enough heat for operating preheater while heating other plant components.
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Because HFP-E models are electrically heated, they do not have to be installed close to the thermal fluid heater. HFP-E models may be installed as close as possible to the burner that consumes the heavy fuel. This is to minimize heat loss in the fuel piping from the preheater to the burner.
Foundation
Preparing a suitable foundation for the preheater is the responsibility of its owner. The owner is also repsonsible for properly bolting a stand-alone preheater to the foundation and for complying with all local codes and regulations.
Heatec provides the footprint drawing for the foundation. This drawing is on the preheater dimension sheet we provide. We recommend a concrete foundation and self-tapping anchor bolts (Fig. 7) to bolt the preheater to the foundation.
The height of the preheater saddles is normally enough to connect the fuel oil supply to the inlet at the preheater. if you require more height, use elevated concrete pads underneath the preheater legs.
Figure 7. Self-tapping anchor bolt.
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