New heater controls help avoid plant shutdown

Asphalt heaters play a crucial role at HMA plants. If an abnormal condition causes one to shut down, it’s essential to get it going again before running out of mix. A plant operator’s worst nightmare is to run out of mix while a long line of trucks is waiting to be filled.

Before an operator can get a heater back into operation he must figure out exactly what caused it to shutdown. The faster he can find the source of the problem the faster he can solve the problem. But this can be difficult and time consuming because there are a numerous conditions that can cause a heater to shut down. That’s where the new controls on Heatec heaters come into play.

New controls on Heatec heaters can instantly pinpoint virtually any problem that causes it to shutdown. That is the main benefit from a recent upgrade Heatec made to the controls on its helical coil heaters.

The upgrade uses new Fireye controls to replace older Fireye controls and eliminate long-used status lights. (The lights are no longer needed because the new controls now provide much more useful status information.)

• The upgraded controls, known as BurnerLogix^™, include three Fireye^® units:
• Display Module BLV512
• Burner control YB110 including Programmer Module YP100
• Annunciator YZ300

The display module is now mounted on the face of the heater control panel. The burner control and annunciator are mounted inside the heater control panel. The controls also include Fireye flame scanner UV1A6, which is installed in the burner housing. Fireye and BurnerLogix are trademarks of Fireye, a Kidde Company.

The burner management controls provide important messages about the operating status of the heater. If there is an alarm condition with the heater, the message shown on the display reveals the exact cause (unlike the old status lights). Half the battle to fix a problem is often spent pinpointing its cause.

Other changes were made in the upgrade. Two mini-sized temperature Yokogawa controllers replace older Honeywell controllers. A 30” x 24” x 10” panel now houses the new controls.

A new Heatec brochure features the new controls. It is entitled Helical Coil Heaters For Hot Mix Asphalt. Call 800-235-5200 for a free copy.

The new controls replace older Fireye Flame Monitor E110 previously used. The older controls are being phased out and will be available only for a limited time.

Some owners may want to upgrade an older heater to the new controls. The new parts and retrofit instructions are available from the parts department at Heatec.

The following publications pertaining to the new controls are available at HEATEC.COM under TEC-NOTES—Hot Oil Heaters: