Extending Lifespan of Heat Furnaces and Kilns

A well-maintained heat treatment furnace or kiln prevents costly premature replacements while improving your company's productivity and profitability.

However, to achieve these goals, it is necessary to provide proper care and maintenance to ensure optimal performance and prolong equipment lifespan.

In this article, we will address some recommendations that you can consider to improve the performance of your furnaces and kilns.

Tips to extend the lifespan of your heat treatment furnaces & kilns

One factor that usually plays a part in the degradation of this type of equipment is the lack of proper care and attention to calibration.

Poor combustion can lead to several problems – from excessive energy consumption to thermal insulation wear, even in the performance of equipment peripherals.

Furthermore, an incorrect calibration procedure can lead to temperature deviations, which can affect the quality of the treated products and compromise the efficiency of the process.

Below we share three tips to prolong the lifespan of your equipment and make the most of your investment.

    1. Conduct regular monitoring

Regularly monitoring process variables in heat treatment furnaces and kilns, such as temperature and internal pressure, is crucial. This periodic monitoring allows the detection of certain behaviors, so knowing the typical parameters of your equipment’s operation will enable you to identify variations and take timely preventive actions to avoid future problems.

It is essential to have specialized professionals who can evaluate the general condition of the equipment, which will guarantee quality performance and early detection of possible problems.

There are three types of maintenance that you can integrate into your heat treatment furnace regime:

• Predictive Maintenance. This helps in the early detection of equipment failures, aiming to prevent unforeseen damage.
• Preventive Maintenance. Regular equipment inspection to prevent breakdowns and to minimize wear and tear on furnaces and kilns.
• Corrective Maintenance. This involves repair to the equipment after a failure has occurred.

Fig. 1 NUTEC Bickley’s engineer monitoring kiln gauges.

     2. Monitor and calibrate the burners’ air/fuel ratio

The burners’ air-to-fuel ratio in heat treatment furnaces or kilns is critical to achieving accurate and consistent results. It is important to regularly monitor and calibrate these parameters to ensure they are operating correctly. One way to do this is by comparing the current values with the initial values obtained when the equipment was purchased.

Calibration ensures consistent, quality results. Employing instruments such as differential pressure manometers and sensors is advisable to carry out these procedures.

NUTEC Bickley has a wide range of precision instruments available, such as pressure gauges and differential pressure sensors. Place an order if you need any in your inventory.

Fig. 2 NUTEC Bickley’s engineer calibrating kiln flows.

3. Prevent and replace promptly

In addition to the tips above, promptly addressing problems or failures with a heat treatment furnace is important. Ignoring these signs or putting off necessary repairs can lead to further damage and, ultimately, prolonged downtime.

Notably, some components have a limited lifespan and must be replaced periodically to ensure optimal performance.

Another important point is the availability of spare parts. Maintaining an adequate inventory of spare parts can avoid delays in the event of failures or breakdowns.

Be sure to acquire original, quality spare parts compatible with your specific heat treatment furnace or kiln model.

At NUTEC Bickley, we advise you when selecting spare parts and help you create a customized plan for your inventory. Contact us today.

Fig. 3 Before combustion equipment update services

Fig. 4 After combustion equipment update services

Conclusions

With regular maintenance, accurate calibration, updating, and availability of spare parts, you will not only be able to reduce costs in the long run, but also maintain the efficiency of your processes and the quality levels of your products.

How can NUTEC Bickley help?

NUTEC Bickley is constantly developing new technologies and services to help our customers extend the lifespan of their furnaces and kilns, optimize costs, and reduce fuel consumption. Contact our advisors today to learn more.