Watlow Power Series
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My market
Electric furnaces & ovens
Petrochemical & process
Semiconductor

Benefits
Key benefits of the Power Series
Save money with SCR control

More information
Specification sheet (PDF)
User's manual (PDF)
Ordering information
Power controller case histories
SCR Power Controls brochure (PDF)
SCR Power Control education (PDF)
PowerPoint® library
Video clip collection
Watlow web site

Go directly to information about...
Agency approvals
Alarms
Amperage ratings
Communications
Current limiting
Field-selectable input
Hardware overview
Heater bakeout
Heater diagnostics option
Heater tolerance detection
Installation features
Maximum rate of change
Operator interface
Ordering information
Phase angle control
Phase configurations
Retransmit
SCR control
Selection chart, control methods
Soft start
Voltage compensation
Zero cross control

Copyright © 2000, Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company. All rights reserved.
Legal notices
Petrochemical and process control

Applications

Petrochemical
Pulp and paper

Key benefits

Extend heater life
Detect heater problems
Get tight, responsive control
Control and monitor the Power Series remotely
Remove moisture from heater elements before startup


Extend heater life

Many petrochemical applications require special heaters that are expensive to replace. In addition, heaters are often inaccessible or difficult to maintain.

For example, to make heavy crude oil easier to pump, it is heated while still down in the hole. Special heaters are placed in the bottom of the well, where maintenance is difficult.

The Power Series can extend heater life by providing short on-off cycle times. This minimizes temperature variations, which results in less expansion and contraction of the heater element and extends heater life. Heater life tests show that SCR control provides up to 20 times longer heater life. This saves money on heaters, downtime and maintenance.

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Detect heater problems

In the early stages of the refining process, crude oil is very thick. The pipes through which the oil is pumped are heated with pipe-tracing heaters. If heaters fail at any point in the pipe, the oil can become thick and clog the system.

Heater tolerance detection can detect a failed heater, or can detect a problem before a heater fails. This allows you to replace heaters promptly when they fail, or to plan the replacement of a failing heater during the next scheduled maintenance.

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Get tight, responsive control

Many process applications require tight control. For example, fluids and gases are often heated by heat exchangers. The fluids or gases are constantly moving, so very responsive control is required to maintain accurate temperatures.

Phase angle control and variable-time-base control provide on-off cycle times of less than one second. This minimizes temperature variations and provides responsive, even control.

Voltage compensation ensures accurate control in spite of deviations in the line voltage. If the line voltage changes, the Power Series compensates so that power to the load remains constant.

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Control and monitor remotely

The communications option allows you monitor input and output and to view and change parameter settings from a personal computer or programmable logic controller (PLC). This allows you to control and monitor the process from a central control room.

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Remove moisture before startup

In some applications, heaters may sit unused for months. The heater elements can absorb moisture, which can change the characteristics of the heater. If full power is applied, it can damage the heater or blow fuses.

The Power Series includes a unique heater bakeout feature that soft starts the load to eliminate moisture in the heater, and shuts off the output if an overcurrent condition occurs. This prevents damage and saves time compared with other bakeout methods.

Heater bakeout animationWatch a four-minute animated presentation that explains heater bakeout:

When heater bakeout is needed.
How heater bakeout works.
How to set up heater bakeout.

Click here if the animation will not play or if you cannot hear the sound.

To get the heater bakeout feature, order the heater diagnostics option.

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