Selection of the latest process gas burners to fire paint drying ovens is unlocking significant advantages for a major dumper truck manufacturer, says Jeff Foster, sales and marketing director at Lanemark Combustion Engineering.
Optimised energy usage, minimised emissions and improved safety are among key benefits for one of the country’s leading manufacturers of construction equipment following the installation of the latest process gas burner technology from Lanemark Combustion Engineering Ltd.
Warwickshire-based Thwaites Ltd, who provide a wide range of dumper truck designs particularly to the construction industry, have replaced two well-proven Lanemark FD5EP-3 burner installations with the company’s latest force-draught gas and air FD5GAP-3 models. The result is a combination of excellent heat control and an anticipated significant saving in gas usage.
The two new burners have been fixed to two separate paint drying ovens, both of which receive products via an overhead conveyor – one for an epoxy primer preheat facility and the other for a polyurethane top coat drying installation. Up to 60 different components for machines weighing between one and 10 tonnes are handled each day.
In both cases the burners, which here operate with a propane gas source, fire through the wall of the oven into a combustion chamber, with a recirculating fan then distributing the heat evenly around the oven chamber.
The replacement of the two existing Lanemark burners – both hi/ lo units which have delivered reliable performance since 1998 – has allowed Thwaites to gain from the latest designs and technology.
The company’s FDGA burners utilise the latest ‘air pressure lead’ mono-bloc gas valve technology which is central to ensuring safe and efficient gas/air ratios are always maintained even under variable plant operating conditions. These offer significant benefits compared with alternative fixed gas/air valve linkage control arrangements while the absence of mechanical linkages between the gas and combustion air control valve and dampers means the need for adjustment or the risk of sticking are avoided.
Lanemark has ensured that the mounting flanges have remained unchanged over the period so the removal of the old and the connection of the new burners proved to be a very straightforward exercise. The work was completed in just two days during a shutdown maintenance period.
With the addition of an adaptor mounting plate, the FDGA burner range can be retrofitted to suit a wide variety of alternative makes and models, removing obsolete, less reliable and less efficient burners.
Thwaites’ Paintshop Supervisor highlights the importance of the new installations: “Temperature control and stability are vital for the paint adherence process to be optimised and this is fulfilled by the Lanemark burners,” he says. “Typically, we set the oven temperature to 90°C but the burners can operate at up to 110°C – a useful factor during winter months when ambient temperature can, of course, be somewhat lower.”
Thwaites’ decision to install the two new burners was partly based on the company’s long term association with the burner manufacturer. Apart from the burners that were replaced having met operational requirements for more than 20 years, Thwaites had also, more recently, benefited from a further FDGA unit installed on a new stand-alone oven.
“The performance here meant we had no hesitation in opting for the two additional Lanemark burners for the paint drying facility,” adds the Paintshop Supervisor.
With the ongoing support of the Lanemark BurnerCare service package – which offers benefits ranging from installation, commissioning and service plans to spare parts supply and rapid engineer call out, if needed – the new installations at Thwaites are set to deliver reliable, long term process heating efficiency for many years to come.
Central to such an important element of the production process, this translates into significant, ongoing peace of mind for the dumper truck manufacturer.
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