How To Buy A Furnace
Using energy-efficient and front-loading box-type models that do not consume too much laboratory space, the modern muffle furnace varieties can let you perform heat treatment at temperatures over 1000C.
how to buy a furnace
While muffle furnaces have been around since the 20th century, modern varieties can now achieve control standards in temperature uniformity and isolate heated samples from combustion material or contaminants. This, in turn, ensures accuracy and efficacy in research operations.
Additionally, muffle furnaces now include automation features such as programmable digital controllers or microprocessor-controlled thermoregulators. These features are perfect for intricate metallurgical and chemical applications, as well as for soaking, ramping, sintering, debinding, and end-to-end processes that involve metal injection molding.
Electrical furnaces, on the other hand, use heating elements such as iron-chrome alloys with insulated material to serve as a muffle, which prevents heat from exiting the chamber. With energy produced through either blackbody radiation, convection, or conduction processes, these eliminate combustion by products commonly seen in non-electric muffle furnaces, making these highly valuable for laboratory use and research.
When choosing a muffle furnace, it is crucial to consider the design specifications and requirements for your preferred production or application including the crucible size, chamber size, and input voltage. On the other hand, you also have the option of a custom-built lab furnace for unique productions and applications.
When choosing a muffle lab furnace, you have to consider your intended application first. While numerous furnace models can serve multiple lab operations, some processes and industries will require specific retort-based designs to successfully execute operations, especially for research that requires a wide temperature range. With an extremely heat-resistant internal ceramic and alumina fiber design, high-temperature furnaces are versatile and highly suitable for use in applications including:
Aside from the application, it is also crucial to consider the operating temperature range of the muffle furnace, as well as the rise time, which is the time it takes for the furnace to reach maximum operating temperature.
The maximum operating temperature will depend on the installed heating element. For example, lab furnaces that use iron-chrome wires such as Yamato FO Series 11.3 to 30L Programmable Muffle Furnaces have a maximum operating temperature of 1150 C with an R-thermocouple sensor a better choice over S-type thermocouple sensors. R-thermocouples are used in very high temperature applications and sometimes in lower temperature applications because of its high accuracy and stability.
As mentioned previously, certain applications require specific design requirements. Lab muffle furnaces are widely used in various industries such as agricultural labs, steel and paint manufacturers, biotech companies, physics laboratories, pharmaceutics, and small industries, to name a few. Therefore, a variety of samples are employed in research and experiments.
For instance, tests on giant molecule compounds such as rubber and plastics (polymers) require the combustion of samples at a temperature range of around 900 C to 1400 C to determine the percentage of ash from combustible material. When you go above or below this specific requirement, the furnace will either disintegrate the sample fully or risk contamination, which, in both ways, can gravely affect the reliability of research.
The input voltage is another important variable in choosing the right muffle furnace. The available options for power sources range from 110 VAC to 220 VAC, depending on the furnace type. However, in the US, the standard input voltage is different from the rest of the world with 120V and 60Hz AC electricity. That is why some lab furnaces with power supplies beyond the standard have round terminals instead of plugs.
Take note that to determine your required chamber size, it is important to remember that the constant temperature zones are smaller compared with the chamber size. Hence, select a muffle furnace that has a constant temperature zone larger than your subject material to achieve uniform heating. Yamato offers chamber size ranging from 1.5L to 30L. It is also noteworthy to mention that the FP Series Muffle Furnace is designed with a heater not exposed to the inner chamber, preventing contamination of samples.
Since the heating zone is a crucial aspect in selecting a muffle furnace, you should also opt for designs with heating chambers insulated with high-density ceramic or alumina fiber material such as those used in FO Series and FP Series, respectively.
Choose lab furnaces with safety features to reduce risks for accidents and injuries at work, as well as prevent moisture-reuptake during thermal treatment processes. Look for models with self-diagnostic functions, auto-recovery features especially after a power failure, calibration off-set, key lock function, automatic and independent overheat prevention device; and earth leakage breaker.
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Each of our high-efficiency natural gas furnaces is available with a liquid propane conversion kit. Shop our selection of brand-name furnaces and use the shop-by filters at left to choose your furnace efficiency, BTUs and other custom features. To learn more about the options you need to consider when you purchase a furnace online, including blower motor speed and burner stages, watch the videos linked to each filter.
There is a lot of variability to furnace costs, such as the upfront cost you pay when you buy the actual furnace, the cost to install it, and the gas bill you will be paying from using it. The upfront cost is simple to understand - the more special features a furnace has, the higher the price. Installation costs depend on the area you live in, what is being installed, and the contractor or contracting company used for it. A rough ballpark estimate for the installation cost will typically fall in the $1500-$2500 range. Unfortunately, there isn't a simple estimate that can be given for your gas bill. Too many factors come into play to determine what running your furnace will cost you, such as gas prices, how often it gets used, area you live in, the furnace's fuel efficiency, and so on.
A furnace typically has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. Any issues your furnace experiences will affect how long it lasts. This can include mechanical issues, failure to heat your home efficiently due to rennovations, and a sudden increase in energy bills due to the furnace working overtime to meet heating needs. If you are experiencing any of these issues with yours, you may need to start looking into Replacing Your Furnace.
New gas furnace prices will seem like a bargain when you consider the heating costs caused by outdated systems. Older furnaces have inefficient blower motors and even less efficient AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating). Regardless of when and how you want to replace your furnace, consider the cost of the new equipment and the efficiency of the furnace and what that will save you in the long term.
You should have your furnace serviced once a year when the unit is in prime condition, more often when it starts showing signs of aging. The best time to service a furnace is prior to the beginning of heating season.
Routine servicing of a furnace ensures it performs at peak output with minimal effort. Furnaces that fight against themselves, attempting to push air through blocked or occluded airways, generating heat with nowhere to go and struggling with dirt and grunge on their moving parts use more energy and usually succumb to failure way before their time. Failure to service a furnace generally results in higher energy bills, increases the risk of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning and voids the warranty for virtually all brands of equipment.
The frequency may vary depending on what the manufacturer says, but ideally a furnace's filter should be changed monthly. This will ensure your home has the best possible air quality and keep your furnace is performing at its peak. If you don't change your filter for a long period of time, the air in your home may become contaminated and affect your health. It will shorten your furnace's lifespan. If you need a new filter for your furnace, we offer a wide selection of them for Goodman and AirQuest furnaces available here at HVACDirect.
Keep in mind that this is an average. A high-quality system will be the most reliable and last the longest - especially if it is well-maintained. In fact, regular maintenance will help maximize the lifetime of your furnace and reduce the likelihood of major repairs.
Want your furnace to last longer? Finding a professional furnace installation and maintenance expert to install your new furnace and conduct regular maintenance is just as important as choosing the furnace itself.
A local furnace company is the best choice if you live in the Edmonton area. They will be familiar with the climate in your area. As a result, they will know how to best care for your HVAC system. Hiring a local company is especially important in Alberta, as winters can be extremely cold, taking a toll on your furnace.
Luckily, heating, plumbing, and air conditioning companies use a simple equation to determine whether a unit should be repaired or replaced. The equation compares repair costs and how many years a furnace has left with the cost of a new furnace.
Still unsure if you should repair vs replace your furnace? An Edmonton heating services company can help! As Edmonton homeowners, the experts at ProSolutions Heating Inc. are familiar with the local climate. As a result, we can help you decide if it makes sense to replace your HVAC system or if it would be more cost-effective to repair it. 041b061a72