FAQ | Tubular Heaters

Tubular Heaters Available Off-the-shelf

What is a tubular heater?

The most noticeable tubular heater is the one you see in our home’s electric ovens.  The usually gray-colored round tube runs in an oval or circular pattern on both the range's bottom and top surface.  It is designed to cook food from the top and bottom with heat generated inside the tubular structure.

Tubular heaters typically contain resistive wire inside the metal tube insulated from coming in contact with the inside.  The insulation keeps the electrical current from grounding out on the metal surface of the tube while efficiently conducting heat to the outside.  At temperature, the metal outside the tube will glow red as evidence of its heating process.

The temperature of the resistive heating element is controlled by the oven’s temperature setting and feedback from the thermostat measuring the heat inside the range.  This type of heating is often referred to as convection heating.

Other types of tubular heaters

As with the household, electric oven tubular heaters are favored because they can be manufactured in various shapes and sizes to suit specific applications.  Another popular application is your home’s electric water heater.  In this case, the tubular heater comes in direct contact with the water and is shaped to evenly distribute the heat in the lower portion of the hot water tank.

The heating elements can be formed into almost any shape to enhance heat transfer.

Other applications for tubular heaters

• Outside electrical control enclosures
• Foodservice equipment
• Paint curing equipment
• Steam tables
• Sterilizers and autoclaves
• Textile and chemical dryers
• Epoxy curing
• Hopper and silo heaters
• Stretch wrapping machines

Each application is different but requires some type of temperature control to maintain the desired temperature and a finger guard to prevent accidental contact with the tubular heating element.

For these applications operating temperatures typically don’t exceed 194 degrees Fahrenheit.  A built-in controller can control the current, limiting the temperature without requiring a more complex thermostat and controller.  While the maximum temperature remains the same more wattage may be needed for different applications and volumes of air to be heated.

DBK Tubular Enclosure Heaters

Tubular heaters available off-the-shelf from DBK come in 100 and 240-volt models, each with five different power wattages up to 500 Watts.

The size and layout of the tubular heaters.  The size is the same for all models.

Each model has a 16-AWG HPN power cord 36 inches long and a 10-inch ground wire. The thermostat can be adjusted at any set point between 30 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

More about DBK USA Tubular Heater

The heater has open electrical contacts and is designed to be mounted inside an enclosure utilizing the pre attached electrical cord for power.  The aluminum case is grounded, but the connections to the heater and thermostat are exposed.   

Keyholes are provided for easy mounting, but the case must be grounded to an appropriate point in the enclosure using the 16-awg wire provided.

What is the tubular heater sheath made of?

The resistance wire is embedded in magnesium oxide (MgO), providing good conductivity and voltage insulation to the outside Incoloy sheath.  The sheath can be custom-made of many materials, including stainless steel. 

Please consult with our thermal management engineers if you require unique materials for your application.

What wattage do you need for your application?

Using the power calculator, you can estimate what wattage is needed.  If you aren’t familiar with calculating the power required, contact our engineers at 1-864-607-9047.  They will be glad to help size the heater for your application.