The Advantages of Segment Heating vs Series Heating

A subtle innovation in spray foam hose technology is the development of “Segment Heating” as opposed to “Series Heating”. This might sound like a small difference, but it could have a significant impact.

Think older Christmas lights –if one bulb burns out, they all go out. That’s a “series circuit”. It’s the same heating concept in a traditional spray foam hose. Newer light strands are designed using a “parallel circuit”, if one bulb burns out, the other bulbs are unaffected. Segment heating works the same way.

Hose Response to Environment:

Series Heating: In a traditional hose using series heating, a single temperature reading is taken at the beginning of the hose. This works in ideal conditions where the temperature outside is the exact same temperature as your truck, inside the structure, and aligns with your set-point.

How should a hose be heated in this environment? The heating elements in those three sections will need to be at different temperatures to make sure that your chemical maintains the proper temperature by the time the chemical makes it to your gun.

Segment Heating: A hose with segment heating can read the temperatures in these different environments and provide the proper amount of heat in the correct hose section – ensuring that your chemical stays at your set-point.

Dynamic Heat Items to Consider:

Series Heating:

A hose with series heating does well while there is chemical constantly moving through it. If the flow is consistent and predictable, the hose does exactly what it’s designed to do.

When spraying stops, the chemical in the hose will either increase or decrease in temperature based on ambient temperature and whether the heating element is engaged or not.

After a break, that chemical is now being pushed forward through the hose by the chemical leaving the pre-heaters in the proportioner. The hose now contains chemical at two different temperatures and viscosities, which results in a detrimental impact on pattern, yield, and ratio.

Segment Heating:

Since each section of hose is measuring temperature and applying heat to keep chemical at its set-point, the chemical in the hose is always at the correct temperature throughout the length hose whether you are spraying or not.

This ensures that your chemical is always at your set temperature with a consistent viscosity; keeping your pattern predictable, keeping you on ratio, and maximizing your yield.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO UPGRADE TO SEGMENT HEATED HOSES. CONTACT US TODAY!