Electric Heating Co., Inc

Connections Continued     

Last week we discussed lead wire properly sized for Watt-Flex® cartridge heaters. Our focus was on the wire itself, but we learned that connecting wire provides both a conduit for current and an insulation from its environment. When supplying power to a heater, heat becomes an overriding consideration in the selection of wire. The insulation on the wire must withstand heat exposure.

At Dalton Electric Heating, we supply standard and high temperature. The temperature demarcation level is 250°C or 480°F of continuous exposure. Standard temperature wire comes in two forms. Teflon wire has an extruded solid jacket over the stranded wire and provides the optimum protection against contamination. Our standard wire is teflon-glass-teflon (tggt) with a teflon tape wrap over the wire, covered with fiberglass serving and finished with a treated glass braid.

Standard Temperature Leads     

High temperature wire utilizes a mica glass composite over the stranded wire and an outside covering of treated glass braid. This wire insulation is rated to 450°C continuous exposure but often connects to heaters producing much more heat than that. Use of different sleeving can affect protection for higher temperature exposure. You can differentiate high temperature wire from standard wire with Watt-Flex heaters because we place a blue or red tracer through the woven glass braid on the exterior of the high temperature insulation.

    High Temperature Leads

A psychiatrist gets a frantic call. "You've got to help me, Doctor," a woman says, "My husband thinks he's a big opera star. He sings every night at the top of his lungs! Aida! Rigoletto! Traviata!"

"Send him to me," the shrink says. "I'll see what I can do."

A week later, the woman calls again. "Doc, I don't know how you did it! He's not singing nearly as much. Did you cure his delusion?"

"No," says the psychiatrist. "I just gave him a smaller part."

Dalton Electric Heating Co., Inc (978)356-9844
28 Hayward Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA

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