Coolroom Heating Cable Replacement Services: Hire C & M Coolrooms

06 May 2019

Contrary to popular opinion, refrigeration services don’t always place a heavy focus on cooling equipment. Admittedly, that’s their raison d’ê·tre, their main role in life, but this is a profession that covers many different engineering disciplines. Why, there are even times when C & M Coolrooms technicians find themselves repairing or replacing heating cables. 

Where Are The Heating Cables?

Warming wires of this type can be found in several locations. Before going any further, however, these aren’t true heating elements, they are radiant fractional amounts of thermal energy. For example, a cold concrete floor could crack because of the minus 20°C temperatures inside a deep-freeze unit. Worse still, there might be groundwater under the concrete. It’ll freeze, the ice will expand, and the concrete will crack again. Door seals also need wired heating. Trace heating wires thread their way around door frames so that a rime of ice doesn’t cause the door to stick. Last of all, heating cables can be wrapped helically around all sorts of fittings, including ducts and pipes.

Replacing Damaged Or Aged Thermal Cabling

The tiny amounts of energy are enough to stop a floor cracking or prevent a door from accumulating frost damage. Unfortunately, just like any other equipment fitting, these insulated electrical wires do have a limited lifespan. Admittedly, it’s not going to be easy to replace underfloor cables, not unless they were installed in tubular conduit. One solution to this issue is to replace the underfloor cables with rubberized mats. The knobbly pattern on those rubber sheets insulates the floor while also acting as a slip prevention aid. For the broken door seal, a replacement heating cable is far easier to replace.

Portal Frame Wiring Replacement The technician turns off the power, as the circuit may still be live, even though it’s no longer functioning. A continuity test with an electrical multimeter should be used next. If the circuit is damaged, the tech puts on a pair of gloves, exposes the wire, and carefully removes it from the door edges. A replacement cable, one that uses the same electrical specs, is now substituted for the damaged heat tracing. Remember, the lip of the door may seamlessly connect to the unit’s insulation panels. If that’s the case, a C & M Coolroom technician should be called out to carry out the work.

Interestingly, there are new underfloor options on the horizon. Heating cables are still clearly the superior option. Only, they can be impossible to replace. One solution involves running them through buried metal conduits. A second idea is to use a piped fluid, such as glycol. Transporting trace amounts of heat into the floor, there are no moving parts to fail in a fluid-based underfloor heating system.

Mark Connelly
C&M Coolroom Services
E-mail: markconnelly@cmcoolrooms.com.au
Mobile: 0412 536 315

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