CONTROLS FOR IMMERSION HEATERS - Prevent Those Fires

Before installing (or allowing continued use), ensure that every immersion heater is properly controlled with a temperature regulating switch that will detect an over-temperature condition, trigger an alarm, and immediately turn off the unit.

All immersion heaters should also be equipped with a low-level switch to detect the process fluid reaching a level no less than one inch of fluid above the filament heating zone.

In any situation where water or other fluids are present, ground fault circuit interruption (GFCI) protection must be installed to prevent the risk of employees contacting nearby fluids that may be electrically charged, which could cause a shock injury.

Lastly, never allow immersion heaters to be used with flammable liquids.

Maintenance = Immersion heaters should be inspected, tested, and serviced at least monthly, or in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. If issues are identified, the heater involved should be immediately removed from service until appropriate repairs are completed.

Remember - No piece of equipment, machinery or tooling is designed to last forever.

A more comprehensive inspection and maintenance should be performed annually by qualified personnel. The timing of both monthly and annual inspections or service should be part of the company’s preventative maintenance program.

These proactive efforts will help ensure continued use of each immersion heater will be as safe as possible.

ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE PREVENTS OVERHEATING

A proactive Electrical Maintenance Program can prevent fires in buildings and ensure a safe and reliable electrical system. A proactive step to help maintain your building from the risks of fires is to conduct a periodic electrical testing or assessment of your buildings by a certified electrician. This will help find areas of potential overheating. This useful proactive action step should best be tried every 5-years.

This step will help control demand overloads of older electrical systems that have not been upgraded. It will control fires from deteriorated maintenance and deteriorated conditions from your electrical system. And maintenance can control fire risk from any possibly improper installations that can create hazardous electrical conditions by themselves.

There are various root causes of fires due to wiring overheating alone and these must be controlled with maintenance.

OVERLOAD
On overload is an overcurrent higher than usual that is forced or confined in the same normal path or wire.

SHORT CIRCUIT
When there is a short circuit, the path of the electrons is separated. This can be for just a bit, but the electron flow goes off the normal path.

ARCS
Electrical arcs form between wires or a within a connection where there is a space.

INSULATION & WIRING
Insulation starts to degrade with age, heat, and other contaminates like fluids. A short circuit is the most extreme form of insulation failure.

ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE

BREAKERS

In order to replace a breaker one needs to turn off all branch circuit breakers and the main circuit breakers. You should check for voltage on adjacent breakers and never assume they have been turned off. A certified electrician can help remove or replace main breakers and disconnect a wire safely from the faulty breaker. They can recheck it when it is replaced for any other malfunctioning equipment, and replace those if needed too.

In addition to protection against electric shock, electrical installations should be designed so that there will not be any parts that will overheat. The electronic components and their plastic or rubber insulations themselves have a maximum temperature. If that temperature is exceeded then that component may fail and cause a short circuit. Breakers if maintained will help catch that.

Electrical cables and equipment are not 100% efficient either and should be reviewed. For every kilowatt of power passing through there will be a few watts of heat dissipated in the cable due to the resistance in the copper (or other) conductors and the losses in electronic components. This heat will cause the equipment to heat up. How much it heats up depends on how fast the heat is conducted away from the cable or the equipment.

TAILGATING & DRIVING

A driver’s best defense against becoming involved in a rear-end collision is to create a “safety cushion” by keeping at least two seconds between them and the vehicle in front of them. This allows time for the driver to perceive and react to a roadway hazard, ultimately avoiding an accident. For added protection, when driving in poor conditions, such as driving at night, in bad weather, in heavy traffic, and through roadway construction, drivers should double their safety cushion to four seconds.

Many drivers are tempted to follow more closely than they should. This practice, commonly referred to as “tailgating,” is risky and can lead to rear-end collisions or other accidents. When drivers tailgate, they significantly reduce their stopping distance—or the distance needed to come to a complete and safe stop.

Stopping distance is much longer for a heavy truck than it is for a passenger vehicle, such as a car. In fact, it takes about twice the distance to stop a heavy truck than it does a car. Perception and reaction times are two separate intervals of time. Perception is the time we need to see and process the roadway hazard, while reaction time is the time needed for a driver’s body to physically react to their brain’s perception. When a driver tailgates, both are significantly reduced. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, it takes alert drivers approximately two seconds to see a roadway hazard and react to it.

So--The more space a driver allows between their vehicle and the vehicle in front of them, the more time they have to see a hazard and react safely.

FOG WHILE DRVING

Fog creates dangerous driving conditions & has been the cause of a high number of accidents and fatalities. Fog is just a cloud form at earth's made of tiny water droplets in the air.If you must drive in fog, follow these safety tips:

• Slow down and do not drive faster than your
vision.
• Be cautious, fog can become thicker without
warning and without being noticed until it is too
late to react.
• Increase following distance to ensure enough
reaction time and stopping distance.
• Turn on all your lights-including your hazard
lights. Use low beam headlights and fog lights.
Do not use high beams.
• Turn on your 4-way flashers to give vehicles
approaching from behind a better opportunity to
see and notice your vehicle.
• Use windshield wipers and defroster as necessary
to maximize visibility.
• Be ready for emergency stops by other vehicles.
• If possible, drive in a “pocket” where no other
vehicles are around you.
• Turn off your cruise control so you are in control
of your vehicle.
• Use the right edge of the road or roadside
reflectors as a guide.
• Listen for traffic you can’t see.
• Do not change lanes or pass other vehicles, unless
absolutely necessary.
• Remember that other drivers have limited sight
distance and that fog makes the road wet.
• Signal early, and when you use your brakes, don’t
stomp on them.
• Watch out for slow-moving and parked vehicles.
• If you cannot see, pull completely off the road
preferably at a rest area or truck stop.
• If you pull off the road, turn on your hazard
flashers immediately.
Remember to practice safety. Don’t learn it by
accident!