Choosing and Using Drum Warmers and Heaters

Processing and handling liquid ingredients and chemicals is often easier when the material is heated.  How do you go about researching and finding the very best way to heat the material in the pail or drum and then choose the best drum or pail heater to use?

First, make sure the liquid you are needing to heat is safe to heat. Never try to warm or heat a liquid or semi liquid, or anything that is hazardous or combustible or flammable. Heating an unsafe product could result in a disastrous accident and hurt someone and/or cause property damage. Always check your safety data sheet of the product you are thinking of warming or heating and make sure it is safe to warm or heat. 

Another important consideration to look at when you are needing to heat a pail or a drum is the compatibility of the container. Most drum heaters are for use with all metal drums and pails. There are a few made just for poly drums. Make sure you always buy a heater compatible with the pail or drum.

Check out your electrical system to make sure you can safely use a pail or drum heater. You will want to be sure that any pail heater or 55 gallon drum heater you are using has the correct type of connections, the correct amperage breaker, the correctly rated outlet, and that the pail and drum heater are equipped with the correct plug for the outlet. You may need to consult a local qualified electrician to get your electrical system checked out and confirm everything is safe and you are ready to use whatever pail heater or drum heater you choose. We recommend hiring a qualified electrician to help make sure your electrical systems and components are up to code and can handle your warming and heating requirements and the equipment you choose. 

Next, check with the maker of the product or products you are heating to find out what the melt point is. Knowing the melt point of the product you will be heating will make the job a lot easier and produce better results with less frustration. 

Check to find drum or pail heaters that will heat the product(s) to the temperature of the melt point of the product you will be heating. Make sure that the heater meets safety standards, and check to see if it appears to be well made. Nowadays it would also be beneficial to see if you can find customer reviews and check the performance of the drum or pail heater.

When the drum or pail heater arrives check it out closely and make sure it is exactly what you ordered. Review the instructions carefully and make sure you understand how the heater operates and where all of the controls are. Make sure it has the correct plug in, and works properly. One key thing to keep in mind while using any drum or pail heater is that most manufacturers recommend that you monitor the unit while it is plugged in and do not leave it unattended. Also, do not let the product you are melting get below the heater. 

Check out a few of our popular drum heaters.

Here is a drum heater for a poly drum 

Here is a popular drum heater for steel drums with a lot of good features.

If you need to heat a metal pail, here is a good choice. 

Email us at Help@level7chemical.com if you have any questions.