Heat for fan duct

[The walkmen]

Evening all, been thinking about heating for our fan tunnel on our flat floor dryer. How about an old central heating boiler with a few radiators inside the tunnel I'm sure I could find a second hand system for a few £100 quid. Anyone done this/ thoughts? Or am I talking daft?

 

[Brisel]

I run a 125,000 BTU version of one of these

Installation costs? Nil! It uses 60 litres of red diesel/day & dries 500t of wheat in a week. When the weather is dry I only turn it on in the afternoons as the humidity rises. It adds 5 oC to the air in the tunnel despite 2 x 50 hp fans pulling air in.

 

[The walkmen]

Where do you site the heater?

 

[Brisel]

A few feet back from the fan intake. I try to put it to one side of the fan house air intake so you don't get too much air rushing past the heater & get any rain into the fan & burner assemblies. If the heater doesn't aim directly into the fan itself don't worry, the heat will be sucked in. As long as the hot end is aimed at the metal fan housing any radiation will be picked up by the metal fan housing.

I think that a boiler & heat exchanger setup is a lot of hassle & not necessary for this. Radiators in the tunnel will just get in the way & impede air flow IMO.

 

[Brisel]