What is a Portable Forced Air Heater

An air heater, by definition, is a device that is used to heat air. The different methods used to do so are: forced convection, radiant heat and by using resistive heating elements.

Air heaters using these different methods of heating work in different ways. In a forced air heater, the process of forced convection moves the air past a heat source using a fan or a blower. Air heaters using radiant heat contain coils which comprises heated media such as oil, hot water or steam. Resistant air heaters are made of sheaths that enclose a resistive heating element.

Portable Forced Air Heaters: How They Work

As mentioned above, in a forced air heater, the air is moved past a heat source by using a fan or a blower. In this type, the combustion chamber is usually placed below the blower or the fan. The other end of the combustion chamber has several openings. These openings are arranged in such a manner that they help stabilize and control the combustion in the combustion chamber.

The combustion chamber usually encloses a fuel nozzle which is in turn connected to the spark plug and a flame sensor. The sensor detects the levels of heat that are being generated. The sensor is connected to a control system which helps stabilize the heat levels and it also stops the flow of fuel in case of loss of power, malfunction of parts, blockage or increase in heat.

Air heaters can run on different types of fuels such as diesel, gasoline, electricity, oil, kerosene, propane and natural gas. A portable forced air heater often needs to be connected to an electrical power supply to work. Since it is designed to be portable, it is comparatively compact in size.

The instruction manual that comes with a portable forced air heater will inform the user about the maximum air temperature that can be generated by it, the maximum air flow that moves through the heater, and the heating capacity (in watts) of the heater.

Advantages

• They are resistant to corrosion and explosion.
• They are light weight and often have wheels to enable mobility with ease.
• They are microprocessor controlled.
• Some of these portable forced air heaters are also hand-held.
• Some forced air heaters have timers, which can be set to switch the heater on and off automatically. Others have systems which shut off the heaters when it overheats. Some air heaters are equipped with thermostats so that you can set the maximum heating temperature.

Uses

Portable forced air heaters can be put to a variety of uses.

Since they are compact and easy to carry, you can put them in your home, car or basement to heat up a small or large area (depending upon the heating capacity of the heater). There is even a portable forced air heater which you can keep in your golf cart!

Portable heaters are available in a variety of sizes and shapes and thus can be placed anywhere inside your home or car, and can provide enough heat for you during the cold winter nights. Due to their portable nature, you can move them around the house. So you can have a portable air heater in whichever room you plan to sit for some time and move it when you move to another room.

Portable air heaters also find their applications in the industrial sectors. However, the kinds used there will have a higher output in terms of the amount of heat generated. There are several industries where maintaining a certain level of heat during certain parts of the process is extremely essential. Such air heaters find their use in such industries. And since they can be moved around easily, they provide ease of mobility with is often a boon to the users. This is especially true for small scale industries which cannot afford to install huge heaters within their factories.