David Turner's Retirement

After over 45 years working for Carbolite one of the most well recognised and valued members of the sales team is nearing retirement.

I am sure you will join us all in wishing David a very happy retirement.

Faster Lead Times

We are now able to offer improved manufacturing lead times on many standard laboratory products.

Some of the most popular items - standard AAFs, ELFs and ABA 7/35s are now held in partially assembled form only requiring configuration for local voltages, meaning they can be ready to ship in around 2 weeks.

This is the result of a £600,000 investment in new manufacturing equipment and the reorganisation of the factory layout in order to ensure a smoother flow of materials and products during manufacture.

But faster manufacturing can mean that long lead time accessories can make a bigger impact on the final delivery date, even when the furnace itself is complete and ready to ship. So, it is now more important than ever to establish exactly which work tubes, end seals and radiation shields the customer will need before ordering.

Change to clear heat on neon

We are implementing a change to use a clear coloured neon for the ‘heat on’ lamp on the front panel of all furnace models, instead of the current amber neon. We are changing so that we can conform to the BSEN 60204 Standard, so please do not be alarmed when you see this change come through in deliveries.

CAF Digital, back by popular demand!

Two models of CAF-Digital Coal Ash Fusibility Test Furnace were supplied for many years.

The CAF-DIGITAL for testing to ASTM D 1857-87 using carbon monoxide as a reducing gas and the CAF-Digital using hydrogen gas as a reducing gas.

Two years ago we withdrew the ‘hydrogen’ CAF-Digital from the pricelist due to falling demand, leaving only ‘carbon monoxide’ CAF Digital.

Little did we realise just how effective this would be in stimulating demand! In fact so effective that we have now reintroduced the CAFDigital for ISO540 and it will once again appear in the pricelist.

It is important to know which version the customer really needs because there are substantial differences between the two furnaces not least in the ‘fail safe’ gas control system, which is essential when working with highly flammable hydrogen gas.

This means that it is neither practical nor economically feasible to convert one model into the other AFTER it has been delivered!

New High Temperature Modified Atmosphere Ovens

There’s a new range of standard ovens available which is designed for laboratory and batch production applications where samples must be heated in a nitrogen or argon atmosphere.

They are designed to give accurate and uniform heating and economical use of gases.

The HTMA High Temperature Modified Atmosphere Ovens are available in three standard sizes of 28 litres, 95 litres and 220 litres. For each size there is a 400°C, 500°C and 600°C model. The standard controller is the Carbolite 301 including the secondary overtemperature protection circuit.

Robustly built they have a seam welded, 430 grade ferritic stainless steel interior with sealed entry points for elements and fan shaft, designed to contain an inert gas (nitrogen or argon) atmosphere.

Gas is fed through a 10mm OD bulkhead compression fitting and uses two flow-meters; a purge gas flow-meter maintains control through the initial purge period and a second process flow-meter controls the gas feed during the process cycle. Both are set using manual needle valves.

However, for an additional cost a fully automated gas control system can be fitted to operate via a 3508P1 time / temperature programmable controller (over-temperature protection would then be provided using a 2132 control). The chamber is fitted with a rear mounted centrifugal fan to create a uniform atmosphere and temperature typically better than ±5°C, with a control reproducibility of 0.1°C.

Two shelves are supplied as standard in 28 litre models, the larger models are supplied with three and have the capacity to accept an additional shelf. The standard copper pipework, brass needle valves and flow-meter fittings can be upgraded to stainless steel for an optional extra charge if using oxygen gas. Optional floor stands are available for all three sizes.

The SNF Swelling Number Furnace is back!

When coal is carbonised, or heated to drive off volatiles, the coal becomes fluid and evolves gas.

This important characteristic of coal helps determine the quality of the coal and its suitability for applications in coking and steel making.

This is described by an index number defined by BS 1016:Section 107.1:1991 and ISO 501:1981 standard test methods. A Carbolite furnace designed to perform this test, the Carbolite SNF-Swelling Number Furnace, was removed from the price list in 2007. We have now re-introduced the SNF for 2010.

The SNF furnace is available with either the standard 2132 controller, or with a 3216P1 eight segment or a 3508P1 20 segment programmable controller. Over-temperature protection and two phase options are available for all three configurations.