Lucifer Furnaces delivered a single-chamber bench-model box furnace to Power Plant Services, an ISO 9001-certified provider of parts and repairs for the power-generation and steel industries. The 12-inch-high x 14-inch-wide x 24-inch-long heating chamber is lined with 4.5 inches of multilayer firebrick and mineral-wool insulation. Heating elements on the side walls provide 7 kW of power capable of heating to 2200°F, and heating-element coils are equally spaced and fully supported in easy-to-replace element holders to provide uniform heat and long life.            

The box-furnace frame is manufactured with heavy-gauge sheet steel reinforced and welded to form a rigid unit with a heavy-gauge front face plate designed to withstand warping and distortion from the chamber heat. A rear-mounted type-K thermocouple assembly is located through the rear wall of the chamber for rapid sensing of the chamber heat. The chamber of the unit is fitted with a ceramic hearth plate to support a workload of 25 pounds per square foot of hearth area. A digital time-proportioning temperature controller and all other instrumentation are mounted in a separate control panel on the side of the furnace away from the heat and loading of the chamber.