Temporary Heat Rentals
DirtWright operates a fleet of hydronic heating units to provide temporary heat to your project in Central Alberta and beyond. Our hydronic heaters are sturdy trailer mounted boiler units which use non-toxic heat transfer fluid to provide heat. These are sometimes called glycol heaters or ground thaw heaters. We have units available in natural gas, propane, and diesel fueled versions.
Uses for hydronic heaters include:
- Temporary construction heat and space heating.
- Ground thaw.
- Frost protection and heat tracing.
- Thermal management and curing of concrete.
Ground Thaw & Frost Protection
Hydronic frost removal uses heat transfer hose laid out across the area and covered with insulating tarps or other insulating material to drive heat into the ground and thaw frost. Thermostat monitoring of the non-toxic propylene glycol based fluid allows efficient thermal control of the project heating. The coolant’s high heat capacity, superior thermal conductivity, and direct contact of the glycol lines ensure efficient heat transfer which means that your fuel dollars go the furthest. Our heat transfer hose is bigger than our competitors so provides more heat, faster. An air based heating system cannot penetrate frost as fast or cover the same area that ours can. Air heating systems require hoarding and a lot more fuel and time to perform the same amount of thaw. An hydronic ground heater is the fastest and most efficient way to thaw frozen ground, and saves the trouble of setting up hoarding.
Hydronic ground thaw systems are used:
- as an alternative to frost ripping to save wear on heavy equipment, or where ripping is not feasible due to access requirements, such as with pipeline crossings, utility digs, or other infrastructure work.
- To remove frost from ground to facilitate groundwork and construction. Frozen ground cannot be built upon without risk of movement, and should not be used for backfill.
- To protect construction work from frost heaving during the construction process. Footings are a common candidate for this, as the alternative if heave occurs is much more costly.
- To thaw and settle foundations that have heaved from insufficient frost protection. These take time to settle, and do not always go all the way back down right away depending on the soil type and loadings. Frost protection is cheaper and more effective.
- Thawing of frozen water lines, septic fields, and exterior hydronic systems for repair.
- Frost protection or heat tracing of piping at industrial sites and plants.
Reliable, efficient temporary Heat
Hydronic heaters can also provide clean, safe temporary heat to construction hoardings and interior space by circulating heat transfer fluid through a thermostat controlled heat exchanger. This allows already warmed air to be maintained at temperature and recirculated, instead of blowing out warm air by pushing new exterior air into the building as is done with indirect fired units. Recirculating already warm air increases efficiency and lowers the fuel bill, and carries no risk of exposure to CO or other combustion byproducts. The heat exchangers only need line in and out, which allows the heating trailer to be parked a distance away from the heating area. This removes a source of ignition further from the site. A single heat trailer can often service an entire hoarding or building site this way. Hydronic systems like these are often used in larger construction projects or concrete pours to control ambient temperatures.
Cold weather concrete curing
An hydronic heating system is an efficient way to meet CSA specifications for thermal control and curing of concrete slabs, foundations, mass concrete, and other concrete structures. Internal or external lines can be used to maintain temperature, and if excess heat is a concern, radiators can be plumbed in to dump heat. For larger pours, temporary pex lines can be laid in the concrete at appropriate intervals and our heaters used to circulate coolant throughout. This requires careful thermal engineering and management, but if executed correctly, will ensure appropriate thermal control is maintained.
If external temporary lines are used, flexible heat transfer hose is laid out on the area to be cured and protected with insulated tarps. Convective loss will overpower any heat the boiler can make, and it is important to protect the concrete from thermal shock and heat loss. As with any concrete cure, care must be taken to avoid overheating the concrete and to ensure uniform heating without unnecessarily removing moisture. Gas phases (Air) are a better insulator than conductor of heat, so as with ground thaw, the direct line contact and no requirement for hoarding setup make using a glycol heater a more efficient system than an indirect fired heater. External heat transfer lines like this are commonly used to protect grade beams, walls, and footings, but can be used to cure structural slabs, mass concrete, & slabs on grade.
Construction Heater Rentals
We provide units in natural gas, propane, and diesel fired options to suit your site conditions. DirtWright will rent you equipment, but we also can provide delivery, setup, maintenance, and takedown of our heater rentals, and rent accessories such as insulated tarps and heat exchangers. We use and service what we rent, so are well versed in operating our equipment and can make it work efficiently for your project. Our heaters are self contained and come with automatic hose reels with hose included. We serve residential, commercial, and industrial heater rental needs. Extra fueling capacity can be plumbed in, and our heat trailers are available up to 860 kBTU (Wacker Neuson, ZipThaw, and others). Multiple mode heating is possible by combining heat exchangers with thaw line, which helps reduce onsite equipment required. Up to 4 of our 200 kBTU heat exchangers can be run from one trailer, or duties can be split between space heating and ground thaw/concrete curing with the hydronic lines. One trailer can thaw up to about 15000+ square feet of area with the appropriate accessories (additional hose reels and pump packs/manifolds), which we also rent out.
