Electric heating system for controlling temperature of pipes to prevent freezing and condensation

Abstract

A tubular enclosure for a pipe which provides air-blanket insulation around the pipe, and an electric heater cable in the enclosure running along the underside of horizontal lengths of the pipe, cooperate in a system to prevent condensation of moisture on the pipe, loss of heat from a hot liquid in the pipe, and, with the benefit of convection in the air-blanket, heat around the pipe from the heater cable, to prevent freezing of the liquid. The tubular enclosure has thin walls of substantially uniform thickness which are corrugated in the direction of the tubular longitudinal axis to provide an array of axially spaced circumferential air cells around the pipe. The innermost diameter of the corrugated enclosure walls is larger than the outer diameter of the pipe to provide space between the enclosure and pipe for the heater cable. The corrugations render the enclosure freely flexible transversely to its longitudinal axis for following the pipe around curves. The enclosure is slit longitudinally to its tubular axis across the corrugations for permitting it to be fitted to an existing water pipe installation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.