Process design basis
Record normal and peak duty, supply and return temperatures, thermal fluid, circulation demand, pressure drop and operating schedule.
Thermal oil heater sizing & specification
Thermal Oil Heater Sizing and System Selection
JIELI equipment selection · Capacity, fuel and complete system scope
Compare thermal oil heater configurations using useful heat duty, oil temperatures, fuel and the complete circulation loop. Use the sizing guide and quotation workbook, or send JIELI your duty, fuel and project country to start a selection review.
Best for indirect process heatDrying, hot pressing, laminating, reactor jackets and heat exchangers—high temperature without generating steam pressure.
0.6–30 MWGas/oil and biomass/Coal systems
Up to 320°CThermal oil outlet temperature
System matchedHeater, pumps, tanks, controls
Procurement & RFQ control
Compare thermal oil heater quotations on one complete supply boundary
Prepare one process specification, then record each supplier's response against it. The comparison workbook below separates the buyer's requirements, three supplier offers and unresolved differences. It covers useful heat duty, fluid and circulation, fuel, efficiency basis, controls, documents and the delivery boundary.
Equipment boundary
Separate heater-only pricing from burners or grates, pumps, expansion and storage tanks, controls, heat recovery and emissions equipment.
Supplier deliverables
Request GA drawings, P&ID, data sheets, cause-and-effect logic, inspection records, manuals, packing list and commissioning responsibilities.
Export & site interfaces
Confirm project code, destination, transport limits, electrical supply, local emissions, civil work, erection, piping and excluded site services.
Quotation rule: compare the same thermal oil heater duty, temperature, fluid, fuel and scope. A lower heater-body price is not a lower complete-system cost when pumps, tanks, controls, heat recovery or site interfaces are excluded.
What affects thermal oil heater price?
Compare the complete heating loop, not just the heater body. A gas-fired thermal oil heater needs a matched burner and fuel train; a biomass-fired system also needs fuel storage, feeding and ash-handling scope. Request itemized prices for circulation pumps, expansion and storage tanks, controls, heat recovery, transport and site installation, with clear inclusions and exclusions.
Send the useful heat duty, required oil temperature, fuel and project country. A skid-mounted thermal fluid heater and a field-assembled thermic fluid system can meet the same duty with different transport and installation costs. Request a thermal oil heater quotation.
Download thermal oil heater quotation comparison (Excel)
Includes English, Spanish and Russian sheets. Fill the buyer column, compare up to three suppliers and list exclusions or missing data.
Download 17 YLW model records and project input sheet (Excel, EN / ES). Use the manufacturer catalogue beside your comparison workbook; it does not replace loop calculations or a confirmed offer.
Manufacturer reference: Surabaya YLW250, 2800 kW (PDF, EN / ES). Use the workshop reference alongside the workbook to identify heater, oil-circuit and flue-gas responsibilities. Compare biomass quality, required temperatures and pump duty separately; a 2.8 MW rating alone does not define the complete system.
Buyer terminology
Thermal oil heater, thermal fluid heater, thermic fluid heater or hot oil boiler?
These terms usually describe the same basic function: a heater raises the temperature of a circulating heat-transfer fluid in a closed process loop. “Thermal fluid heater” is common in North America, “thermal oil heater” is widely used internationally, and “thermic fluid heater” is common in South Asia and parts of the Middle East.
For an international RFQ, state useful heat duty separately from fuel input and give the units explicitly. A value in kcal/h is a heat rate, not an oil-flow rate. Confirm supply and return temperatures, fluid properties, pressure drop and the safety architecture before comparing quotations.
Best-fit processes: indirect heating, drying, hot pressing, laminating, reactor and vessel jackets, heat exchangers and other duties needing stable high-temperature heat without generating process steam. Pump pressure, fluid expansion and protection requirements still apply.
Selection information
Eight inputs define a credible thermal oil heater specification
Providing these inputs allows the heater, circulation system, combustion equipment, controls and supply boundary to be checked together.
Rated heat duty
State useful process heat in kW, MW or kcal/h, then identify startup demand and distribution losses separately. Use the thermal oil heater sizing calculator to distinguish useful duty, design margin and fuel input.
Required outlet temperature
Provide the temperature required by the heat-using equipment—the thermal oil heater outlet temperature—and the expected return temperature where known.
Process flow requirement
State the minimum flow required by the heat-using equipment and its pressure drop. The proposal must also confirm minimum heater circulation, pump duty and thermal-fluid properties at startup and operating temperature.
Available fuel
For a gas-fired thermal oil heater, provide gas composition and available pressure. For a biomass-fired thermal oil heater, provide moisture, particle size, ash and heating value. State the grade and supply conditions for liquid fuels.
Local emissions standard
Provide the applicable limits for NOx, SOx, particulate matter and stack discharge, plus any local approval or monitoring requirements.
System-efficiency target
For thermal oil heater efficiency, state the operating load and fuel heating-value basis (LHV or HHV). Mark the measurement boundary: heat transferred to the oil at the heater is not the same as heat delivered after the distribution pipework. List included heat recovery and report pump and fan electricity separately. Compare gas and biomass proposals at the same useful process duty; a burner-input rating is not the guaranteed heater output.
Controls and instrumentation
State preferred control components or PLC/DCS platform, automation level, remote communication needs, and the preferred grade or brand level of instruments.
Scope of supply
Clarify whether the requirement covers the heater only or a complete system with pumps, tanks, controls, fuel handling, emissions equipment, piping and site services.
Fuel strategy
Gas-fired or biomass-fired thermal oil heater: define the fuel basis
For a gas-fired thermal oil heater, record gas composition, supply pressure and burner operating range. For a biomass-fired thermal oil heater, record moisture, particle size, ash and heating value before comparing furnace and fuel-handling scope.
Compare the manufacturer’s gas/oil-fired heater model data and biomass heater model data for published heat duty and circulation figures. Confirm the selected fluid and supply/return temperatures when requesting a configuration.
- Separate useful process heat from burner input and state the efficiency basis
- Confirm circulation and fluid limits at normal, minimum and startup conditions
- Itemize solid-fuel storage, feeding, grate, draft, dust collection and ash handling
- Record exclusions and compare offers using the quotation workbook
Capacity language
Common thermal oil heater duties across regional specifications
A heat-duty range is not a confirmed model offer. Check the linked manufacturer data for the selected fuel, temperatures and circulation; duties outside that published data need a separate engineering review.
These are unit conversions for early comparison, not final model selections. Available series and circulation parameters depend on fuel and design conditions. For a duty with design margin and fuel input, use the thermal oil heater sizing calculator with your contracted fuel heating value, or review its worked calculation example.
| Nominal duty | MW | Approx. MMBtu/h | How to specify the duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 kcal/h | 1.163 MW | 3.97 | Useful process heat; state supply/return temperatures |
| 2,000,000 kcal/h | 2.326 MW | 7.94 | Separate continuous demand from warm-up duty |
| 4,000,000 kcal/h | 4.652 MW | 15.87 | Confirm as-fired fuel analysis and efficiency basis |
| 8,000,000 kcal/h | 9.304 MW | 31.74 | Check process flow and total system pressure drop |
| 12,000,000 kcal/h | 13.956 MW | 47.61 | Define coincident loads and the stated design margin |
| 25,800,000 kcal/h | 30.000 MW | 102.36 | Confirm configuration, redundancy and delivery modules |
Complete system scope
The heater body is only one part of the operating loop
Circulation
Duty/standby pumps, strainers, differential pressure checks and piping sized for the selected thermal fluid.
Expansion & deaeration
Expansion volume, high-point arrangement, low-pressure control and optional nitrogen blanketing.
Safety & controls
Flow proof, high-temperature trips, furnace pressure, burner interlocks and controlled shutdown logic.
Heat recovery
Economizer or air-preheater selection based on stack temperature, corrosion limits and operating hours.
Workshop and project photographs
Thermal oil heaters across gas, biomass and coal-fired configurations
Compare coil fabrication and finished equipment with the installed-system views below. For each fuel route, review the visible combustion equipment, service access and auxiliary interfaces, then request the corresponding layout and supply list for your project.
Gas-fired thermal oil heater production
Coil fabrication, body assembly, factory delivery and operating installations for YL, YQW and YW thermal fluid heater series.
Biomass thermal oil heater systems
Vertical and horizontal heaters for wood chips, pellets, qualified shells and other project-specific biomass fuels.
Surabaya project: YLW250 biomass-fired thermal oil heater, 2.8 MW
YLW250 · 2800 kW · Surabaya, Indonesia. Review the heater, combustion base, control screen and flue-gas auxiliaries when discussing the supply boundary, service access and system interfaces. Final fuel data and operating requirements remain project-specific.
Coal-fired thermal oil heater projects
YLW and circulating-fluidized-bed arrangements shown through fabrication, coil production and actual plant installation.
Use the photographs and field video to discuss equipment arrangement, access and site interfaces. Confirm final dimensions, protection logic and the supplied components in the project documents.
Engineering FAQ
Questions that should be answered before quotation
These answers establish selection boundaries. The final design must be checked against the actual process, fluid data and applicable code.
See the manufacturer’s full thermal oil heater range and production evidence on JIELITHERMAL.com.
Is a thermal oil heater the same as a thermal fluid heater?
Usually yes. Thermal oil heater, thermal fluid heater, thermic fluid heater and hot oil boiler are regional terms for a closed-loop heat-transfer-fluid system.
How do I size a thermal oil heater?
Separate steady process heat from startup demand, distribution losses and any agreed design margin. Specify useful output in kW or MW, supply and return temperatures, and the selected fluid. Fuel input is useful heater output divided by efficiency: for illustration, 1 MW output at an assumed 90% efficiency needs about 1.11 MW fuel input, not a larger process duty. This is not a product guarantee. Pump flow, fluid properties, pressure drop, minimum circulation and burner operating range still require separate checks.
Can wood chips fuel a thermal oil heater?
Yes, if the selected furnace and handling system are designed for the supplied wood chips. Request an acceptable range for moisture, particle size, ash and as-received heating value, rather than a fuel name alone. A fuel-consumption estimate should identify useful output, efficiency and heating value on the same basis; storage, feeding, fans, dust collection and ash removal also affect the operating cost.
Does thermal oil boil during normal operation?
No. The fluid circulates below its permitted temperature limits, while the expansion/deaeration arrangement manages thermal expansion and released gases.
What should a thermal oil heater supplier include?
The quotation should state the design duty and temperatures, fluid basis, circulation and pump duty, combustion equipment, tanks, controls, safeguards, heat recovery, emissions boundary, documentation, delivery condition and excluded site work.
Request a selection check
For project evidence, review JIELI THERMAL’s Indonesia 1,200,000 kcal/h palm kernel shell installation. Prefer a website enquiry? Send your project details to the manufacturer; unknown selection values can be left for review.
Request a thermal oil heater selection and quotation check
Start with capacity, fuel, application and country; leave unknown values for review. Use the selection brief to compare equipment, auxiliaries and excluded site work. Opening either draft does not send an enquiry.