Most paint booths are heated; however not all heated paint booths are made the same. Some, usually older models, use indirect fire while others, usually new models, utilize direct fire. If you’re looking to buy a paint booth, it’s important to understand the difference between the two different types of heated booths. Keep reading to learn about the difference between direct vs. indirect fire heaters.
Indirect fire heaters were used for many years in the finishing industry and were in fact the standard for heated booths. Indirect fire heaters utilize gas or oil to heat a chamber that heats a paint booth. Because these heaters must heat an entire chamber before the air enters the booth, they only provide about a 75-80% heating efficiency at best. It also makes it extremely difficult to regulate and control a booth’s temperature, as it depends entirely on what the degree the chamber reaches. For this reason, it also takes a long time to heat and cool down booths.
Direct fire heaters have become the new standard for paint booths. These use natural gas or propane to heat up the air that goes directly into the chamber connected to the booth. It creates a faster heating process, as it occurs all at once rather than heating the chamber before the booth. Direct fire heaters create little to no waste of resources and create a 90-100% heating efficiency. They’re also much easier to turn on and off, making heating and cooling very easy.
While all Accudraft paint booths can be customized, it is very uncommon for a new paint booth to have an indirect fire heater. Almost all booths we manufacturer today are direct fire because of its efficiency. Check out these three top-selling direct fire paint booths:
To inquire about paint booth installation and pricing, contact us online.
