Keep Chocolate Flowing with Electric Heat Tracing

When temperatures drop, pipes freeze, processes stall, and products spoil unless you have the right heat tracing system in place. Electric heat tracing is a critical safeguard for maintaining temperature and flow in industrial and commercial environments where the consistency of your performance matters.

This technology helps keep operations running smoothly while reducing the risk to your equipment and personnel. Here’s how it works.

What Is Electric Heat Tracing?

Electric heat tracing utilizes resistive heating cables installed along pipes, tanks, or other equipment to maintain or raise the temperature. A control mechanism regulates the heat output to match any changing conditions, which prevents freezing or overheating.

Essentially, electric heat tracing typically serves two functions:

1. Freeze protection to keep fluids from freezing in exposed piping
2. Process temperature maintenance to hold materials like oils or chocolate at a workable flow rate

Some of these systems provide seasonal protection, while others are critical year-round to keep production-related materials flowing at the right consistency.

Where It’s Needed

• Outdoor process piping
• Pump and valve assemblies
• Food and beverage lines
• Chemical and pharma production
• Wastewater and utility systems
• Skid packages for OEMs and integrated control systems for shipboard utility lines

Customer Success: Chocolate Plant Heat Trace Application

A specialty food processor contacted MCE after struggling with the stalled flow of chocolate in their production line. The material would solidify as a sticky mass in their transfer pipes, which caused frequent delays and forced the company to discard incomplete batches.

MCE delivered a comprehensive heat tracing solution utilizing Nelson Electric components. Once installed, the heat trace system kept the chocolate at the target viscosity and flow rate. Ultimately, the application reduced workflow stoppages and helped the facility consistently meet its production goals. This simple upgrade turned into a high-value fix with measurable ROI.

>> Read the success story.

How MCE Equipment Helps

• Trusted Specification Support: Our team brings hands-on knowledge from regulated environments across industrial, food-grade, pharmaceutical, and government sectors. We provide expert guidance to select the right heat trace cable and control options for each application, including hazardous area rated and food-grade systems.
• Customized Bundled Packages: Our tailored kitting services bundle cables with the required components for installation, including control panels, end seals, junction boxes, and other insulation accessories
• In-Stock and Installation-Ready: We maintain stock and offer personalized support, from troubleshooting and design to installation and maintenance. Our customers benefit from faster production with fewer costly disruptions

Facility managers often ask us where to begin. That’s why we created a step-by-step downloadable Heat Trace Planning Checklist for Facility Managers.

Getting Ahead of the Freeze

If your operation depends on maintaining fluid flow, now is the time to act. Once cold weather hits, and production lead times grow longer, the risk of downtime increases. A well-planned heat tracing system can help you stay production-ready and avoid the scramble to fix problems after they surface.

MCE is here to help you plan and execute with the precision and reliability you need to meet or exceed your production goals. Installers book up fast when temperatures start to fall. Now is the time to plan and stay ahead of supply chain delays. Contact us to get started.