To buy or not to buy a pit furnace is an important decision for any manufacturing company, as furnaces are one of the most costly items in an industrial setup. Moreover, as the efficiency and the quality of a furnace affect the functionality of your product, you have to be careful in selecting a pit furnace.

There are various types of pit furnaces available in the market such as gas fired pit furnaces, electrically charged furnaces and oil-fired furnaces. An electrically charged pit furnace has a higher efficiency than a gas fired pit furnace or an oil-fired pit furnace.

Before selecting a pit furnace, you must identify the following important factors

1. Temperature ranges required for your pit furnace
2. Gas environment in which your furnace will operate
   
3. Types of heat treatment processes such as hardening, annealing, quenching, brazing, stress relieving and tempering
   
4. Material, dimensions and weight of the product to be heated; also called “charge”

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Assess various pit furnaces available with different suppliers

Pit furnace suppliers offer furnaces for many different heat treatment processes used in various industries including the automobile, ceramic, steel and other non-ferrous industries.

I recommend: Allied Furnaces offers pit furnaces for different heat treatment processes and applications. L&L Special Furnace is another furnace manufacturer that offers various models of pit equipment for tempering, hardening and quenching processes.

Customize your pit furnace as per your application requirements

If standard pit furnaces are not meeting your requirements, then go for manufacturers providing custom-made furnaces. However, these furnaces may be costlier than the standard furnaces.

I recommend: TRENT offers custom-made furnaces designed as per your product, process and furnace specifications. Wellman Furnaces also provides customization services for your furnace needs.

Buy a pit furnace from an online retailer

There are various online retailers offering a range of pit furnaces for sale. You can get a new furnace as well as a used pit furnace at attractive prices.

I recommend: Furnace Finders offers refurbished or used pit furnaces at discounted prices. S & S Furnace Sales also offers furnace pit products from its large inventory of new and pre-owned furnaces. You can email or call these retailers for further information about pit furnaces.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Select a pit furnace with a chamber size larger than required.
• •  Use good monitoring systems with your furnace to minimize any accidents.
• •  Train your employees to efficiently and safely operate your pit furnace.