Bringin’ the Heat  

Some of the hottest news in the restoration industry centers on the trend toward high heat for drying structures. Water molecules move more rapidly at higher temperatures, allowing the moisture to release from the material much faster. “You can dry a structure much faster at 100° F than you can at 80° F,” says Kurt Bolden, president of Bold Core Response. Adding heat to a structure can substantially cut the drying time versus using low grain refrigerant dehumidifiers alone.

Shortly after the Wacker Neuson Dryvex™ MC5200 made a successful training appearance at Bold Core’s sister company, Hydro Lab, Bolden and Bold Core purchased a product from our Climate Control product line for a major fire restoration project in downtown Indianapolis.

The $28 million Cosmopolitan on the Canal development was almost completely destroyed by fire during construction, and Bold Core led the post-fire restoration efforts on the six-story structure. The massive project required up to 3 million BTUs of heat, 150 LGRs and 500 air movers. To aid drying efforts, Bold Core replaced a piece of drying equipment on the project with the recently purchased Cub 700 air heater from Wacker Neuson.

With the Cub 700, Bolden owns a heater with high BTUs and CFM air movement to help facilitate the drying process. The air heater delivers production capabilities of 720,000 BTUs per hour at 84% efficiency, and it offers a delivery system of 7,700 CFM and 2.09 inches water column static pressure.

Additionally, the Cub 700 unit can operate on diesel, natural gas or propane, offering on-site operating flexibility. The standard 145-gallon diesel fuel tank has a run time, at full load, of up to 28 hours, so crews don’t have to closely monitor the heater during operation. Standard air outlets include options of two 20-inch diameter outlets or three 16-inch diameter outlets for added versatility.

All Cub indirect fired air heaters feature 100 percent stainless steel fireboxes and heat exchangers that are CSA-certified. This versatile heater has no open flame, no combustion carbons or water and offers only clean, dry, healthy heat to produce an ideal warm environment for a variety of restoration, residential and construction applications.

With the recent addition of two new mobile units, contractors can now choose from three different Wacker Neuson Cub 700 designs: the portable Cub 700 and mobile Cub 700M and Cub 700 GM. The new trailer-mounted Cub 700M and Cub 700GM offer the same high quality features of the proven Cub 700 along with the convenience of easy transport to and from the jobsite. The Cub 700GM also includes a 12.5 kW Kubota diesel generator for greater versatility to power additional tools and equipment on the job.