Flexible Ceramic Heaters
These heaters have been called Chicklets, FCPs (Flexible Ceramic Pads), CMHs (Ceramic Mat Heaters) and CPs (Ceramic Pads). Regardless of the name used, they all provide the same function.
The industry standard for North America has been an 85 Volt heater that covers approximately 120 square inches. The heater’s design specifies 45 amps at 85 Volts, generating 3600 watts(3.6kw) of power when connected in a standard parallel circuit.
The heaters are constructed by hand with a 20′ high-resistance Nickel Chrome wire providing the heater’s body. This Ni-Cr wire is then tig welded on both ends to 9″ lower resistance to create “cold tails.” We weld the wire through die-pressed ceramic beads, with 90 amp cam lock connectors on each end. Ceramic beads are widely available in various chemical compositions and grades of quality. Typically the higher quality beads have a higher percentage of sintered alumina.
