Diesel engine pre-heaters

Kanthal® materials are used to start diesel engines operating in cold climates. Kanthal® strip and wire help to pre-heat the engine and provide clean performance by reducing emissions and minimizing "white smoke". An intake air pre-heater is used on the intake channel in order to increase air temperature supplied to the cylinder for combustion.

The heater works in two modes:

Pre-heat mode

While turning on the engine, the air going through is heated in order to reach minimum needed ignition temperature

Post-heat mode

Used to warm up combustion in order to minimize "white smoke". White smoke is a mixture of air and oil that is not fully combusted, which is exhausted until the engine reaches working temperature. In this mode the diesel pre-heater works as an environmental friendly complement to reduce pollution levels emitted into the environment

Kanthal®
NiCr alloys
Max. continuous operating temp.
ºC (ºF)
Resistivity at 20ºC (68ºF)
Ω mm2/m (Ω/cmf)
Nikrothal® 40 (wire) 1100 (2010) 1.04 (626)
Nikrothal® 40 (ribbon) 1100 (2010) 1.04 (626)
Nikrothal® 40 (strip) 1100 (2010) 1.04 (626)
Nikrothal® 60 (wire) 1150 (2100) 1.11 (668)
Nikrothal® 60 (ribbon) 1150 (2100) 1.11 (668)
Nikrothal® 60 (strip) 1150 (2100) 1.11 (668)
Nikrothal® 80 (wire) 1200 (2190) 1.09 (655)
Nikrothal® 80 (ribbon) 1200 (2190) 1.09 (655)
Nikrothal® 80 (strip) 1200 (2190) 1.09 (655)

See also our complete list of alloys to compare different types of materials.

Kanthal®
FeCrAl alloys

Max. continuous operating temp.
ºC (ºF)
Resistivity at 20ºC (68ºF)
Ω mm2/m (Ω/cmf)
Kanthal® AF (wire) 1300 (2370) 1.39 (836)
Kanthal® AF (strip) 1300 (2370) 1.39 (836)
Kanthal® D (wire) 1300 (2370) 1.35 (812)
Kanthal® D (ribbon) 1300 (2370) 1.35 (812)
Kanthal® D (strip) 1300 (2370) 1.35 (812)

See also our complete list of alloys to compare different types of materials.

Kanthal® NiFe alloys Max. continuous operating temp. ºC/ºF Resistivity at 20ºC (68ºF) Ω mm2/m (Ω/cmf)
Nifethal® 70 (wire) 600 (1110) 0.21 (130)
Nifethal® 70 (ribbon) 600 (1110) 0.21 (130)

Connected products

Here you can find the Kanthal product offering

Wire

Wire

Wire and ribbon for resistance heating, electrical resistance and conductive applications.

See product details