Paint Booth Heater Replacement and Installation in Louisiana
Salt air, heat and humidity are hard on rooftop equipment, so many Louisiana heater projects are replacements of units that have corroded or worn out. Others are new air make-up units for larger booths and paint spaces. Double D Mechanical installs, replaces and connects paint booth heaters and air make-up units for collision shops, fleets, shipyards, fabricators and aviation facilities across Lake Charles, Acadiana, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans.
Discuss your installationReplacing a Corroded Rooftop Unit
When an existing heater fails, the quickest path is often a replacement that fits the existing curb, duct connection and gas and electrical stubs. That only works if the new unit's dimensions and connection points line up or can be adapted. The curb, roof deck and duct should be inspected for corrosion as well, since putting a new unit on a deteriorated curb shortens its life.
- Photograph the old unit's nameplate and connections
- Measure the curb and supply duct opening
- Check the roof deck and flashing around the curb
Temperature, Humidity and Flash Times
A booth heater does not remove moisture, but warming incoming air lowers its relative humidity, which helps coatings flash and dry. In humid Louisiana conditions that effect matters, especially for waterborne coatings. Controls that hold a steady supply temperature during spray, and a proper bake temperature when needed, keep results consistent through the wet months.
Very Large Paint Spaces
Shipyards, alloy fabricators and aircraft paint hangars can need far more replacement air than a vehicle booth. Recent projects in the state include the Saronic shipyard expansion in Franklin, the Quality Companies alloy fabrication expansion in Jeanerette and Youngsville, and an aircraft paint hangar at Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles. Spaces of that scale may use several air make-up units, each with its own gas, power and controls, coordinated so the space stays balanced.
Keeping Intake and Exhaust Apart
Intake air should be clean and should not include the booth's own exhaust. On flat roofs where stacks and units sit close together, wind shifts can carry exhaust back toward the intake. Separating the two, positioning intakes upwind of prevailing breezes where practical and raising stacks as needed reduce that risk. Intakes should also avoid truck lanes, dumpsters and cooling towers.
Planning a booth or oven project in Louisiana
Crews mobilize from Houston; Louisiana is roughly 250 miles away, so equipment, panels and tooling are staged and shipped ahead of the install crew.
Manufacturing in Louisiana is concentrated around Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, and Lafayette. The sectors most likely to be specifying spray booths, blast rooms, powder systems and cure ovens there include petrochemical and refining, shipbuilding and marine fabrication, oilfield equipment, and industrial coatings.
High humidity most of the year means intake air drying, booth heater sizing for spray and bake, and corrosion-resistant hardware matter more than usual.
Frequently asked questions
Can a new heater reuse the existing curb and duct?
Sometimes. The new unit's dimensions and connections must match or be adaptable, and the curb and duct should be in sound condition.
Does a booth heater remove humidity from the air?
Not directly. Heating the air lowers its relative humidity, which helps coatings dry, but the moisture is still in the air.
How are several air make-up units coordinated in one large paint space?
Controls are set up so the units run together with the exhaust system and keep the space balanced. Supply locations are planned so air reaches the work area evenly.
What goes wrong when the intake sits near an exhaust stack?
The heater can draw the booth's own overspray-laden exhaust back in, along with dust or fumes from nearby equipment, and those contaminants land on the finish.
What should we record from the old unit before replacing it?
The nameplate model, capacity, gas input, electrical data, airflow and the dimensions of the curb and duct connection.