Heater coil failures in midstream operations are not “normal maintenance.” If your fired heater coils are rupturing every 18 months or failing every three years, that’s not bad luck — it’s a heater design problem.
At Tulsa Heaters Midstream, we regularly see operators replacing coils over and over in older heaters from competitors. The real issue isn’t the coil itself; it’s the heater geometry, flame control, heat flux, and material selection that create premature coil failures.
Let’s break down what’s actually causing heater coil failures, and how to fix them for good.
In fired heaters, the burner is the heart of the system, but the coil is where heat transfer happens. If the coil fails, your heater is down — and downtime costs serious money.
The most common causes of heater coil failure in midstream facilities include:
If your heater design is wrong, coil failures are guaranteed — no matter how many times you replace the tube bundle.
Heater coil failures typically occur in two ways:
Elastic failure happens when pressure and temperature exceed the material’s design limits. In midstream fired heaters, coils should operate within this elastic region — not near rupture conditions.
Poor heat transfer modeling or incorrect tube metal temperature predictions can push coils into failure even when pressure appears normal.
In refinery heater design, coils may be intentionally designed closer to rupture limits for long-term operation (e.g., 100,000-hour creep life).
Midstream heaters should never operate in rupture failure territory.
If your midstream heater coils are rupturing repeatedly, your heater design is fundamentally flawed.
One of the biggest causes of heater coil failure is an undersized radiant box.
When the radiant section is too small:
Flame impingement on tubes is one of the fastest ways to destroy heater coils.
If the flame touches the convection tubes, you’re dramatically exceeding design assumptions — and your heater coil life drops from decades to months.
Another major cause of fired heater coil failure is excessive heat flux.
This happens when:
High heat flux = higher tube metal temperature = faster failure.
Proper heater design spreads heat evenly across sufficient coil surface area to keep tube metal temperatures within safe limits.
Tightly wound coils are another hidden failure point.
When coils are too close together:
Proper coil spacing allows radiant energy to reflect off refractory walls and evenly heat the entire circumference of the tube.
Uniform heat transfer dramatically increases heater coil life.
Not all heater coil failures come from overheating. Corrosion can destroy coils from the outside in.
When flue gas moisture condenses on coils, corrosion accelerates, especially in tightly wound radiant sections. Over time, the metal thins and fails under pressure.
If replacing the entire fired heater isn’t an option right now, there are still ways to extend heater coil life:
Instead of replacing carbon steel coils with the same material:
Yes, stainless costs more — but replacing coils every 18 months costs far more in downtime, labor, and lost production.
A properly designed fired heater coil should last 20 to 30 years, not 18 months.
If your facility is on a constant cycle of heater coil replacement, the problem is not your maintenance team, it’s your heater design.
Repeated heater coil rupture is a design failure, not normal wear and tear. Tulsa Heaters Midstream designs fired heaters so that coils:
If your heater coils keep failing, it’s time to fix the root cause — not just replace the symptom.
If your fired heater coils are rupturing, leaking, or failing prematurely, Tulsa Heaters Midstream can help you identify the design flaw and engineer a long-term solution.
Stop replacing coils. Start fixing the problem.