Products Services Company Support ← All Posts 3/29/2019 Chromalox | History's Most Reliable Heater For Over 100 Years Chromalox is a name that denotes superiority, with products that have shaped history for over 100 years. From the humble home to the raging battlefield to beyond earth's atmosphere, Chromalox has been there to provide warmth, safety, and security. The World's First The year was 1915. Edwin L. Wiegand was an engineer from Pittsburgh. Working out of a makeshift lab in his family's dining room, Wiegand "experimented with ways to encapsulate the fragile and sometimes dangerous 'open coil' heat technology of the time in a dielectic." A patent was filed, and history was made as the world saw its first metal sheathed resistance heating element. Electricity became more popular within residential and commercial markets; Chromalox followed the boom and became a critical supplier of integrated heat and controls. The Great Depression During America's great depression in the 1930's, struggling families seeking warmth and safety relied on Chromalox's finned strip heater. According to Janet Cumberledge, Director of Customer Service at Chromalox: "...the finned strip heater is a modification to our basic strip heater. They added fins to increase the surface area to provide comfort heating to families who were struggling during the Great Depression." 1930's Era Chromalox Finned Strip Heater World War II In the 1940's, Chromalox joined the war effort as World War II created a high demand for portable comfort heaters and freeze protection heaters that could be used in the field, on land and sea. Chromalox heating elements helped to keep men and women from freezing during the brutal European winters. It was during the war that Chromalox's over-the-side heater was introduced. To the Moon Enter the 1960's and Apollo 11. It was Chromalox's strip heater - located in the electronic control box of a fuel triggering device on the Lunar Module - that supported mankind's giant leap to the moon. James Lewis, Application Engineer at Chromalox, explains the importance of Chromalox's role in the moon landing: "You need to have reliability. You needed safety. You know, any little thing could have gone wrong, and any little thing - when you're 240,000 miles from earth - is not a good thing to happen. So, again, our equipment rose to the occasion; it succeeded, and everything worked out great." Chromalox was also the first to supply NASA with liquid nitrogen vaporizers for purging the launch pad fuel systems for rocket ignition. Onward & Upward It's been 100 years, and Chromalox charges along as one of the most influential innovators, solving the world's most demanding and complex heating challenges. Categories All Cartridge Heaters Chromalox Cold Weather Company Controllers F4T Heaters History Hot Weather Insulation Just For Fun Kentucky Maintenance Manufacturing Mold Cleaners Process Controllers Products Relays Resources Sensors Slide Temperature Controls Tips Tutorials Video Videos Watlow Wiring Products Heaters Sensors Temp. Controls Controls & Relays Heat Trace Cold Weather Wire Accessories Insulation Pressure Relief Slide Products Services Credit Application Order Tracking Delivery Programs Stocking Programs R.M.A. Request Catalog Request Custom Quick Company About Testimonials Legal & Copyright Blog Support Contact Account Managers FAQ Technical Information Instructional Videos Helpful Links Downloads Line Card Popular Products Chromalox Heaters Watlow Heaters Watlow EZ-ZONE® Watlow F4T Proheat is an authorized distributor of Chromalox and Watlow heater products. © 2021 Proheat, Inc. Privacy Policy 502-222-1402 800-626-2142