Getting Your Krones Contiform S Heating Back on Track
If you’re running an older Krones Contiform S, you already know the headache. The heating oven is almost always the bottleneck. When your preforms aren’t hitting the right temperature, you end up with wonky wall thickness or, even worse, a pile of wasted PET. The quickest way to get your speed back? Swap out those tired old lamps for ones that actually meet the specs.
Let’s talk power and voltage
The Contiform S needs high-wattage shortwave infrared lamps to punch through the PET wall fast. We make our replacements to match the exact voltage and wattage of the original OEM units. Here’s the thing: if you pop in a lamp with the wrong wattage, you’re asking for trouble. You’ll either leave your preforms shivering or you’ll blow a fuse. High-voltage tubes give you the heat density you need to keep those cycle times tight. But a quick heads-up—pushing more wattage means your cooling fans have to work harder. If your ventilation is clogged with dust, these lamps are going to burn out way too fast. Keep it clean.
The nuts and bolts
We use heavy-wall quartz glass because it doesn’t bow when things get scorching hot. Inside, there’s a halogen cycle that keeps the tungsten filament from evaporating too quickly. It just makes the lamps last longer. As for the fit, we use standard R7s or Sk15 bases depending on when your machine was built. They’re simple drop-in replacements. No rewiring, no messing with the holders, no drama. Just swap and go.
What this actually does for your floor
When you put in fresh, correctly spec’d lamps, those annoying “cold spots” in the oven disappear. That’s the best part. You can finally crank up the machine speed without worrying that your preforms are under-heated. It isn’t some massive, expensive overhaul, but it fixes the most common reason PET gets deformed. You get a steady, reliable heat profile. Your bottle walls stay consistent. Everything just… works.