Merkle continues to be the technological leader in tin bath roof design. The world's top producers in float glass consult with Merkle on new tin bath roof designs. Through cooperative relationships with these glass producers, Merkle International has taken the concept of the tin bath roof to the next level.

With this in mind, Merkle has designed a bath roof to meet these requirements. The Merkle bath roof is a complete design, including refractory design, metallic hanger design, electrical distribution system, sidewall and casing designs. The Merkle Tin Bath Roof meets the tough demands of float glass producers:

• Merkle uses refractory modules that are nominally 250mm x 500mm. This large module size reduces the number of joints that were in the early tin bath roofs. The reduced number of joints translates into reduced area for tin condensation and subsequent glass defects due to tin drip.
• The wide Merkle module has more material in a typical heating element module than a narrower module would. This means that the wider module will be mechanically stronger. In fact, breakage at the element holes has never occured in a Merkle module.
• Mechanically assembled Merkle modules aid in the ease of installation and replacement of a tin bath roof. The mechanically fastened modules will not separate like mortared modules can. This makes module removal for heating element replacement much easier while making the original installation quicker.
• Merkle entrance and exit lintel blocks use support metallic pieces at the top of the blocks. This considerably reduces the temperature on the metallic. Merkle has never had a problem with a lintel block metallic hanger.
• The Merkle roof uses a proprietary hanger system that positions the casting a safe distance from the hot face of the roof, while maintaining good heat loss characteristics. This hanger system means lower mechanical and thermal stress for the metallic hanger, which will result in extended service life.
• Electrical distribution bars (bus bars) are oriented parallel to the glass flow, reducing both cable and bus bar lengths. This reduces potential for problems in long-campaign furnaces.
• Merkle bath roofs are constructed with fewer different parts, which makes installation easier and faster.