Christian Bergh Backer’s life and the birth of the Backer element

Christian Backer was born in 1885 in the village of Flisa, a little way north of Kongsvinger in Norway. His father was a crofter, but also ran a smithy. Christian Backer was the youngest of 8 children, most of whom emigrated to the USA and Canada at a fairly young age. Christian Backer proved early on to have an aptitude for research. Having passed his school-leaving examination in Kongsvinger, he became an assistant to a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, while also pursuing his own studies. The professor he assisted was working on a number of projects, including extracting pure magnesium from seawater.

It was during his work with the metallic element magnesium that Christian Backer identified the properties of magnesium hydroxide and magnesium oxide, and recognised the potential for using pure magnesium, which is a good electrical conductor, to produce magnesium oxide, one of the best known electrical insulators and also an exceptional conductor of heat, even at high temperatures.

By inserting a resistance coil into a tube of magnesium and then sliding it all into a protective casing, he both established the central function and assembled the basic components. It was then a matter of converting the electrically conductive magnesium into an insulator. This he did by introducing steam into an autoclave at high pressure, whereupon the magnesium dissolved and formed magnesium hydroxide, which in a subsequent heat process was converted into magnesium oxide and water.

– Backer’s method proves revolutionary –

Christian Backer’s fundamental concept and method was christened ‘the Backer process’, and it gave the world a new heating component that could be easily adapted for use by both households and industry. Compared to previously available designs that used electric coils insulated with steatite or micanite, Backer’s method was revolutionary. The original patent was filed in 1921, with a number of subsequent patents being added during the 1920s and 30s.Christian Backer’s objective was to use this new process to develop a product good enough to be used as a heating element in the manufacture of electric concentric hot plates, as an alternative to the gas stove. In order to facilitate the transfer of heat from the resistance coil to the shell tube, the element had to be crimped. However, a number of other problems remained to be solved before the product could be used as a high-quality heat source.Christian Backer emigrated to Canada, where he built a plant to carry out further experiments in Ottawa, Ontario. He engaged a former employee and friend from back in Trondheim, Johan Wetlesen, as the plant’s manager.Christian Backer now developed a complete concept for production facilities and sold licences for his method worldwide, including to:

• Westinghouse, Pittsburgh, USA
• Metropolitan Vickers, Manchester, England
• Voigt & Haeffner (Siemens), Bad Soden, Germany
• SA Calor, Lyon, France
• Polytherm Ltd, Arundel, South Africa
• Pyrox SA, Bergen, Norway
• Pomerska Elektrowna, Torun, Poland

Backer Springfield celebrated 100 years in 2017 because of Edwin L. Wiegand

Edwin L. Wiegand recieved a patent for an electric heating element in 1915. In 1917 he opened Edwin L. Wiegand Electric company and began manufacturing electric heating elements under the Chromalox brand. Chromalox became a part of Emerson Electric Co. in 1968 and was acquired by NIBE/Backer in 2011 and became Backer EHP, Inc. WIth the added acquisition of Springfield WIre in 2012, Backer EHP Inc began marketing under the name Backer Springfield. Backer North America has become one of the fastest growing electric heat manufacturing companies in the US.

BACKER - PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

- A short interview with Backer’s MD Christer Fredriksson

It may seem paradoxical that a technology that has been around for almost a century can help to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time, but the fact is that Christian Backer’s patented tubular elements can be found in many of our everyday products and play an important role in both modern cars and transport, and ecofriendly and efficient heating systems.“When you talk about heating today, you inevitably end up discussing heat pumps, solar energy and the like, which are, of course, important customer groups for us and which use a variety of our products and solutions,” says Christer Fredriksson, CEO of the Backer Group, which has its head office in Sösdala. “The ongoing electrification of vehicles requires, among other things, battery heating, brake resistors and heating of cameras and rear-view mirrors, while the rail industry needs heating for both trains and points. Backer develops, manufactures and supplies all of these things. In addition, increased consumption of electricity means increased production of electricity, which is the next big challenge. Here too Backer has a part to play as a manufacturer of products for wind turbines, including heating for blades and resistors for the control of turbines.”

”All of a sudden our products are a part of the solution to current climate problems. It is fascinating that an invention which dates back to the early 1920s can take on this role”