Replacement of heat transfer surface was a lengthy and labor intensive process on early design Ljungström® air preheaters.  By hand, workers had to remove and replace thousands of individual element sheets.  Today, element containers, named baskets, have dramatically reduced handling efforts associated with replacement of heating element. As the cold end element layer is exposed to higher corrosive conditions, the baskets in this layer are generally designed to facilitate the most favorable access.  This facilitates installation and removal with minimal labor and equipment downtime.  Symmetrical designs are also incorporated into most units, allowing the option to extend heating element life by reversing baskets prior to replacing them. New basket designs have been developed for both vertical and horizontal air preheater applications.  As a result, improvements are now available in the form of added efficiency, reduced effort for replacement and/or longer life.