ancient combustion analysis

Steamhead (in transit)

with the "Riello roar"?

<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=367&Step=30">To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"</A>

nicholas bonham-carter

ancient combustion analysis

what did the "dead men" do for combustion analysis in pre- electronic analyser times, and therefore what negative impact would that have had on systems when they were wrong?
i assume they knew how to make the flue work properly.
hot spots on the sections?
wasting fuel?
??
nbc

Rudy_3

Listening to the flame

Found some interesting articles a few years ago. Here's one I scanned:

http://www.bacharach-training.com/HVAC History/Hearing How Hot.htm

Steamhead (in transit)

Oil burners

were originally set up using an "Orsat" apparatus, which looked like something you'd find in a science lab and was, I believe, named after the gentleman who invented it.

This evolved into the "wet kit" or "martini-shaker" which was much easier to use and also more durable. The Bacharach "Fyrite", appearing in the 1940s, was the most famous of these. You could also use this kit to set up gas burners by filling it with a different fluid.

Negative effects of improperly installed or un-tuned burners, boilers and furnasties were much the same as today- sooting, wasted fuel, CO formation, etc.

Wet kits are no longer the state of the art, since they cannot measure CO, but are still better than no test at all. Digital analyzers are the current standard for combustion test equipment. With CO being the lawyer's dream that it is, there's no reason not to test for it.

If you don't test, you're guessing!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Unknown

The setting up of gas burners

was done by first determining heat loss, square feet of radiation, or linear baseboard measurement. Insuring the the output of equipment matched the heat loss.

Then a measurement of orifice size and a measurement of gas pressure. If this was a designed piece of equipment the calculated load should match the input. The meter was then clocked using the 1/2 foot test dial. This then matched up to the utility calculated BTU content of a cubic foot of gas for that day.

Then if the unit was under gassed the pressure was increased by screwing down on the regulator and watching the flame. We wanted a soft blue flame with no yellow. When it was determined that the input was at a maximum safe level. We would take out the bottles one for CO2 (red fluid) and one for O2 (blue fluid)after eighteen squeezes of a flue sample on each and three turns of the bottles we would get and O2/CO2 reading. If this calculated out above 75% when matched to net stack temperature and a draft gauge reading of -.01, -.02 or -.03 and no higher we felt we had done the job. The final test was using an ampoule which changed color relative to how much CO was in the flue sample. Any discoloration at all was not tolerated and we had to go back and readjust input and air settings to get rid of the CO discloration.

It was not electronic but I set up thousands of burners this way without incident or complaint of high bills.

In those days you had to understand combustion and relied a lot on many little tricks which I still teach my students in class.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I got my first electronic analyzer.