Utica roll-out switch update--Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

Pete Desens, technical services director for Utica boilers was kind enough to contact me re my problems. He agreed with my idea to reposition the switch very slightly, but also had another idea. The boiler involved is propane fired. The heating value of propane varies with temperature and with the mix the supplier is delivering. A fairly common problem is to have the flame flash back into the tube and burn inside it. Sounds like a jet engine.

I actually saw the boiler in question do this once and adjusted the gas pressure to make it go away. Pete suggests this may be happening intermittently, causing the burner tube to get very hot and to overheat the roll-out switch. He says the end of the burner would turn blue if this is happening. I didn't notice any blue tube while I was last there, but then again, I wasn't looking for it. Pete is going to send me a new pair of burners designed for propane with the specific intent of eliminating this problem.

Once again, verrry interesting. Thanks for all your help, and special thanks to Pete Desens and Utica.

Bill