Oxygen Sensor

Empire_2

Yes, it sounds like a logical type of control, but in most guns the burner psi, primary air shutter is fixed. Coupled with OF draft and Satck draft it should be constant. I would think that if the gun could throttle down, then yea, I would think that it would be critical. Just my thoughts...Mike T.

Dirk Wright

O2 sensor on fuel oil burners?

Has any company come up with an O2 sensor on a fuel oil burner? The idea is that there would be a controller for automatically adjusting the air supply in response to the output from the O2 sensor on the flue pipe. These sensors are common on automobile engines, where they adjust the fuel and the spark advance, but since the pump pressure is fixed for oil burners, then it would make sense to dynamically control the air flow to always have optimum combustion. Just an idea....

Oh well, I just found a patent on this idea. Seems like it's done in commercial boilers with a jack-shaft controller. See US patent #4,717,071.

Dirk Wright

new design of course

Yeah, they'd have to make the burner much more complicated to have an automatically adjustable damper for the combustion air. Given that draft changes with weather, the fuel quality changes with each delivery, and other things, I would expect that the quality of combustion would change also. Of course, these are basically constant load devices, not anything like an automobile engine that has to operate over a wide range of power outputs. An O2 based control would probably be overkill except for the huge boilers used in commercial applications.

Empire_2

1.5 mil steam boiler

I have worked on this particular piece of equipment that was 2 stage, but that was as far as it went. air shutter was basically opened on lo fire and had to be calibrated...Then when hi fire kicked in of course the damper actuator opened it more, but I was not impressed with the design results. Since the damper was neumatic in nature ( which I dont have a problem with) It did not take into account changing variables in the sourounding air/outside conditions/ and indoor pressure changes.......( meaning BINGO HALL in this situation) that occure with large buildings with say...Exhaust fans, problems with oil delivery and the like. Don't get me wrong...I am not the GURU of oil and have since dropped it cause,...Basically the wife hates the SMELL.:) So do I:) Have a Very Happy Holliday's to You and Yours this Year.. Mike T.............

Ron Schroeder

An O2 sensor for an oil burner would have to be an expensive wide band type rather than the cheap automotive lamda sensors since an oil burner needs to run leaner than the 14.7:1 A/F ratio that an internal combustion engine runs at.

Ron