ETTER Engineering - Technical Tips

Intro to Commercial and Industrial Burners

By: Herb H Etter

The number and variety of gas burner installations in commercial and industrial establishments defy any simple generalization. However, in this series of continuing editorial we will attempt to provide some useful tips that will apply to the maintenance and operation of typical burners. Many applications, such as boiler burners, have their own very specific requirements and codes, and it is not our intent to delve into detailed requirements but rather present information that will be applicable to a wide variety of burner installations.

The function of any burner is to convert and transfer energy to a process or product. As with any energy source, whether it be a toaster, a campfire or a huge gas burner, the potential for disaster caused by neglect or ignorance is very real.

Our first topic covers the area of Safety, with the intent that the reader will research further as regards his specific installation.

Burner Safety:

Various codes and regulations have proliferated over the years, and these can be divided into two arbitrary categories - governmental and commercial. Local state and federal codes can encompass a variety of things ranging from building permits to emissions. It goes without saying that your burner installation should comply with these requirements, even if all of them are not safety related. The commercial type requirements would include any requirements of your gas utility company, plus those required by your insurance carrier. Fortunately, most insurers subscribe to a common set of requirements as set forth in publications of the National Fire Protection Association. NFPA bulletin 86 covers ovens and furnaces and many miscellaneous applications, and other individual bulletins cover specialized equipment such as boilers, etc. It is reasonable to assume that if your installation met the above requirements, it was installed safely. However, these requirements require continuing participation on your part, and do not end with the initial installation. Continued and regular maintenance and safety checks are an essential part of any safety program.

At the low end of the spectrum there are old burner systems, presumably installed before many of today's requirements and technologies. Owners of these systems may think that since they have operated for years without a problem there is no cause to upgrade. They are aware that there is better and safer equipment available, but nobody has come around and told them to make any changes. They have probably never seriously faced the fact that a comparatively inexpensive upgrade would greatly enhance the safety of their business and property, not to mention the human considerations. This might be a good time for anyone with a questionable installation to check his or her installation against modern safety standards.

The more typical installation probably meets most if not all of current safety requirements. The system includes electronic flame safety system, approved type gas valve train, interlocked pressure and flow switches, proper exhaust and vents, etc. This is the type of installation with which we will concern ourselves in this series. In future articles we will review in some depth the various components which comprise a safe system, and the care and feeding of same.