Installation guide

turetestisvaluable.It consistsoffueloilbeing
heatedgraduallyinaflaskuntilitvaporizes,then
iscondensedintoagraduatedcylinder.The
temperatureatwhichcondensationbeginsis
calledtheinitialboilingpoint(IBP).Therising
temperatureisrecordedforeachfractiondistilled.
Itisusuallyreportedin10%incrementsuntilthe
finaldropisrecoveredorendpointisreached.
Theinitialboilingpointcouldcauseignition
problemsif it istoohigh(over400°F).The
ignitionarcmustprovideenoughheatenergyto
elevatethetemperatureoftheatomizedoil
dropletstotheinitialboilingpoint.If theIBPis
low,theignitionshouldbeimmediate.Forthe
flametobesustained,the10%pointortempera-
tureatwhich10%ofthetotalvolumeisdistilled
mustberelativelyclose.If thespreadistoolarge,
thentheflamecouldpulsateorevenbeextin-
guished.
Foranestablishedflame,theremainingfractions
of20-80%shouldnotpresentanycombustion
problems,butthe90%andtheendpointcould.
The90%pointisthetemperaturewhere90%of
theoilisdistilled.ASTMD396requiresthistobe
between540°Fminimumand640°E
Awidespreadbetweenthe90%andendpoint
cancausepoorcombustion,sootaridcarbon
depositsontheheatexchangerbecausethe
remainingheavyendsmaynotburncompletely.
Detecting "Out of Spec" Oil
Your first clue that oil is not within ASTM specs
might be a sudden rash of problems: delayed
ignition, smoky fires, appliance sooting and
noisy, dirty flames. If an analysis by a competent
laboratory shows the oil is out of spec, the
supplier should be advised. However, if it is
within spec, but is near the maximum level for
viscosity, pour point or has an IBP above 400°E
chemical additives or blending with about 25%
kerosine might be considered to make the oil
more compatible with cold temperatures, and to
improve its ignition and combustion qualities.
COMBUSTION
When fuel oil is burned, the chemical energy that
is stored in the oil is released in another form of
energy: heat. But to create this conversion of
energy, an external source of heat must be applied
to the oil droplets to start the reaction. The
electric spark delivered by the electrodes of an oil
burner provides the initial heat. The heat from the
electrodes causes oil droplets to become oil vapor
and eventually burn continuously. This burning
then heats the surrounding oil droplets causing
them to bum. This process continues until all or
most of the droplets are vaporizing and burning.
If the conditions for combustion are ideal, all oil
droplets will burn completely and cleanly within
the combustion zone.
Combustion is the process of burning, p
Combustion, as we normally think of it, is
generally described as "rapid oxidation" of any
material which is classified as combustible
matter. The term "oxidation" simply means the
adding of oxygen in a chemical reaction, and
"combustible matter" means any substance which
combines readily and rapidly with oxygen under
certain favorable conditions. Since fuel oil
primarily consists of carbon (85%) and hydrogen
(15%), combustion of fuel oil, according to our
previous definition, is the rapid combining of
carbon and hydrogen with oxygen.
As you know, the oxygen needed for combustion
comes from the air provided by the burner
blower. Approximately 21% of the air is oxygen.
The other 79% is nitrogen. Therefore, to supply
the oxygen needed for combustion, a great deal of
nitrogen goes along for a free fide. This will
become an important factor in later discussions of
proper oil burner adjustment!
What we see and feel from combustion--flames,
smoke, heat--is a result of chemical reactions.
Since we can't see carbon, hydrogen or oxygen
atoms (smallest units to combine), we symbolize
the reactions with formulas that describe the
process. For example:
Carbon +Air oxygen + ] f_
nitrogen
J
carbon dioxide + nitrogen + heat (1)
Hydrogen +Air [ oxygen +
nitrogen ]
I.
watervapor + nitrogen + heat (2)