User Guide

1
NOTE
The information in this pamphlet is based on
experience and is to be used as a general guide only.
WARNING
Improper modification to combustion units may create
a fire hazard resulting in possible injury. Contact the
original equipment manufacturer before modifying the
combustion unit.
Why Use Nozzles?
For a better understanding of how a nozzle fits into the
performance of an oil burner, let us first review the steps in the
process of efficient combustion.
Like all combustible matter, the oil must first be vaporized—
converted to a vapor or gas—before combustion can take
place. This is usually accomplished by the application of
heat.
The oil vapor must be mixed with air in order to have oxygen
present for combustion.
The temperature of this mixture must be increased above the
ignition point.
A continuous supply of air and fuel must be provided for
continuous combustion.
The products of combustion must be removed from the
combustion chamber.
The simplest way to burn fuel oil is the old vaporizing pot type
burner in which heat is applied to a puddle of oil, thus vaporizing
the fuel. These vapors are then burned after mixing with the
proper amount of air.
In most applications, this method of vaporizing is too slow for
high rates of combustion and cannot be controlled in the low rates,
which leads back to the original question of why nozzles are used.
One of the functions of a nozzle is to atomize the fuel, or break it
up into tiny droplets which can be vaporized in a much shorter
period of time when exposed to high temperatures. This booklet
will be concerned primarily with the high-pressure atomizing
nozzle since it is the most common in the Oil Heat Industry.