It’s common for an industrial plant to have openings to in the roof, especially when these plants have furnaces or ovens. A vent line allows excess combustible gases to exit to atmosphere, and a flue might allow the same for products of combustion inside the furnace chamber. Placement of these vents and flues should be Read More
Combustion 911 Blog
It’s Not Alive!
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
June 26, 2024
Don’t Choke Your Furnace
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics, Combustion System Accessories
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Industrial furnaces require periodic maintenance to ensure efficiency and continued operation. Much of this maintenance can be performed by properly trained plant technicians, rather than relying on outside support. Depending on size and design, your furnace probably has two main input lines: one for natural gas (or some other combustible gas), and one for air. Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
May 22, 2024
How Low is Your Purge Time?
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics
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The purge sequence is essential to the safety of personnel and the continued integrity of equipment. Purging the furnace of combustible gases from the furnace atmosphere considerably reduces the risk of an “event.” Safety should always come first, but it’s not uncommon to find purge timers in old panels with the dial pegged at zero. Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
May 1, 2024
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Combustion Comics, Industrial Burners
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…try it maybe a couple more times and then reassess the situation. If a burner goes out, you hit the reset button. Sometimes, the burner lights and everything is fine. Other times, the burner stays cold, because there’s an issue that requires attention. Trying the reset button a couple of times makes sense! Pressing it Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
March 27, 2024
Commissioning Shouldn’t Take a (Literal) Lifetime
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics
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In the past, everything took forever. Lifespans were shorter, the world was larger, and mysteries were everywhere. We’ve progressed to the point where we can hardly stand to wait for anything, and yet, one still hears stories of excruciatingly lengthy furnace commissioning. The progression from construction to useful production on your new industrial furnace should Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
February 28, 2024
The Proper Way to Light a Burner
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics, Electrodes, Industrial Burners
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Something we share in common with most other animals in nature is a drive for individual survival and the survival of the species. If your environment happens to include industrial furnaces and/or ovens, employing the proper way to light a burner is key to the safety of yourself and those around you. Our ability to Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
January 16, 2024
2023 C911-P Ad Retrospective
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Pressure Switches
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If you’re following us on social media, you might have noticed a monthly image featuring Baron von Olsträd and our C911-P pressure switches. What’s up with that? In the fall of 2022, we won FM Approval for C911-P, and this meant we could start selling them for use in NFPA86 compliant combustion systems. It was Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
January 3, 2024
The Mysterious Art of Burner Tuning
Categories: Baron von Olsträd, Baron von Olsträd's Sketchbook, Combustion Comics, Industrial Burners, Tuning
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Burners should be tuned on a regular basis to capture peak performance and efficiency. Referencing the manufacturer’s literature and keeping a log of past settings makes tuning the modern burner a straightforward and scientific task. Once you know how to tune burners, watching the uninitiated try their hand at it can be amusing at best, Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
December 27, 2023
FAQ: Pressure Switches
Categories: FAQs, Pressure Switches
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Pressure switches are part of the safety chain, and vital to the safe operation of a combustion system. They are used to verify gas and air pressure, and they can be used to determine whether the gas valves are leaking. How does a pressure switch work? Pressure switches are simple devices that use a spring Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
December 13, 2023
Heat Rises?
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There’s a common misconception that heat rises. It does not. Heat radiates equally in all directions. The misunderstanding comes from the true and observable statement that, relative to cooler air, hot air rises. That’s why hot air balloons work, also why many politicians have excellent posture. For commercial and industrial heating, knowing that heat and Read More
Posted by
b-olstrad
; Published
November 15, 2023
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