it closes the stack when the burner is off stopping heat loss up the stack
if you decide to install one of these, be very carfull. if the burner goes on and the stack valve does NOT open for some reason, the CO will back up in your home and can kill.
I would think there would ve a saftey switch so that the burner cannot come on untill the stack valve does actually open.
Mark
I have an old boiler that burns oil. I think I read of an electrical damper that goes into the stack pipe, from the boiler to the chimney, that opens and closes upon burner operation. Has anyone seen this or heard of this? It is suppose to reduce the loss of heat up the stack.
Your thoughts and info appreciated.
I thought of this concept 5 years ago, when it started getting really expensive to heat here in CT.
My engineering design includes failsafe switches on the damper, which require positive contact, which only happens when the damper is fully open. Two switches in series must close, and only then does the thermostat circuit get power. If the damper fails to open for some odd reason, no power gets to the furnace and the burner cannot start. Given the price of oil this year, it looks like I will have to fabricate an actual working model. A LOT of heat goes up the stack after burner shuts off.
-- Best Regards,
Mark A. Weiss, P.E.
Speaking of which, does anyone know of a CO detector with an AC output that can automatically turn off an oil burner?
Nick
WARNING !!! Those "add on" units are illegal just about anywhere. No matter how many failsafes you rig up.
Don't even worry about the municipality inspectors right now. Clear anything like this through your insurance company first.
AMUN
WARNING !!! Those "add on" units are illegal just about anywhere. No matter how many failsafes you rig up.
A lot of gas furnaces and boilers used to have them bult in. Some still do. Check with your manufacturer and see if there is a kit available. They only allow the burner to fire when the damper is full open.
Many years ago, a group of us at work pitched in and bought a professional kit with all the bells and whistles for adjusting an oil burner. It even came with an assortment of nozzles. This was in upstate NY. I was able to reduce the nozzle size and still maintain the correct parameters. I plotted fuel usage versus fuel degree days and found that my share in the kit was paid for in the first few months. There was no discernible difference in the heat in the house with this change. When I left the company, I sold my interest in the kit and so even recouped that expense. My whole out of pocket cost was for the new nozzle to replace the one in the kit that I used.
YMMV
Charlie
On the modern automatic dampers, there is a switch like you describe
Yep.
Can anyone recommend a brand or site. ?
And/or the methodology for taking the readings/determining the correct nozzle size
Roy Starrin posted for all of us... I don't top post - see either inline or at bottom.
Yes
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