What an Out-of-Tune Burner Really Costs

Burners drift out of adjustment over time. Linkages wear, dampers stick, fuel pressure shifts, and the temperature of the combustion air changes with the seasons. A burner that was set correctly at startup can be well off a year or two later without any obvious symptoms.

The first cost is fuel. A burner with too much excess air heats air it doesn't need and sends it up the stack. The U.S. Department of Energy's rule of thumb is about 1% efficiency for every 15% of excess air, which adds up over a year of fuel use.

The second is downtime. A dirty flame rod, a weak scanner signal, or fuel pressure sitting close to a switch setting can trip a boiler on flame failure. In an office building that's an inconvenience. In a plant that uses steam for production, it can stop the line.

Oil burners add soot. A burner running slightly rich coats the tubes, the soot insulates them, and stack temperature rises, so efficiency drops and the tubes need cleaning. A burner short on air also produces carbon monoxide, which is better caught on an analyzer than by a CO alarm.

There is also paperwork. Insurers and boiler inspectors may ask for combustion records, and a dated report from each tune-up keeps that record in one place.

Warning signs include stack temperature creeping up at the same load, more lockouts than usual, a yellow or noisy flame, soot at the stack, and fuel use rising when the load hasn't. Having the burner checked with a calibrated analyzer at least once a year, with before-and-after readings in writing, shows how far it drifts between visits.

Related reading: Combustion Tuning: What It Is and How Often, What a Combustion Report Shows and What Causes Boiler Tube Leaks. See all of our services on the What We Do page.

Request a tune-up, or email service@combustionspecialists.com.