Hello all,
Long one here but we need to get this resolved...
We have a 5bbl direct fire system from Stout Tanks and Kettles. Everything else works great but the kettle wont get to a boil. We have been troubleshooting all week and are at a loss. Our HVAC guy cannot figure it out either. Here's the details.
330,000 btu burner from Ward Burner. Natural gas feed line is capable of 1.5 million btu. Regulator capable of 480,000 btu. we had it set at about 400,000 but raised it to full open because it wasn't boiling. The burner is set where we were instructed to place it: on the provided mounting bracket about 13 inches away from the bottom of the kettle. There is a heat shield mounted between the burner and the kettle bottom, with a circular hole cut in it for the burner to shoot flame through. (The idea being to concentrate heat closer to the kettle bottom and also to protect the wires leading to the burner). See attached pic.
When we first fired it up, we noticed the flames didn't touch the bottom of the kettle. They were a few inches away in fact. It wouldn't get past 208F. We tried raising the burner up 3 inches or so but the oxygen intakes on the nozzles were above the heat shield and it was starving for O2. We tried opening up the outside kettle skirt to allow more O2 flow. This stopped the burner from starving but still didn't raise past 208F. Probably losing heat out the side? We tried opening windows and gently blowing a fan under the burner to make up O2, but same results. It stopped at 209F this time. We removed the outside cap from the top of the flue stack all together in an attempt to maximize air flow and lowered the burner so the O2 intakes were under the heat shield and the burner nozzles were above it and we got to 211F. We now have a 1 million btu regulator on and it's not doing anything different. It takes us about 3 hours to get to a "near-boil".
We have an 8 inch flue, class-A stainless, 29 foot total height with two 45 degree bends near the top and six feet in between them. Flue temp runs around 650-700F where the burner is now. We still can't get to a boil. At this point I have no idea whats up. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ryan
Long one here but we need to get this resolved...
We have a 5bbl direct fire system from Stout Tanks and Kettles. Everything else works great but the kettle wont get to a boil. We have been troubleshooting all week and are at a loss. Our HVAC guy cannot figure it out either. Here's the details.
330,000 btu burner from Ward Burner. Natural gas feed line is capable of 1.5 million btu. Regulator capable of 480,000 btu. we had it set at about 400,000 but raised it to full open because it wasn't boiling. The burner is set where we were instructed to place it: on the provided mounting bracket about 13 inches away from the bottom of the kettle. There is a heat shield mounted between the burner and the kettle bottom, with a circular hole cut in it for the burner to shoot flame through. (The idea being to concentrate heat closer to the kettle bottom and also to protect the wires leading to the burner). See attached pic.
When we first fired it up, we noticed the flames didn't touch the bottom of the kettle. They were a few inches away in fact. It wouldn't get past 208F. We tried raising the burner up 3 inches or so but the oxygen intakes on the nozzles were above the heat shield and it was starving for O2. We tried opening up the outside kettle skirt to allow more O2 flow. This stopped the burner from starving but still didn't raise past 208F. Probably losing heat out the side? We tried opening windows and gently blowing a fan under the burner to make up O2, but same results. It stopped at 209F this time. We removed the outside cap from the top of the flue stack all together in an attempt to maximize air flow and lowered the burner so the O2 intakes were under the heat shield and the burner nozzles were above it and we got to 211F. We now have a 1 million btu regulator on and it's not doing anything different. It takes us about 3 hours to get to a "near-boil".
We have an 8 inch flue, class-A stainless, 29 foot total height with two 45 degree bends near the top and six feet in between them. Flue temp runs around 650-700F where the burner is now. We still can't get to a boil. At this point I have no idea whats up. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ryan
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