Regenerative burner

A regenerative burner comprising:

• a burner body incorporating a porous regenerative bed surrounding a burner and having passage means surrounding said regenerative bed for exhausting products of combustion (POC), and
• eductor channel means coupled to said passage means, and eductor jet means for blowing air into the end of said eductor channel means nearest said passage means so as to draw POC from said passage means and expel them through said eductor channel means, said eductor channel means being formed by two closely spaced, generally parallel walls which are relatively long in a direction transverse to the direction of fluid flow such that the eductor channel means height can be selected inddpendently of eductor flow capacity.

A regenerative burner having flue and fire modes of operation, including:

• means defining a fluid flow path through which combustion air flows when said burner is in said fire mode and products of combustion flow when said burner is in said flue mode, and
• a regenerative bed disposed across said fluid flow path such that fluid flow along said path must pass through said bed, wherein said bed is composed of a material presenting a high heat transfer surface area per unit volume, and said bed has a thickness in the direction of fluid flow which is less than the square root of the cross sectional flow area, whereby said bed transfers substantially all of the heat from said products of combustion to said air as said burner alternates between said flue and fire modes of operation, yet the pressure drop across said bed is relatively small, wherein said flow path extends radially with respect to an axis and wherein said bed extends circumferentially around said axis.

A burner having a flame axis, comprising:

• means for supplying low velocity combustion air along said flame axis;
• and
• a generally tubular fuel guide assembly disposed coaxial with said flame axis, said assembly comprising means defining first and second internal, axially extending chambers for respectively receiving combustion air and gaseous fuel, and nozzle means for dispensing said gaseous fuel into said low velocity combustion air for burning, said nozzle means including means defining a central flame holding chamber and static means for directing said gaseous fuel in different directions depending upon the relative pressures within said first and second axially extending chambers, said fuel directing means directing said fuel into said flame holding chamber when the fuel pressure within said second chamber is relatively low, and out into said low velocity combustion air when fuel pressure within said second chamber is higher.