Variable output multistage gas furnace
OwnerEdward J. Bankoinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high turn down ratio furnace is attained by plural burners or burner stages having control valves operated by thermal sensors. Heat output control is by a variable pressure device for the fuel supplied to the burners and individual on-off valves for some of the burners. Burner arrangement and/or design and control enables one primary burner to ignite a secondary burner so that it can ignite other secondary burners, so that only one flame ignition device at the primary burner is necessary.
Claims18
A fluid fuel burning furnace system having a plurality of fuel burners including:
- a primary burner stage and a plurality of secondary burner stages;
- said primary burner stage having a heat capacity range determined by its size and its fuel supply;
- said secondary burner stages having heat capacity ranges that are a multiple of said primary burner heat capacity range;
- a variable fuel supply control for supplying fuel to said primary burner stage and to said secondary burner stages to vary the amount of fuel available to all said burner stages;
- said primary burner stage at all times being directly supplied with fuel under the control of said variable fuel supply control;
- an individual control valve for each said secondary burner stage between said variable fuel supply control and each said individual secondary burner stage;
- thermal means for operating said variable fuel supply control for supplying fuel to said primary burner stage and to said secondary burner stages and for operating said individual control valve for each said secondary burner stage so as to give an infinitely variable heat range and a high turn down ratio for said furnace.
A process for heating an enclosure using a furnace including the steps of:
- providing a primary burner stage and a plurality of secondary burner stages;
- providing a fuel supply for all said burner stages;
- controlling said fuel supply to all said burner stages using a thermally controlled variable valve means;
- providing an uninterrupted flow path for fuel from said thermally controlled variable valve means to said primary burner stage;
- positioning said primary burner stage adjacent to said secondary burner stage so that burning fuel from said primary burner ignites fuel supplied to said adjacent secondary burner stage;
- sequentially supplying fuel to said primary burner first and then to a said secondary burner stage adjacent to said primary burner stage and then to other said secondary burner stages and igniting said fuel supplied to said primary burner and then igniting said fuel supplied to said other secondary burner stages from said ignited fuel supplied to said primary burner stage.
A fluid fuel burning furnace system having a plurality of fuel burners including:
- a primary burner stage and a plurality of secondary burner stages;
- said primary burner stage having a heat capacity range determined by its size and its fuel supply;
- said secondary burner stages having heat capacity ranges that are a multiple of said primary burner heat capacity range,
- one said secondary burner stage has a heat capacity range that is at least twice said primary burner stage heat capacity range;
- a variable fuel supply control for supplying fuel to said primary burner stage and to said secondary burner stages to vary the amount of fuel available to all said burner stages;
- an individual control valve for each said secondary burner stage between said variable fuel supply control and each said individual secondary burner stage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.