Brown's Oil & Air Conditioning

AIR FILTER

Air filters are found in hydro-air heating systems. These systems use a boiler or hot water heater to produce hot water which is then pumped to an air handler heat exchanger coil which is used to heat air circulating over the coil. The heated air is then distributed though a system of ductwork. Air filters are installed in the return air duct to help keep the coil and blower motor in the air handler clean. Air filters are also installed between the return air duct and blower fan of forced hot air systems.

AQUASTAT

Aquastats are water temperature sensing and control devices. In a boiler application they are used to determine when the water temperature reaches a high or low limit and cause the boiler to shut down if the temperature is too high or turn on if it is too low. They can also be used to turn on a heat circulator pump. A triple aquastat is a multi-functional device that combines an aquastat, controller, and a relay (electromechanical switch) as a single unit.

BASEBOARD HEAT

Baseboard heat is installed at floor level along walls. The baseboard heat consists of copper tubing with bonded aluminum fins enclosed in a protective metal cover. Hot water is pumped from a boiler through the tubing, heating the surrounding air.

BLAST TUBE

The blast tube is a component of the oil burner assembly. The blast tube is a metal tube which connects to the combustion chamber. Inside the blast tube are the oil nozzle and electrodes. Oil sprayed from the oil nozzle is mixed with air blown through the blast tube and ignited in the combustion chamber by a spark generated by the electrodes. The nozzle and electrodes are positioned at the combustion chamber end of the blast tube.

BLOWER FAN

The blower fan is a component of the oil burner assembly. It blows air through the blast tube into the combustion chamber to provide the oxygen needed for combustion.

BOILER

Boilers produce hot water or steam which depending upon the circumstances, is circulated through piping to various types of heating mechanisms such as radiators, baseboard heating units, embedded piping, and the heating coils of hydro-air heating systems.

CAD CELL EYE

The cad cell eye is a light sensing device used to detect if the oil burner flame goes out. If it does go out, the cad cell eye in conjunction with the primary control cause the oil burner to shut down to avoid a potentially dangerous accumulation of fuel oil in the combustion chamber.

CIRCULATOR

The circulator is a pump that is used to circulate hot water from from the boiler through the heating system piping to the areas to be heated. The circulator motor is connected by a coupling to the pump impeller which forces the hot water through the system.

COMBUSTION CHAMBER

The combustion chamber is where the mixture of oil sprayed in from nozzle and the air blown in through the blast tube are ignited by the electrodes and converted to the hot gases used to produce hot water or steam in boilers and heated air in furnaces.

COUPLING

Couplings are shafts which connect the circulator motor to the circulator liquid propulsion mechanism (impeller) and connect the oil burner fuel pump and oil burner blower fan to the oil burner blower motor.

DEGREE DAYS

Degree days are a measure of the difference between 65 degrees and the average daily temperature. This measure assumes that above an average daily temperature of 65 degrees no heat would be required and no oil would be consumed other than for hot water. Because of this degree day calculations for customers who use oil for both heat and hot water, have to be adjusted to take the hot water into consideration.

The basic degree days calculation is as follows:

65 – (high + low temperature for day)/2

For example 65 – ( 50 + 20)/2 = 30 degree days

Degree days are used in conjunction with historical data on oil delivery dates and gallons delivered to determine when the next oil delivery date should be scheduled. This is a widely used and long established method used by oil delivery companies for so called “automatic” oil deliveries. The system is not perfect, but the great majority of the time it works with respectable reliability.

DRAFT CONTROL

The draft control (draft regulator) is attached to the side of the smoke pipe (flue pipe). It uses a barometric damper to regulate the rate of flow of hot air flowing from the boiler through the smoke pipe and up the chimney. It is activated by changes in pressure in the smoke pipe. If the pressure exceeds prescribed limits, the damper door opens to let cool air into the smoke pipe to cool the hot air emissions from the boiler, thereby causing a reduction in the hot air suction effect up the chimney.

ELECTRODES

Electrodes are mounted inside the blast tube and are connected to the burner transformer which provides the high voltage needed to create the spark between the two electrodes that ignites the fuel oil spayed into the combustion chamber.

EXPANSION TANK

An expansion tank is needed to provide space for the expansion of water, which expands as it is heated.

FUEL PUMP

The oil burner fuel pump is part of the oil burner and is powered by the oil burner motor which also powers the oil burner blower fan. It provides the pressure for forcing the fuel oil through the nozzle, and also when oil is stored in a tank which is below the boiler and therefore cannot be gravity fed, it suctions the oil from the oil tank to the oil burner.

FURNACE

Furnaces are used to provide heated air for forced hot air systems. Hot combustion gases created by burning oil or gas in the furnace are circulated through a heat exchanger. A blower fan blows air across the exterior of the heat exchanger which is then distributed through ductwork to the spaces to be heated.

HYDRO AIR HEATING SYSTEM

A hydro air heating system uses a boiler or hot water heater to to make and pump hot water to a heat exchange coil in an air handler. Air blown over the coil is heated and then distributed from the air handler through ductwork.

HYDRONIC HEATING SYSTEM

A hydronic heating system uses water or steam from a boiler which depending upon the circumstances is piped to a variety of heat distribution mechanisms such as radiators, baseboard heating or floor inlaid radiant piping or tubing.

INDIRECT WATER HEATERS

Indirect water heaters are heaters with no internal means built into them to independently produce hot water. Instead they rely on heated water piped to them by a boiler. The heated boiler water is circulated either through a coil in the tank or in a jacket surrounding the exterior surface of the tank unit containing cold water. The hot water produced by this process is then pumped through piping to wherever it is needed to be used as hot water or to provide heat in the spaces requiring it.

NOZZLE

A nozzle is a component of a burner and is attached by a nozzle adapter to the end of the oil line. It is located at the end of the blast tube, and directed into the combustion chamber. Its function is to convert the liquid stream of fuel oil into a fine spray of oil in order to facilitate combustion. Nozzles are designed to provide a specific flow capacity measured in gallons per minute, and specific spray patterns and angles (width of pattern) consistent with the requirements of the boiler and burner they work in conjunction with. Nozzles are coded with part numbers which identify their capacity, spray angle, and spray pattern. Nozzles should normally be replaced at least once a year.

OIL BURNER

An oil burner contains all the critical elements necessary to ignite the fuel oil. The principal elements include a motor which drives a fuel pump to force oil under pressure through the nozzle and create a spray in the combustion chamber, and a blower fan which blows air through the blast tube to mix with the sprayed oil in the combustion chamber. A transformer provides the high voltage needed to cause a spark between the electrodes positioned at the end of the blast tube. A primary control starts and stops the oil burner and shuts it down in the event the burner flame goes out.

OIL FILTER

A fuel oil filter is installed between the oil tank and the oil burner to remove any solid particles in the oil. This reduces the opportunities for such particles to clog the restrictive passages of the nozzle and the orifice of the nozzle. The removable filter element inside the filter housing should be changed annually.

PRIMARY CONTROL

The primary control is wired to the thermostat which signals the the primary control when to shut down and start the oil burner. It is also wired to the cad cell eye which is positioned to allow it to observe the oil burner flame. In the event the burner flame goes out, a resulting increased current flow from the cad cell eye signals the primary control to shut down the oil burner.

SMOKE PIPE

The smoke pipe is a metal tube which is used to remove flue gases from a boiler or furnace and discharge them to the exterior through a chimney or other external discharge point. A draft control attached to the side of the smoke pipe is used to regulate the flow of gases in the smoke pipe by opening and closing a small damper door as needed to allow cooler air into the smoke pipe to lower the temperature and pressure and maintain an appropriate flow rate.