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Fuel Firing Apparatus - Natural Gas

Print Date: 3/28/2024 10:37:25 PM

Lee Doran

Winter 1994  

Category: Operations 

Summary: The following article is a part of National Board Classic Series and it was published in the National Board BULLETIN. (7 printed pages)

 


 

The importance of fuel firing equipment cannot be over emphasized. The majority of boiler explosions occur in one of two ways: a failure of a boiler pressure part, or a furnace explosion.

Jurisdictions and insurance companies have long recognized the need for the proper installation, maintenance, repair, operation and inspection of this equipment. However, the real world shows us that there are many people involved with this equipment, including installers, maintainers, operators or inspectors who might have minimal knowledge of the maintenance and testing requirements for the different components that make up a fuel train.

There are several organizations such as UL (Underwriters Laboratory), FM (Factory Mutual), IRI (Industrial Risk Insurers), etc, that publish requirements for the various components which make up a fuel train for specific burner output. Also, several codes and standards such as NFPA and ASME publish requirements for the entire assemblies.

For now, only IRI, ASME CSD-1 (Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers 1992) and NFPA 8501 (Single Burner Boiler Operation-1992) shall be considered.

 

A typical fuel train has several components, each with a specific purpose which is briefly explained below.

 

Points to remember:

 

Pressure gauges should be installed before and after the gas pressure regulator and at the burner, in order to monitor pressure to ensure they are within the manufacturer's recommendations.

 


 

Editor's note: Some ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requirements may have changed because of advances in material technology and/or actual experience. The reader is cautioned to refer to the latest edition of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for current requirements.