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GAS TECHNOLOGY
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 | The Magic Mixture
Reap rewards with blowers that deliver a maximum air-to-fuel ratio.
by Larry Adams
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 | Gas Technology: A New Flame
A novel approach to combustion has the potential to transform the future design of gas appliances. In 1991, Robert K. Cheng, senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., developed the low-swirl combustion method while conducting research for the Department of Energy, studying interactions between turbulent fluid motions and premixed combustion.
by Steve Wichelecki
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 | Biodiesel Blends
The use of biodiesel-blended heating oil in oil-fired appliances is a trend that is slowly growing in the U.S. Some retailers of heating oil have been offering residential and industrial customers biodiesel blends for about 10 years at concentrations of typically 5 and 20 percent biodiesel.
by Steve Wichelecki
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 | Gas Technology: Good Looking, Good Cooking
Burners on gas cooktops and rangetops have come a long way over the years. They can simmer so low as to melt chocolate and hold it in that melted state for hours. Yet that same burner can boil up to 4 quarts of water in a little more than 10 minutes. The cooktops available today can come in a variety of sizes and styles, differing from manufacturer to manufacturer. While different in many ways, at their core, gas burners found on cooktops and rangetops are very similar. Gas flows from a main gas valve to the burner through a venturi tube, which allows the gas to properly mix with air for clean combustion. The mixture flows into the burner where it is lit by an igniter. From this stepping off point, however, technology begins to vary.
by Larry Adams
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 | Gas Technology: Fire It Up Fast (July 2008)
Reliable ignition is the top priority for design engineers developing gas appliances, and is of utmost concern for other functions such as marketing, sales, quality assurance, and field service. Until recently, the designers of gas appliances had to choose between two on-demand ignition technologies: spark and hot surface. Now there is a third choice, a system that utilizes a low-voltage, resistive-wire coil that can be adapted to different burner systems. This adaptable technology has emerged as a strong alternative for designers seeking a higher level of ignition reliability.
by Steve Hussell
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 | Gas Technology: Modulation Migration (Nov. 2007)
Gas
modulation systems have evolved in the last 20 years, spreading in use from the
large-scale boilers of a couple decades ago to applications today such as
residential furnaces, commercial food service equipment, water heaters and
other gas appliances.
by Larry Adams
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 | Gas Technology: Burning Clean (July 2007)
The
theory is simple. Gas and air are delivered to a burner. They mix. They ignite.
Thus, combustion occurs. But, in the drive for a gas burner that is more efficient
and environmentally friendly, that three-step process evolves, additional
devices are added and additional features tapped.
by Larry Adams
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 | Gas Technology: Sunless Solar Power
Recent advances in thermophotovoltaic generator design make this technology increasingly attractive for generating electricity inside gas appliances, either to free the appliance from dependence on wall-plug power or to co-generate power for the home.
by Randy Carlson
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 | Gas Technology: A Burning Issue
An invisible gremlin is poised to invade homes and business across America and tinker with their gas appliances. The gremlin is liquefied natural gas (LNG), and its tool for tinkering is the unpredictable stew of hydrocarbons it contains.
by Larry Adams
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