The operation of a gun-type, high-pressure atomizing oil burner can be traced in Figure 1-12. The fuel oil is drawn through a strainer from the supply tank by the fuel pump and is forced under pressure past the pressure relief cutoff valve via the oil line where it eventually passes through the fine mesh strainer and into the nozzle. The amount of pressure required to pump the fuel oil through the line depends on the size and capacity of the oil burner and the purpose for which it is used. For example, residential oil burners require 80 to 125 psi, whereas commercial and industrial oil burners operate on 100 to 300 psi.
As the fuel oil passes through the nozzle, it is broken up and sprayed in a very fine mist. The air supply is drawn in through the inlet air scoop opening and forced through the draft tube portion of the casing by the combustion air blower. This air mixes with the oil spray after passing through a set of vanes, called a turbulator. The turbulator gives a twisting motion to the air stream just before it strikes the oil spray, producing a more thorough mixture of the oil and air (see Figure 1-13).
Ignition of the oil spray is provided by a transformer that changes the house lighting current and feeds it to the electrodes to provide a spark at the beginning of each operating period.
The starting cycle of the oil burner is initiated by the closing of the motor circuit. When the motor circuit is closed (automatically by room temperature control), the motor starts turning the fan and the pump. At the same time, the ignition transformer produces a spark at the electrodes ready to light the oil and air mixture.
The action of the pump draws the fuel oil from the tank through the strainer on the fuel line. Its flow is controlled by an oil cutoff valve, which prevents oil passing to the nozzle unless the pressure is high enough to spray the oil (approximately 60 lbs of pressure). Because the pump in the oil burner pumps oil much faster than it can be discharged through the nozzle at that pressure (i.e., 60 lbs of pressure), the oil pressure continues to rise very fast between the pump and the nozzle. When the pressure begins to rise above the normal operating pressure (100 lbs), a pressure relief valve opens and allows the excess oil to flow through the bypass line to the inlet, as in the so-called one-pipe system, or to flow through a second or return line to the supply tank. The pressure relief valve in either system maintains the oil at the correct operating pressure.
When the oil burner is turned off (i.e., when the burner motor stops), the oil pressure quickly drops below the operating pressure, and a pressure relief valve closes. The flame continues until the pressure drops below the setting of the cutoff valve.
The cutoff and pressure relief (regulating) valves may be either two separate units or combined into one unit. Figure 1-14 shows the essentials of the two-unit arrangement. These are, as shown, simply elementary schematics designed to illustrate basic operating principles. The cutoff needle valve is shown with a spring inside the bellows, and the pressure relief (mushroom) valve is shown with exposed spring. In the cutoff valve arrangement, the spring acts against oil pressure on the head of the bellows (tending to collapse it); in the pressure relief valve, the spring acts against the oil pressure, which acts on the lower face of the mushroom valve (tending to open it).
When the pump starts and the pressure in the line rises to about 60 lbs (depending on the spring setting), this pressure acting on the head of the bellows overcomes the resistance of the spring, causing the cutoff valve to open. Since the pump supplies more oil than the nozzle can discharge, the pressure quickly rises to 100 lbs, overcoming the resistance of the relief valve spring and causing the valve to open. This allows excess oil to bypass or return to the tank.
The relief valve will open high enough to maintain the working pressure constant at 100 lbs. When the oil burner is turned off, the oil pressure quickly drops, and the pressure relief valve closes. However, oil will continue to discharge from the nozzle until the pressure drops below the cutoff valve setting when the cutoff valve closes and stops the nozzle discharge.
A passage to the return line is provided by a small slot cut in the seat of the mushroom valve. This causes any remaining pressure trapped in the line by the closing of the cutoff valve to be equalized.
Frequently the cutoff valve and pressure relief valve are combined in a compact cylindrical casing (see Figure 1-15). Here the two valves are attached to a common stem with a flange, which comes in contact with a stop when moved upward by the pressure of the valve actuating the spring.
The position of the stop limits the valve movements to proper maximum lift. A piston, free to move in the cylindrical casing, has an opening in its head that forms the valve seat for the pressure relief valve. The strong piston spring tends to move the piston downward and close the pressure relief valve and then the cutoff valve.
When the pump starts and the pressure in the cylinder below the piston rises to about 60 lbs (depending on the piston spring setting), the piston and the two valves (i.e., the cutoff and pressure relief valve) rise until the valve flange contracts with the stop. At this instant, the cutoff valve is fully opened, allowing oil to flow to the nozzle, the pressure relief valve still being closed. Since the nozzle does not have sufficient capacity to discharge all the oil that is supplied by the pump, the pressure below the piston will continue to rise.
