TROUBLESHOOTING

BURNERS AND HEATER

PROBLEMS
 Learning Objectives

At the completion of this session, the student

should be able to:

• Identify operational problems of burner and

heaters (Know How to Read Flames)
• Understand how these problems influence
operation
• Know how to fix the problem

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 TROUBLESHOOTING
BURNERS AND HEATER PROBLEMS

 PROBLEM

 INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
Pulsating Flame

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 Woofing noise is heard from heater

 Observe erratic flames and flame

patterns in heater

 Observe flames outside the heater

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Damage refractory walls within

heater due to vibration
 Damage burner tile due to vibration
 Loss of production due to heater
shutdown

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Cut gas flow back until heater has

sufficient air to burn gas
 Increase draft at top of radiant
section by opening stack damper
 If stack damper is at maximum
opening insure that it is not
warpped

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SOLUTION

 Increase firing rate to burner

capacity with available draft or to
required heat release

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 PROBLEM

Flame impingement on tubes

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

Visual observation of the flames inside

heater are contacting the external
tube surfaces

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Flame Impingement – Ethylene Cracker

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Creates hot spots on tubes

 Leads to tube failure through
coking inside the tubes

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Flame impingement causes process tubes to rupture by what method?

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Flame impingement causes process tubes to rupture by what method?

b. Coke reduces heat transfer to process

©2004 by Harvest Energy Technology. All Rights Reserved.

a. Flame impinges on tubes causes

C coke
2005 by buildup
John Zink on inside of tube
Company, LLC
Flame Impingement Damage (Bulging / Swelling)

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Clean burner
 Adjust excess air to proper level
 Check gas and or oil tip drilling for
erosion

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Check burner, gas tip, and oil tip

alignment and position
 Check steam pressure differential
 Check air distribution
 Check Flue gas circulation patterns in
heater
 Need for Advance Process Diagnostics

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
Flashback in Burners
INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 Hear barking noise in mixer

 Observe flame burning inside mixer at
the orifice
 Overheating on outside of mixer
 Observe rusting on cast iron mixer
 Observe burned paint on mixer

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Problem -- Flashback

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 Flashback  Flashback - propagation of flame through tip
 Loud “bang” or “barking” noise
 More susceptible to hydrogen

Maximum flame speed

Butane 1.30 ft/s
Methane 1.48 ft/s
Propane 1.52 ft/s
Acetylene 8.75 ft/s
Hydrogen 9.30 ft/s

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Damages burner or mixer

 Restrict capacity of burner

 Restrict capacity of the heater

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 Damage of Premix Wall Burner Tip
(Inside view)
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 Crack

Damage of Premix Wall Burner Tip

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC (Outside view)
 SOLUTION

 Change gas tip

 Clean orifice
 Increase gas pressure on burner
 Reduce number of burners firing to
raise gas pressure

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 PROBLEM
IRREGULAR FLAME PATTERNS

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Some burners have longer flames
than other burners with same fuel
pressure

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Possible Cause – Plugged Tips

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Possible Cause – Shortage of Air

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Possible Cause – Wrong Orifice Installed in Burner

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Hot spots on tubes within heater

 Inefficient operation

 High CO readings

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 SOLUTION

 Clean gas tips or oil tips orifices

 Adjust all registers to same opening
 Inspect orifices on all burners to be the
same

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust draft to insure air flow is

same across all burners
 Check alignment and position on
the burner, the gas tip, and the oil
tip

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 PROBLEM

Liquid Carry Over in Gas Fuel

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

–Sparkle in the Flame

–Excessive Coking on Tip

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Problem – Liquid in the Fuel Gas Supply

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION
 Inefficient operating and combustion

 Coke formation on tile

 Fouls burners, gas tips, pilot tip

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Raw Gas Tips – Damages Caused by Coking

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 SOLUTION

 Check Fuel Delivery System

 Check or Install Knock Out Pot of Fuel
System

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 PROBLEM
Oil spillage

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 Oil dripping from burner and forming

pools of oil underneath burner
 Sparklers are observed in firebox

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION
 Safety hazard

 Inefficient operating and combustion

 Coke formation in regen tile

 Fouls burners, gas tips, pilot tip, and oil tip

 Fouls convection section

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust oil temperature to provide 150 to

200 Seconds, Saybolt Universal (33 to 45
Centistokes) or less at burner
 Adjust oil gun to proper vertical and
horizontal location in oil tile

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust steam differential pressure

 Clean oil gun and atomizer
 Change oil tip and atomizer metallurgy
 Insulate steam and oil lines
 Insure steam traps are working

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
Long smoky flames

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Visual observation in firebox shows
long, dirty, smoky flames going into
convection section

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Inefficient combustion

 Failure to get proper outlet temperature

 Soot deposit on tube surfaces

 Coke formation in regen tile

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust steam differential / flow

 Clean oil gun and atomizer
 Adjust excess oxygen level
 Adjust draft to correct level
 Insulate steam and oil lines

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust oil temperature at burner to correct

temperature
 Adjust oil tip in regen tile to correct
position
 Check oil tip and atomizer condition
 Check air distribution

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
Burner Fails to light off

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Operator can not initiate the ignition of
the combustion reaction at the burner

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Failure to get process unit started up

 Loss of production

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Check burner drawing for location of

pilot tip in relation to ignition source
 Reposition pilot tip to main burner
 Insure fuel is flowing to the pilot
 Insure air is flowing into the heater

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Close air register or damper at burner to

15 -25 % opening
 Adjust gas and oil tips to correct position
and alignment

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

PROBLEM

“Fire flies” observed in top of firebox

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Small to large droplets of oil are burning
as they move up the firebox towards the
convection section

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Causes high pressure drop in convection

section
 Increase the number of soot blowing cycles
 Causes lost of heat transfer in convection
section

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 SOLUTION

 Increase atomization pressure

 Insure the atomization orifice is not
plugged and steam is flowing
 Check for water in steam
 Insure oil temperature is adequate at the
burner

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Check the condition of oil tip and

atomizer
 Insure the oil tip is correctly position in
tile

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PROBLEM

Leaning flames

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 Flame leans to one side of the heater

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Hot spots on tubes

 Process Tube failures

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 SOLUTION

 Check flue gas circulation within heater

 Install brick wall (reed wall) to break up
flue gas effects

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 SOLUTION

 Clean gas and oil tips

 Check gas tip and oil tip alignment and
position within the tile
 Check air distribution

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PROBLEM
High Gas or Oil Pressure

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Pressure gauge on fuel line is reading a
higher fuel pressure than necessary to
get required heat release

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Irregular flame patterns

 Hot spots

 Failure to get proper outlet

temperature on process side

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Clean gas, oil, and steam orifices

 Adjust burner draft for proper heat
release

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PROBLEM

High stack temperature

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

 Stack temperature continues to rise

above designed stack temperature

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Low heater efficiency

 Higher gas consumption and

operating cost

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust excess Oxygen level

 Adjust draft
 Clean convection section
 Repair convection section tubes

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 SOLUTION

 Blow soot from tubes in convection

section
 Adjust oil temperature and steam
quality

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
Overheating in convection section
INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 Refractory falls from top of the
heater
 Structural steel on the heater is
warping and leaks are developing
 Convection tubes are falling out
tube holders
 Convection tubes are bending
C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC
 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Unit is shut down

 Loss of production

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 If carbon monoxide is high in the

convection section then open the
damper and air register to burn all the
carbon monoxide in the firebox
 Open stack damper to increase draft
from positive pressure in the convection
section to a negative pressure of - 1.3
mm of water at the inlet to convection
section

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 If stack damper is fully opened, decrease

firing rate to eliminate positive pressure
at convection inlet

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM
“Motor boating” when firing oil

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

Operator hears “motor boating” or a

strange noise coming from burner

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Unstable flames on burner

 Loss of flames from burner

 Loss of heater

 Loss of production

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Check for leaking steam bypass valve

on liquid fuel
 Check for water in oil
 Raise fuel oil pressure
 Change to a dual tube oil gun
 Change to a spin oil orifice

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM

Flame lifts off from burner

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

Flame is burning off of the tip and above the burner

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Potential safety hazard

 Loss of production

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Correct gas tip and oil tip alignment

and position
 Check flame holder
 Adjust primary air
 Adjust steam to oil differential
pressure

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 SOLUTION

 Insure minimum oil is flowing

 Check crossover valve is closed

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 PROBLEM

Loss of pilot flame

INDICATION OF PROBLEM

Pilot cannot be lighted or will not

stay lighted

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 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Potential safety hazard

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust draft
 Adjust primary air on pilot mixer
 Adjust pilot gas pressure
 Observe flame stability
 Change pilot tip to a wind resistant pilot tip

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM

 High NOx in heater stack

 Unit exceeds emission permit

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 High NOx level measured in stack

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Unit may be in violation of operating

permit with local environmental
agency

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 SOLUTION

 Adjust primary, secondary and tertiary burner air

register position

 Clean primary and secondary gas tips

 Check for air leakage into firebox

 Check excess oxygen level and control to a lower

level

 Consult with burner manufacturer for additional

solutions to reduce the NOx emissions

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 PROBLEM

 Damage to Burner Tile

INDICATION OF PROBLEM
 High NOx level measured in stack
 High CO
 Irregular Flame Patterns
 Burner Flame Lifts-Off (Ultra-Low
NOx Burners)
C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC
Damage Burner Tile

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 EFFECT ON OPERATION

 Unit may be in violation of operating

permit with local environmental
agency
 High CO Produced
 Inefficient Operation
SOLUTION
 Document and Replace Burner Tiles
During Next Shutdown

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 x

Light Fuel Oil

x

Blended Fuel Oil

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
The following table reflects possible causes for the mentioned seven problems

Oil Tip Misposition

x

High Steam Temperature

x

Leaking Cross Over Valve

x
POSSIBLE CAUSE

High Atomising Pressure

x
x
x
x
x
x

Low Oil Pressure

x

Low Oil Flow

x

Floor / Regen Tile Failure

x
x
x
x
x
x

Tip / Atomiser Failure

x
x
x

x
x

Cold Oil (Heavy Oil)

x

Wet Steam
x
x
x

x
x
Lack Of Atomising Flow
x
x
x

x
x
Lack of Atomising Pressure

2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

x

x
x
x
x
Insufficient Air
Smokey Flame
PROBLEM

Oil Flashing
Lazy Flame
Instability
Fire Flies

Oil Spills
Coke

C
OPTIONS BEYOND BURNER OR HEATER
ADJUSTMENTS

ADVANCED HEATER DIAGNOSTICS

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYANMICS (CFD) MODELLING

 Use of computer to model

and evaluate burner and
furnace interaction

 Advance Problem Solving

– Investigate
Fundamentals (eg.
mixing, heat transfer) to
solve problems

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Example 1 -Flame Rollover

 Combustion rate on
burner center plane
shows:
– flame rollover
– a flame that is
detached from
the wall

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 Flame shape colored by temperature (°F)

Flame ‘rolls
over’ off the wall
and impinges on
tubes

CFD MODELLING

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CFD MODELLING PXMR Burner Model
Throat baffle

Primary and staged

tips

Air restriction orifice

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC
 Solution : Modify Gas Tip Drilling

Optimized flame
shape hugs the fired
wall

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC Flame shape colored by temperature (°F)
 Example 2 – Flame Detachment from Wall
Solution: Change Tile & Burner Tip

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

Laser Optic Tube Inspection System (LOTIS)
“Laser Profilometry”
 LOTIS applies a unique technique referred to as
“LASER PROFILOMETRY”. The use of a “low powered”
laser to accurately profile a surface, such as the inside
of a tube
 The LOTIS laser based technology is a “one of a kind”
non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection/testing process

 There are no other “tube” inspection tools in the world

that use this technology. Inspect 100% of the ID surface
of a tube / pipe

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 LOTIS
Small rotating probe head which
contains optics, laser diode and detector

Example of how laser 1.0” and 2.0” Articulated Laser

profilometry Profilometry Probes
probe collects data in tube

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

Steam Reformer Tube Inspection Process

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

Creep Damage in 680 Tube Reformer

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

Creep Damage in Single Reformer Tube

LOTIS inspections
can give advance
warning of
problems…
…before problems
lead to failure

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 LOTIS Case Study

• Hydrogen Plant
LOTIS inspection showed maximum creep strain as
3.2% on the side of one tube.
• The rest of the tubes had 1 to 1.5% creep strain
• We highlighted that flame impingement from a
burner was the probable cause of the local
damage
• Burner inspection showed tip had burnt away on
an adjacent burner

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 Infrared Temperature Monitoring

Coker Radiant Coil

During Heater Burn
C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC
 IR Scan of a Cabin Heater

Note the uniform

heat distribution and
tube temperatures

C 2005 by John Zink Company, LLC

 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © 2005 John Zink Company, LLC, a division of Koch-Glitsch, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
No Warranty
This technical documentation and the information contained therein is being
delivered to the user AS-IS and John Zink Company makes no warranty as to its
accuracy or use. Any use of this technical documentation or the information
contained therein is at the risk of the user. Documentation may include technical or
other inaccuracies or typographical errors. John Zink Company reserves the right to
make changes without prior notice.