WardBurner@aol.com on fri 11 oct 96
Hey folks,
Been out'a town for a week or so and just read this post. There is a slight
misconception here I wanted to clear up. Below is the section in question:
<<<volumes. This means the oriface size for propane is smaller. Propane
suppliers may sell conversion parts for changing a natural gas appliance to
propane.>>>
Propane can theoretically burn a little tiny bit hotter than natural gas.
When calculated for stoichiometric ratio and considered dissociation (ooh..
it gives me chills to be able to use big 'ole dense words. Sorta like being
an art critic, huh? Nobody knows what your talking about, but it sounds
impressive), when these two things are worked into a formula, propane will
burn at 3573 F / 1967 C. Natural gas will burn at 3525 F / 1941 C. Hardly any
difference in flame temperature. The difference is that propane is denser
(bigger molecules packed into a cubic foot). Because of it's density it will
need more air than natural gas to burn completely. One cubic foot of natural
gas needs about 10 cubic feet of air to burn completely. One cubic foot of
propane will need 25 cubic feet of air. Basically propane is 2.5 times more
"potent" than natural gas but it needs 2.5 times the air. So when a burner is
delivering a set amount of air you have to make the orifice smaller for
propane to keep your air/gas ratio correct. So one cubic foot of properly
mixed air AND natural gas gives you about 100 BTU's (10 parts air 1 part
natural gas). One cubic foot of properly mixed propane AND air gives you
about 100 BTU's (25 parts air 1 part propane). Bottom line: propane is not
hotter, it's denser.
Mothers - your children with tendencies toward pyromania can grow up to have
productive lives, just hide the matches better than my parents did.
My apology to the metric world....too lazy this morning to do the
conversions...
Marc Ward
Ward Burner Systems
PO Box 333
Dandridge, TN 37725
USA
423.397.2914 voice
423.397.1253 fax
wardburner@aol.com
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