Here’s a practical, step-by-step way to check whether an industrial gas burner is working well, from safety to flame quality to performance.

1. Start with safety checks (always first)

Before you even fire it:

• ✅ No gas leaks – check joints, valves, and flanges (soap bubble test or gas detector)

• ✅ Correct gas pressure at the burner inlet (compare with burner datasheet)

• ✅ All safety devices work

  • Gas shut-off solenoid valve closes tightly

  • Pressure switch trips at low/high pressure

  • Flame detector (UV / ionization) is clean and correctly positioned

• ✅ Good ventilation & exhaust – no blockage in flue or stack

If any of these fail → stop and fix before running.

2. Check ignition and startup behavior

A healthy burner should:

• 🔥 Ignite quickly and smoothly (no delay, no “boom”)

• 🔁 Follow the correct sequence:

  1. Pre-purge

  2. Ignition spark

  3. Flame establishment

  4. Main flame opens

• ❌ No repeated ignition failures or flame dropouts

Warning signs:
Delayed ignition, loud bang, or frequent flame failure = not working well.

3. Observe flame quality (very important)

Look through the sight glass:

Good flame

• Stable, not flickering or lifting

• Correct color:

  • 🔵 Mostly blue (natural gas)

  • Small yellow tips are OK, but no long yellow flame

• Flame shape matches burner design (not curling back or blowing off)

Bad flame symptoms

• 🟡 Long yellow flame → incomplete combustion

• 🔥 Flame lifting or blowing off → too much air or pressure

• 🔴 Flame rolling back → blocked burner head or low air

4. Check air–gas ratio

• Adjust air damper or control valve

• Measure:

  • O₂ (typically 2–5%)

  • CO (should be very low; ideally <50 ppm)

• Smoke number should be zero

If you don’t have a flue gas analyzer, use flame appearance + equipment heating performance as a rough guide.

5. Verify combustion performance

Ask these questions:

• Does the furnace/kiln/oven reach set temperature on time?

• Is temperature stable (no hunting or big fluctuations)?

• Is fuel consumption normal compared to before?

Slow heating, unstable temperature, or higher gas use = burner not working efficiently.

6. Listen to the burner

Sound tells a lot:

• 👍 Smooth, steady combustion sound

• 👎 Roaring, whistling, pulsating, or vibration = airflow or mixing problem

7. Inspect burner hardware condition

During shutdown:

• Burner nozzle & head: no carbon, cracks, or deformation

• Ignition electrode: correct gap, no erosion

• Flame sensor: clean, strong signal

• Fan/blower: no abnormal noise, correct airflow

8. Check control & interlock response

Test safety logic:

• Close gas → burner trips

• Simulate flame loss → system locks out

• Alarm and shutdown response time is normal

A burner that fires well but doesn’t shut down correctly is NOT “working well.”

Quick checklist (summary)

A good industrial gas burner:

• ✔ Starts smoothly

• ✔ Has stable blue flame

• ✔ No abnormal noise or vibration

• ✔ Low CO, proper O₂

• ✔ Reaches and holds temperature

• ✔ All safety devices respond correctly

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