Q. What is the most common installation fault?

A.  Improper venting is among the most common installation error. Numerous components require an atmospheric reference for accurate operation. Many of these devices however can fail in modes that permit fuel to escape from these same atmospheric points. Unless these components are listed as ventless, vent lines are necessary. Accordingly, these points need to be vented to approved locations for safety. Vent lines must be correctly engineered, installed, and routed to appropriate locations. In addition, building penetrations must be sealed, pipes must be supported, and the vent terminations must be protected from the elements and insects.

Even when vent lines are properly installed, building pressures can vary sufficiently enough that they prevent optimal burner performance. Building pressures often vary with seasonal, daily weather, and manufacturing needs, further complicating matters. Condensate in vent lines can collect and drain to low points or into the devices themselves. Heating, cooling and building exhausters are known to influence building pressures and device responses, but so can opening and closing of delivery doors for shipping and receiving. Hence a burner once tuned for optimal operation might not be appropriately tuned for the opposite season’s operation.

Rockford Combustion Solutions specializes in ventless valve train designs to improve factory safety and enhance burner operation. Ventless systems will reference and experience the same room conditions where the burners are located, resulting in more stable year-round operating conditions, regardless of what is happening outside. Additionally, ventless designs typically save on total installation costs, remove leaky building penetrations, eliminate terminations that could be blocked by insects, snow or ice, improve inspection access, and ensure fail-safe emergency response.