Systems and methods of injecting hydrate inhibiting chemicals into a gaseous fuel line of a burner are described. One system includes: an oilfield burner; a gaseous fuel line connected to the oilfield burner; a storage tank containing hydrate-inhibiting chemicals; a hydrate-inhibiting chemical supply line connected between the storage tank and the gaseous fuel line; and a control valve connected to control flow in the hydrate-inhibiting chemical supply line in response to the operation of the oilfield burner. A kit may be provided with at least the hydrate-inhibiting chemical supply line and control valve.

Apparatus to deliver gas having a delivery pipe that extends from an entrance end to a gas delivery end along which there are, one after the other, an entrance component, a pressure regulator and a flow rate regulator coordinated with respect to each other to supply on each occasion the desired quantity of gas to a burner of an apparatus fed by gas, or by a mixture of air/gas.

A method for commissioning a gas valve assembly for controlling fuel flow to a combustion appliance. An example method for commissioning the gas valve assembly may include initiating a commissioning mode in the controller of the gas valve assembly. Once in the commissioning mode, inputting a user defined initial air to fuel (A/F) ratio, activating the combustion appliance, setting a burner load of the combustion appliance to a set burner load, inputting a desired A/F ratio for the set burner load, running the combustion appliance at the burner load with the desired A/F ratio, and observing the operation of the combustion appliance. The method may further include saving the desired A/F ratio for the set burner load to the controller of the gas valve assembly and exiting the commissioning mode.

A gas valve assembly may include a valve body with one or more valves movable between an opened position and a closed position, one or more valve actuators configured to operate the valves, and one or more pressure sensors to sense a pressure within a fluid path of the valve assembly. A valve controller may receive a measure related to a sensed pressure from the one or more pressure sensor(s). The valve controller may compare the received measure related to the sensed pressure to an overpressure threshold. In the event the measure related to the sensed pressure surpasses the overpressure threshold value, the valve controller may be configured to provide a signal that indicates an overpressure event has occurred.

A fuel valve for regulating a flow of fuel to a combustion appliance includes a control module configured to determine fuel consumption based on a measure related to fuel flow through the fuel valve. The measure related to fuel flow through the valve may be determined using a known relationship between firing rate and the flow rate of fuel through the valve. Measurement accuracy may be enhanced by correcting for the excess air ration (also referred to as lamda).

Valve assemblies may be configured to perform a valve proving test as part of an operational cycle of a combustion appliance coupled to the valve assembly. The valve assembly may include a valve body having a fluid path, first and second valves situated in the fluid path, first and second valve actuators, and a pressure sensor in fluid communication with an intermediate volume of the fluid path between the first and second valves. A valve controller may monitor a measure related to a pressure in the intermediate volume. The valve controller may then output a signal if the measure related to the pressure in the intermediate volume meets and/or exceeds a threshold value, where the threshold value is determined based on a measure related to an initial pressure in the intermediate volume and a known test duration.

An appliance includes a first gas-burning heating element, a first gas path extending from an inlet to the first heating element, and a first solenoid valve positioned within the first gas path. The appliance further includes a second gas path extending from upstream of the first solenoid valve to the first heating element and supplying a base gas flow to the first heating element. A controller is electronically coupled with the first solenoid valve for controlling a supplemental flow of gas through the first gas path to the first heating element such that the supplemental gas flow combines with the base gas flow to achieve a total gas flow. The controller controls the supplemental flow to adjust the total gas flow by pulsing the first solenoid valve at a first rate corresponding to a desired rate of the total gas flow to the first heating element.

A system for detection of degradation of a valve mechanism by measuring, for example, the time between powering an actuator and opening of the valve or the time between un-powering the actuator and closing of the valve. Time measurements may be compared with a predetermined threshold or previous measurements. An indication of a gradual degradation of the valve may be detected by an evaluation of a trend of measurements. Thus, a user may be notified of an impending failure before an actual failure of the valve. Diagnostic analysis may be of one or more items selected from a group consisting of combinations of time delays and distances of valve movement upon application and removal of power to the actuator, and one or more performance issues may be correlated for each of many combinations.

An electronic control system for a power burner system for use with a heating appliance includes a burner tube, a gas valve for providing gas to the burner tube, an electronic control and a variable speed combustion air blower for mixing air with the gas provided to the burner tube. The electronic control system further includes a control in communication with the gas valve and the combustion air blower. The control may also be in communication with various other devices of an appliance, such as a variable speed air-circulating fan, a variable speed exhaust fan, or various sensors associated with the heating appliance. The control modulates the gas valve and the combustion air blower to maintain substantially stoichiometric conditions of the gas and air provided to the burner tube and as a function of signals from at least one of the devices. In one embodiment, the burner system may be used in a conveyor oven.

A system, method, and an apparatus relating to data collection regarding valve movement over a period of time in order to determine the effects of stiction on the valve. With data collection done over a period of time, it is possible to remove dependency on a high speed method of data collection. The evaluation of the valve movement includes consideration of a manipulated variable (MV) for diagnosis, or detection, of stiction of the valve.