Abstract: A recuperator and burner shroud assembly for use on a radiant tube burner. The recuperator has two concentric tubes, one connected to the outlet of the radiant tube burner and serving as a stack, the other forming a jacket about the stack for carrying a countercurrent flow of air to the burner. The space between the two tubes is closed at the discharge end of the stack by a peripheral seal that permits relative axial movement between the tubes. A conduit carries heated air from the jacket to a burner shroud, which encapsulates the air inlet portion of the burner, and directs the air into the burner in a manner that establishes a swirling or helical path of travel of combustion products through the burner tube.