Abstract: A cooking grill includes a container defining a combustion area and a cooking surface over the combustion area. The grill features a pellet burner unit disposed within the container under the cooking surface and a pellet feeding device arranged to feed pellets into the burner unit. The burner unit comprises a trough into which the pellets are fed. The trough is mounted in a movable support which can be pulled out from within the container. The feeding device includes a removable cartridge for containing pellets and a receptacle for receiving the cartridge inserted thereon so that the cartridge supplies pellets for transfer to the pellet burner unit. In addition, a gas burner system is arranged in the container adjacent to the pellet burner unit so as to apply heat from the gas burner system to the cooking surface in addition to or as an alternative to the pellet burner unit.

Abstract: A smoke trap includes a receptacle with a floor opening, a tubular riser surrounding the opening and extending from the floor into a receptacle cavity, and a capping element disposed over an aperture in a riser. The capping element has an upper wall and a side wall partially bounding a body cavity and extending from the upper wall toward the floor. The capping element covers the aperture from above and from the side without fluidly sealing the aperture such that the aperture is in fluid communication with the body cavity and the body cavity is in fluid communication with the receptacle cavity. A portion of the side wall extends past the aperture such that the aperture is disposed within the body cavity. Grease management systems that include the smoke trap have means for transferring grease into the receptacle cavity to inhibit smoke from escaping the receptacle cavity through the opening.

Abstract: A hydronic air heater includes a frame assembly defining an enclosure, an inlet air damper formed in a wall of the enclosure and providing a means of ingress for ambient air, a closed heat transfer loop disposed within the enclosure, and a blower assembly disposed within the enclosure. The heat transfer loop includes a boiler for heating a fluid, a pump for circulating the fluid within the loop and a heating coil for receiving the heated fluid from the boiler. The blower assembly is configured to draw air into the enclosure through the inlet air damper and through the heating coil whereby heat from the fluid within the heating coil is transferred to the air.

Abstract: A bio-mass fueled boiler operating at delivered efficiencies in excess of 90%. Pre-heated, pressurized primary combustion air is supplied to a primary burn chamber via horizontal and vertical orifice containing conduits. Exhaust gases are directed past a reflective secondary burner supplying pre-heated, pressurized secondary combustion air into a secondary burn/ash collection chamber. Exhaust gases are directed from the secondary burn chamber via exhaust conduits having axial and cross-sectional shapes and wall geometries that promote internal turbulence and heat transfer. One or more gas/oil fired burners are fitted to or between the primary and secondary combustion chambers. Several operating modes are provided via associated blowers, air baffles, liquid and gas fuel conduits, pumps and sundry stove sensors and servos coupled to microprocessor control circuitry.

Abstract: A fuel reformer burner for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system includes a first tube through which a fuel for a fuel reformer is supplied and a second tube through which anode-off gas (AOG) is supplied from a fuel cell stack. The second tube is not connected to the first tube, and an inlet line through which an air is supplied is connected to the first tube.

Abstract: A furnace for firing an enamelled wire comprising a principal chamber, an auxiliary unit for the aspiration of a first stream of air and solvent vapours from this principal chamber and combustion of the vapors themselves, and a duct assembly operable to introduce gaseous streams into the principal chamber for controlling the temperature within the principal chamber; the auxiliary unit comprises a heater constituted by a plurality of electrical resistances operable to heat this first stream at least up to a temperature sufficient to cause initiation of the combustion of the said vapors, and by a support structure for these resistances, housable in a duct of the auxiliary unit; the support structure and the walls of the duct are made in steel alloy which is highly resistant to high temperatures. (FIG. 1 and 2).

Abstract: A bulkhead is formed of a sheet of material which is preformed so as to have alternatingly opposed S-shaped creases at spaced intervals which define pairs of mutually facing recessed grooves between adjacent creases. Resilient surface area enlarging members are each provided with a pair of lips formed on the opposite edges thereof. Each pair of lips are received within a pair of mutually facing recessed grooves of the bulkhead. The surface area enlarging members can be snapped into or out of operative position with respect to the bulkhead to adjust the surface area of the device.

Abstract: A compact, high efficiency condensing furnace includes a combustion chamber and a pair of radiators. The temperature of the combustion gases is reduced in one of the radiators to the point at which combustion products condense, thereby extracting the latent heat of vaporization from these combustion products. Each of the radiators has an inlet and an outlet and a baffle between the inlet and outlet to prevent combustion gases from passing directly from the inlet to the outlet. Additional turbulence-providing baffles can be provided within the radiators if desired. A combustion air inlet pipe extends through a recess in the bottom of each radiator to the combustion chamber, and a gas burner tube extends generally concentrically within the combustion air inlet pipe to provide a gas flame within the combustion chamber. A flame spreader plate directs the flame toward the bottom of the combustion chamber.

Abstract: A furnace for firing electrically conductive wires clad with an insulating lastics resin, comprising a principal chamber defining a first portion in which evaporation of solvents from the resin takes place and a second portion in which this resin is polymerized and cross linked, and a diffuser element provided with separator means operable to divide the gas stream into a plurality of partial streams and means for distribution and introduction of these partial streams into a peripheral zone of the first portion in a direction substantially parallel to the lateral surface of the first portion itself.

Abstract: A stove has a combustion chamber with front and rear ends. Fuel is fed into the front end and a chimney exhausts the products of combustion from the rear end. A multiplicity of tubes are external to, and parallel to the combustion chamber. Each tube is connected between the front and rear ends of the combustion chamber so that some part of the products of combustion flows through the tube and thus improves its heat dissipation as compared to the heat dissipation of a simple fin. A baffle may be inserted between the front and rear ends of the combustion chamber to increase the flow of combustion products through the tubes.

Abstract: A compact, high efficiency condensing furnace includes a combustion chamber and a pair of radiators. The temperature of the combustion gases is reduced in one of the radiators to the point at which combustion products condense, thereby extracting the latent heat of vaporization from these combustion products. Each of the radiators has an inlet and an outlet and a baffle between the inlet and outlet to prevent combustion gases from passing directly from the inlet to the outlet. Additional turbulence-providing baffles can be provided within the radiators if desired. A combustion air inlet pipe extends through a recess in the bottom of each radiator to the combustion chamber, and a gas burner tube extends generally concentrically within the combustion air inlet pipe to provide a gas flame within the combustion chamber. A flame spreader plate directs the flame toward the bottom of the combustion chamber.

Abstract: A compact, high efficiency condensing furnace includes a combustion chamber and a pair of radiators. The temperature of the combustion gases is reduced in one of the radiators to the point at which combustion products condense, thereby extracting the latent heat of vaporization from these combustion products. Each of the radiators has an inlet and an outlet and a baffle between the inlet and outlet to prevent combustion gases from passing directly from the inlet to the outlet. Additional turbulence-providing baffles can be provided within the radiators if desired. A combustion air inlet pipe extends through a recess in the bottom of each radiator to the combustion chamber, and a gas burner tube extends generally concentrically within the combustion air inlet pipe to provide a gas flame within the combustion chamber. A flame spreader plate directs the flame toward the bottom of the combustion chamber.

Abstract: A heat exchanger for use with a source of heat in the form of a burner arrangement. The heat exchanger includes a relatively high flow resistance main passage for collecting combustion products from directly above the burner and a low flow resistance secondary passage opening forwardly of the main passage inlet and conveying any combustion products not collected by the main passage relatively directly to the flue. Flue downdraft principally affects flow in the secondary passage. The main passage may include a plurality of chambers to increase the heat exchange surface area. Water condensing in the main passage can be collected and drained to an evaporator rear the burner.

Abstract: A burning method and apparatus, using solid type fuel, comprising a combustion chamber in combination with a heat-extractor labyrinth chamber through which an artificial draft is generated mechanically. The artificial draft can be generated by intake and exhaust fans and/or blowers operating at accurately controlled speeds.In a specific stove-type embodiment, the draft-flow within the combustion chamber is utilized by a reversal of its flow pattern for either conventional up-draft burning, or preferably, for down-draft burning, with the gases exiting through the heat extractor compartment at close to ambient temperature and a short horizontal flue into the atmosphere. In this embodiment, the intake fan also serves to distribute usable heat from the surfaces of the combination and heat extractor compartments.

Abstract: A solid fuel furnace which includes a housing enclosing a firebox and a heat exchanger chamber. An open grate in the firebox supports solid fuel thereon. Combustion air is admitted to the area below the grate and is preheated and passes upwardly through the grate and fuel and mixes with volatile gases released from the fuel. The air/gas mixture is drawn downwardly through the fuel and exits the firebox through an inlet to an insulated burn-out chamber which is behind the firebox. A metal screen covers the inlet and serves to ignite the air/gas mixture. Hot flue gases exit the burn-out chamber to the heat exchanger chamber.

Abstract: A gas-fired, forced air furnace system employing a fiber matrix burner element and a condensing-type heat exchanger to achieve both high system thermal efficiency and low emission of NO.sub.X and other gaseous pollutants. The value of excess air in the fuel-air reactants supplied to the ceramic fiber matrix burner is selected to be equal to or greater than ten percent to provide NO.sub.X emissions below fifteen ppm on an air-free basis, with CO and HC emissions substantially comparable to those from existing furnaces, and the surface area of the condensing portion of the heat exchanger system is designed to produce sufficient condensation of moisture in the combustion gasses to produce an overall system thermal efficiency of at least about ninety percent.

Abstract: Improved furnaces are described in which secondary and tertiary heat exchanges are incorporated into new and existing hot-air furnace systems for controlled cooling of hot combustion products by co-current and countercurrent heat exchanges. Hot combustion products are cooled to a temperature at which latent heat of water vapor contained in combustion gases are substantially recovered.In one embodiment of our invention, a secondary heat exchanger comprises inter alia a closed hollow annular drum concentric with and spaced from a cylindrical combustion chamber, said annular drum having an upper annulus preferably filled with randomly packed refractory material.A second embodiment of our invention comprises a closed double-annuli drum heat exchanger concentric with and spaced from a cylindrical combustion chamber.Finned tube or thermosiphon heat exchangers can be arranged sequentially with the primary heat exchanger combustion chamber to function as a secondary heat exchanger or as a tertiary heat exchanger.

Abstract: The invention relates to the conversion of a substantially conventional gas fired furnace utilizing two or more of the clam shell-type heat exchanger cells, which is modified by converting one cell to a final stage counterflow heat exchanger for the hot gases of combustion, which modification incorporates directing the gases of combustion from the fired cells in a counterflow path through the non-fired cell by utilizing a positive displacement fan and then exhausting the gases of combustion. The modification eliminates the need for positive venting, while substantially increasing the operational efficiency of the furnace unit. The normal flue gas temperature in this type of furnace will be about 450.degree. F., while with the modification, the temperature will be reduced to less than about 200.degree. F. and efficiency will be increased by greater than 10 percent.

Abstract: Fireplace furnace apparatus includes separate air systems for combustion and for heating and the combustion gases flow from a primary combustion chamber into a secondary combustion chamber and into additional settling chambers for particulate matter and the heated air flows through finned chambers adjacent the chambers through which the combustion air flows.