First, a thermocouple is not a flame rectifier like a modern flame sensor. A thermocouple actually generates a millivolt potential difference when it is heated by a flame—just to get that out of the way for any of you newer techs who are used to modern flame sensors. With higher efficiency gas-fired equipment being the […]

My friend Ami Slavin requested that I write about this important topic in response to the horrifying videos showing up online of death and gore associated with compressors exploding. He pointed out that the “diesel effect” can be the cause, so let's explore what may be—and likely is—leading to these horrible incidents. In a diesel […]

The general law of perfect gas is a combination of Boyle’s and Charles’s laws. Each of those laws neglected pressure, temperature, or volume in their formulas. The law of perfect gas combines the two, clearly establishing the relationship between all three variables and giving those laws a much more practical use in our field. We […]