Before ordering or deciding on burners there are two things that you need to know. This knowledge is mandatory for you and for us. The two things are; type of gas & the pressure. Now, the type of gas is pretty easy. You are going to be using propane (LP) or Natural Gas (NG) if you reside in North America or most developed Northern Hemisphere countries. If you live elsewhere you might have some butane in the LP. Here's the part that many folks don't know, but it is very important and you must find out before ordering.
Pressure. We need to know this to determine what orifice size to put into the burner(s). If you call to order burners and don't know the pressure, we can't ship you a burner. Plain and simple. You've wasted the money of a phone call because we'll have to tell you to find out this information. Now, we know that there are places you can call to order burners and they'll sell you a natural gas burner or a LP burner with no questions asked. These burners are designed to work on a specific pressure. Did this supplier know your pressure? Did they ask? Will this burner work well on another pressure other than the one it was made for? The same burner can have vastly different BTU outputs with changes in pressure and gas (see the Ransome Burner chart on the Venturi Burner page).
So, how do you find out your pressure? Ask the gas company. In the case of LP, the pressure is determined by the regulator(s) on the tank and/or line. Ask them what is the "downstream delivery pressure". This can easily be changed, if necessary, with different regulators. Ask the LP supplier; "What is the lowest and highest delivery pressures that can be delivered to the site?"
If you have natural gas service, ask the gas company; What is the "delivery pressure?" and "What is the highest delivery pressure I can get?" and "What is the largest volume meter you can set?". You may be able to get higher pressures of natural gas, but this is, many times, restricted by zoning codes. Using gauges that are reading gauge pressures (again see gauge page), to determine your delivery gas pressure, may be inaccurate when dealing with low pressure (anything under 1 psi).
OK, we've made you read all of this and some of you may not need to know this stuff... WHAT! It's better to know about this than not. That's why this is at the end. If you are ordering a Raku system, we are providing you with everything, including the regulator. Plus, the Raku systems are for propane only. Also, if you are setting a new, large propane tank, we will tell you the pressure(regulator), you need. If you're adapting to a tank that already exists, you do need to know the above information. Feel free to call us about burner applications and such, but please have the information (outlined above) handy or we will not be able to give you useful or correct advise.
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