Burners are something that are used in many labs, the most common type being a Bunsen burner.
We get many questions from our customers about the differences between our various burner types, fuel sources, tubing options, and more. This post should answer many of our common questions.
There are two main fuel sources for a Bunsen Burner: Natural Gas (mostly methane) and Liquid Petroleum Gas (typically Propane and/or Butane). Some of our burners come in both types, others just come in one. Be sure to select the correct burner for whatever fuel source you are going to use: it is unsafe to use a burner for one type of fuel with the other fuel.
The flame that Bunsen burners produce can be controlled in two different ways: fuel to air ratio (air flow) and amount of fuel (throttle).
The fuel to air ratio will determine the intensity and type of flame produced. When the air valve on a burner is closed, the flame will be a "safety flame" or "luminous flame" - a much cooler and dirty, yellow flame. As the air valve is opened, the flame becomes much less bright and significantly hotter. The image below shows the range of flames from the far left being a luminous flame with the air hole closed to the far right having the air hole almost fully open:
Credit: wikipedia.org
The amount of fuel being used is controlled by the throttle. Some of our burners have throttle controls built on them (like on the Tirrill and Meker burners) and other are throttled from the fuel source. Depending on your setup, you will want to figure out whether you want additional throttle control on the burner itself.
All of our laboratory burners are based off of the standard Bunsen burner. We do offer a few different variations of the Bunsen burner, including Meker, Tirrill, and Micro burners. All of our burners accept 6mm to 8mm tubing.
While it may be the standard burner, we even offer a few different types of the standard Bunsen burner.
This burner is our most economical burner. It lacks a flame stabilizer or throttle control, but it does have an air flow adjustment sleeve. It is available for Natural Gas only and is 6" tall.
Bunsen Burner with Flame Stabilizer (CH0087A and CH0087B)
Similar to the Basic Bunsen Burner, this burner only can control the air to fuel ratio via an air flow adjustment sleeve. However, it does have a flame stabilizer which makes it safer in a laboratory setting. It is 6.5" tall and is available in both Natural Gas and Liquid Petroleum variants.
Premium Bunsen Burner with Flame Stabilization and Gas Adjustment (CH0094LP and CH0094NG)
This is most flexible and premium option for the standard Bunsen burner and stands 6.5" tall. It allows both air to fuel ratio adjustments as well as throttle control via a gas adjustment needle valve. The flame stabilizer comes standard and the burner is available in both Natural Gas and Liquid Petroleum variants.
Micro Bunsen Burner with Flame Stabilizer (CH0093E)
This is the smaller version of our Premium Bunsen burner and is 3.5" tall instead of the standard 6.5". It allows both air to fuel ratio adjustments as well as throttle control via a gas adjustment needle valve. The flame stabilizer comes standard and the burner is available only in a Natural Gas variant.
The Tirrill burner is a sub type of the Bunsen burner that features a wing nut on the bottom of the tube for gas adjustment and the tube screws for fine adjustment of the air to fuel ratio.
We offer a natural gas version of the Tirrill Burner (CH0095B) that is 6.5" tall and has a flame stabilizer.
The Meker burner is a relatively radical sub type of the Bunsen burner that is designed to produce and extremely hot and stable flame. The Meker burner was designed around the principle that the hottest point of a flame is the outer tip of the inner flame. It features a grid that separates the flame into an array of much smaller flames, creating many more "outer tips" or zones of highest temperature. This allows for the average temperature of the flame to rise from 935°C to 1180°C.
We offer a natural gas version, a Premium Meker Burner (CH0098B) that is 8.5" tall with a 1.6" diameter grid opening.
Connecting burners to a gas source can be achieved with many different kinds of hoses. We typically recommend a neoprene tubing. We have a 3ft Neoprene Burner Hose, but there are other options available.
