Eli5 How can one small flame in a boiler be enough to warm a whole houses central heating system?
In: Engineering
The small flame you see is called the pilot light – this is a small, single flame that is kept lit permanently as a way to start the main gas flames of the boiler – when the boiler is activated properly it will turn on additional banks of flames (lit by just turning on the gas flow – the gas will fill up the boiler until it reaches the pilot light and ignites). These main banks of flame are what does the main bulk of the heating.
When you turn off the boiler, the main jets will turn off, but the pilot will remain lit, ready for next time the boiler is used.
The problem you will hear being mentioned in reference to the pilot light is when it gets blown out – with no pilot light, you have no way of igniting the main gas jets of your boiler, meaning it won’t work until you can get the pilot light relit.
As for why they use a pilot light? It is just the most effective and reliable way to light a boiler. While you do get other systems like piezo/electric igniters, generally they are just not as reliable or easy to use on a timer (notice how it often takes a few clicks to light a gas cooker – you would need to find a way to monitor this inside your boiler), and the pilot light uses such a small amount of gas it isn’t considered an issue.
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