If 50% excess air is provided, how many cubic feet of air are supplied to an oil burner to burn 1 pound of fuel oil?

To determine how many cubic feet of air is supplied to an oil burner to burn 1 pound of fuel oil with 50% excess air, it’s essential to understand the air-to-fuel ratio required for combustion and how excess air is calculated.

For complete combustion, a certain stoichiometric amount of air is needed to burn a given amount of fuel oil. In typical scenarios, approximately 12,000 to 15,000 cubic feet of air is required per gallon of fuel oil; this can vary based on the characteristics of the oil.

Assuming a common requirement of about 12,000 cubic feet of air for burning 1 gallon (which is approximately 8 pounds) of fuel oil, you can first find the cubic feet needed for 1 pound of oil:

1. Convert the air required for a gallon to per pound:

12,000 cu ft ÷ 8 pounds = 1,500 cu ft of air per pound of fuel oil.

2. Now, to incorporate the 50% excess air, calculate how much additional air is added to this base requirement:

The formula for calculating excess air is:

Air with excess = Required air × (1 + Excess percentage)

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