On the domestic front, we have several choices when it comes to fitting out our kitchen cooking facilities (both those inside the house and any additional cooking areas – such as barbeque grills in the back yard). If we wish to cook by “open flame” (as against electricity, infrared or microwave) we have a choice of fuels that can range from solid, through liquid to gaseous; for those choosing the latter, propane is, possibly, the most popular (delivered either in bulk to fill our own storage tanks or in individual, pre-filled cylinders).
Heating By Flame
Having chosen our fuel, we then face the task of selecting the equipment in which we will burn that fuel in order to heat and cook our food. Let’s say we have opted for propane; we will need different types of burners for different cooking duties. On the top of our stove, we will have a number of ring burners which produce circles of individual, vertical flames suitable for heating the bottoms of kitchen pots – smaller diameter rings for small pots and larger for bigger pots. However, we will also wish to cook food in an oven; or under a grill; or on a heated griddle; for these, a circular ring of flames would hardly be practical and a straight line of flames would be more suitable.
The Straight Line Of Flames
These are usually known as Propane Pipe Burners. Their basic design utilizes a length of pipe; or tube which is open at one end and closed at the other. A series of small holes are drilled along one side of the tube. As the propane gas is fed into the tube under a relatively small pressure, it escapes out of the holes and can be set on fire to provide cooking flames of equal size and intensity over a straight line. Reality is not quite that simple since the propane needs to be precisely mixed with air if it is to burn correctly. To be used, the Propane Pipe Burners need to have items like, flow control valves and air to propane mixing devices (intensifiers or Venturis) incorporated into their construction.
Restaurants, bakeries, etc use cookers that are bigger but similar to those in our homes. You will even find Propane Pipe Burners in larger scale industries where heat is required over a long area – such as rectangular vats for melting wax, etc.
