Thermal Economy Products
Providing Superior Engineered Systems and Products
Burner Sentry System Overview
The Thermal Economy Burner Sentry system is the most state of the art, operator and maintenance friendly, easiest to operate and maintain, and lowest long term installed cost system. The system was originally designed around several design principles:
- Nonproprietary parts, enabling readily available low cost spare parts replacement. Off the shelf components and software.
- Easy to operate and troubleshoot; making it easy to operate system and easy to troubleshoot failures of field devices and equipment.
- Highest level of safety; our systems exceed NFPA, CSD-1, CSA, and Factory Mutual requirements.
- Long term reliability and lowest long term installed cost. The system achieve high reliability and lowest industry installed operating cost.
- System flexibility; the system can be configured in many ways to accomplish the most basic control and safety as well as the most sophisticated control and safety. The system and be furnished for new boilers, heaters, dryers and other equipment as well as retrofitted to existing equipment.
The Burner Sentry system includes several subsystems that can be furnished with various manufacturer equipment. For example: the PLC can be furnished with Allen Bradley, Siemens, Modicon, Triconex, or other PLCs. The human machine interface (HMI) and HMI software can be Allen Bradley, Phoenix Contact, FactoryTalk View SE, Wonderware, or other hardware and software.
The system can be configured with a wide range of hardware and software options: such as: non redundant or redundant processors, 2 oo 3 voting, non-redundant or redundant power supplies, single or dual flame scanners, remote and/or local operator stations, communications to various customer systems such as DCS systems, BACNET and Medisys systems, and remote monitoring and data gathering systems. As well as many other options and specific customer requirements. The system offers unmatched flexibility and versatility.
The Burner Sentry system was designed so control, setup, and troubleshooting can be performed via the HMI. PLC programming software and computers are not needed for PLC instrument ranging, fuel air setting, tuning, and other set up and service functions.
Operator HMI Features
The Burner Sentry system provides the easiest operator interface. The system includes two operator text boxes on the burner management operator screen, one text box provides operating status information such as "Purge Complete" and "Controls to Low Fire" appear during the operating sequence providing operating status information. The second text box provides operator instructions guiding the operator through the burner light off sequence such as "Push the Reset Button" and "Push the Start Button" which provide easy to understand instructions describing how to operate the system.
Several indicating lights provide status for the fuel valves, pilot valves, and flame scanners. The alarm summary box provides alarm messages describing all trips and alarm conditions. Alarm and shutdown messages such as: "Low Gas Pressure", "Low Fire Limits Not Satisfied" provide the operator and the maintenance personnel critical trip and alarm information with messages describing the actual conditions. Codes, numbers, and other more cryptic descriptions are not used. Only names of the exact alarms and trips.
A Limit Status operator screen provides real time information (the device is in the normal or off normal condition) for all safety device status. On one screen the operator and maintenance person can view the status of all the operating safety devices.
The Burner Sentry HMI screens were developed to provide the operator and the maintenance personal all the key information required to operate and troubleshoot the system. And the system uses the exact names of the various trip conditions and alarms. The system is designed specifically for the customer's application. No other system provides the ease of use and wealth of information.
Long Term Reliability and Troubleshooting Ease
The Burner Sentry was designed for long term reliability and ease of troubleshooting failures of burner and other equipment, as well as easy troubleshooting operating system issues.
Because the system includes all off the shelf components, and no proprietary devices or software are used; replacement parts are lower cost and can be quickly purchased.
Only field proven hardware is used in the system.
Every possible trip and alarm condition are displayed on the operator HMI alarm summary box and the Limits Screen. Even early warning conditions are displayed. The alarm summary provides the maintenance person the necessary information needed to troubleshoot field device failures or control system failures.
The system includes circuit breakers for the pilot valves, fuel valves, and ignition transformer. The breakers protect these field devices as well as the control system. And the breakers are monitored by the PLC, enabling alarming of tripped breakers, or if power has been jumpered to a field device.
For systems with combustion controls, feedwater controls, draft controls, and other analog pressure, level, temperature, and flow meters. The PLC range set up for these meters is performed on the HMI screen, not via a programming computer. The 4-20 madc input signal for these devices is displayed enabling easy troubleshooting and loop testing of these control loops.
All combustion control parameters are set from an operator service screen. This approach enables one person set up of all analog control loops. This approach also provides sufficient information to help troubleshoot field device failures such as dampers, valves, and flow meters.
All components are chosen for long term reliability. LED style push to test indicating lamps. All relays are equipped with indicating lights.
Included with every PC based HMI system is a PDF viewer. The project drawings, such as schematic wiring drawings, arrangement drawings, and bill of material, can be viewed via the same operator HMI. The customer can also install any customer specific documents for viewing from the HMI. This capability provides easy access to all job specific documents.
Easy System Setup and Commissioning
A tuning and setup parameters are accessible via password protected HMI screens. All ranges corresponding to field transmitters (pressure transmitters, flow meters, temperature transmitters, etc.) and field control device (flow control valves and dampers) are set up on the Field Service setup screen. All values and parameters are easily inputted on this screen. They do not need to be inputted to the PLC via a PLC programming computer.
The ranges that need to be inputted into the PLC for all of the field transmitters such as gas flow, feedwater flow, and others, can easily be entered from the HMI screen. A programming computer accessing the PLC is not required. The transmitter input (4-20 madc) is shown on the same screen. This allows for easy monitoring, loop checking, and verification of all the control loop signals.
All tuning parameters and set points such as low fire start positions, damper purge and low fire positions, and other settings, are displayed on the HMI screen so that they can be easily set and modified during startup. Note, all settings are password protected.
The system provides easy setup and commissioning of the burner management system and boiler control parameters. Easy access to these settings, parameters, and operating values makes troubleshooting field device issues substantially easier.
Safety
The Burner Sentry system exceeds NFPA, CSD-1, CSA, and Factory Mutual safety requirements. The system includes safety features not found in other PLC and microprocessor based systems. The following are some of the safety features built into both the hardware and the software systems:
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Critical I/O checking ensures all safety device PLC inputs are operating safely and correctly.
External watchdog timer verifies PLC operation.
True hard wired shut down master fuel trip circuit with an additional PLC controlled master fuel trip assures both PLC and hardwired shutdown.
All portions of the master fuel trip circuit are monitored and alarmed.
Triple redundant relays for the safety valves assures high reliability. Most systems include either one or two relays in series.
Circuit breakers protecting the pilot valves, fuel valves, and ignition transformer circuits as well as the control relays. The circuit breaker status is verified by monitoring power to the valves and ignition transformer. Monitoring the outgoing power to the field devices assures when the devices powered and protects against field jumpering to power fuel valves.
Loss of 4-20 madc signals for fuel and combustion air flow trips the burner. Ensuring reliable combustion control safety.
Alarming and tripping on low exhaust oxygen level.
All alarms and trips are displayed on the alarm summary box, using real device names and descriptive alarms.
Field proven control logic that has been proven in over 175 installed PLC based control systems
Communications
The Burner Sentry system is capable of communicating with all standard industry communication protocols. The system can communicate with other PLCs, distributed control system (DCS), and other controls systems. The system can communicate via Ethernet, MODBUS, BACNET, and Medisys. It can also be equipped with a data file enabling either remote monitoring or remote control via another system such as a DCS or data archiving system such as Rockwell Historian.
Control System Options
The Burner Sentry system is designed to be flexible and to accommodate a wide range of customer requirements while still maintaining the same easy to use operator interface and safety. The following is a list of some of the various options provided to customers. Other features and capabilities can also be provided.
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Various PLC and HMI brands
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Historical alarming
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Air conditioners and Vortec cooling
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Remote Stop/Start control
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Selectable redundant analog field devices
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Redundant safety devices
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Redundant communications
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Customer specific components and brands
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2 or 3 voting for safety devices
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Remote DCS operation
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Communications to various systems
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Remote system monitoring/control
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Trending and historical alarming
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Air purge units
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Redundant PLC and field device power supplies
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2 or 3 flame scanners
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Class I Div I or II
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Redundant PLC processors
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Safety PLCs such as Triconex
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One or more remote displays
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NEMA 4X enclosures
Summary
The Burner Sentry system is available for new equipment and retrofit applications for all burners, boilers, dryers, kilns, furnaces, and other fuel fired equipment. The easy operator prompting interface is unmatched in the industry. The Burner Sentry system is the safest and most flexible system available. The system can accommodate all types of field devices, equipment, and customer requirements. The system exceeds all safety guidelines while providing critical operating information to the operators and maintenance personnel enabling safe and reliable operation. Years of field proven experience are designed into the hardware and software systems providing the customer with superior value, flexibility, and unmatched long term lowest cost.
