
3 Operation
10
© Moffat Ltd, January 2007
Revision 1/
Blue Seal Evolution Series Gas Salamander
3.4 Explanation of Control
System
Safety System
The purpose of the safety system is to shut off
the flow of gas if the pilot flame goes out. It is
omprised of the flame itself, the thermo ouple,
and the flame failure gas valve.
The pilot flame is lit by holding in the gas
ontrol knob, whi h in turn temporarily pushes
the plunger inside the safety valve open and
allows gas to flow through. On e the burner is
lit, the thermo ouple will begin to generate
millivolts (after about 10 to 30 se onds of being
heated) and will energize the ele tromagnet
inside the gas valve. On e energized the
ele tromagnet holds the plunger inside the gas
valve in the open position. The plunger has to
have been pushed all the way in for the
ele tromagnet to be able to hold it in pla e. If
the burner flame goes out for some reason, the
thermo ouple will ool after about 10 to 30
se onds and stop generating millivolts. The
ele tromagnet will then de-energize, and the
plunger will snap shut, utting off the flow of gas.
Detail of ea h omponent in the safety system is
explained below.
Thermocouple
The thermo ouple is a devi e that generates
ele tri ity when heat is applied to the tip.
Millivolts are provided to the ele tromagnet by
the thermo ouple (not shown) whi h generates
millivolts when heated. The thermo ouple s rews
into a fitting at the ba k of the gas valve to make
an ele tri onne tion. By pressing in the gas
ontrol knob, the plunger an be temporarily held
open while lighting. There's two reasons for this;
gas has to flow through the safety valve to make
it possible to light the pilot burner, and se ondly
the plunger has to be pushed all the way in for
the ele tromagnet to hold it in. I.e.; the
ele tromagnet is strong enough to hold the
plunger in on e there, but is not strong enough
to pull it in by itself. Sometimes a problem with
the flame not staying lit after releasing the button
an be attributed to not pushing the plunger all
the way in.
The tip of the thermo ouple is lo ated in the pilot
burner flame, and the nut at the other end of the
thermo ouple s rews into the ba k of the gas
valve. Inside the opper tubing is a wire whi h is
joined at the tip but insulated from the rest of the
tubing. These two parts (the opper tubing and
wire) make up the "wiring" for an ele tri al
ir uit. When these two dissimilar metals, wire
and tip, are heated an ele tri al voltage is
produ ed. This type of thermo ouple generates
between 7 and 30 millivolts when heated in the
pilot flame.
Electromagnetic Flame Failure Gas Valve
The purpose of the safety valve is to shut off the
flow of gas if the pilot flame goes out.
Inside the body of the gas valve is an
ele tromagnet onne ted to a spring loaded
plunger. When the ele tromagnet is energized, it
holds the plunger in, allowing gas to flow through
the valve. When the ele tromagnet is
de-energized, the plunger snaps to the losed
position, stopping the flow of gas.
Figure 3.4a
Figure 3.4b
Thermo ouple
Gas flow
Ele tromagnet
Plunger
Shaft
Knob
Gas flow Plunger
Insulator Nut Condu tor Tip
Internal
Wire