Frequently Asked Questions about Gasmaster Condensing Boilers
and Water Heaters

All models are equipped with a flame sensor. If at any time during the operation a flame is not detected, the gas valve will be instantly shut-off.

Gasmaster Industries uses Honeywell or Siemens burner controllers. Contact a Gasmaster Industries sales representative for details on the different options available.

Condensing technology is only discouraged when #2 Oil is used as a primary source of fuel. Condensing technology is discouraged by boilers that have copper or cast iron heat exchangers. While operating in condensing mode the flue gas condensate can corrode the heat exchanger. Gasmaster Industries boiler & water heater are manufactured from 316/316L stainless steel and can resist the corrosive action of the condensate.

Yes, both GMI 2M and GMI 4M units can run on both 460V and 600V supply.

The payback will be the number of years it takes for the condensing boiler installation to pay for itself. The cost of installation will be the additional cost incurred to replace an existing system with a condensing boiler system. Simple payback can be calculated as cost of installation/yearly savings. Yearly savings resulting from higher boiler and system efficiencies can be estimated with the help of the “Savings” tool on our website.

Condensing boilers can operate at low system-water temperatures and extract the latent heat from the products of combustion. When flue gasses condense, they release approximately 1000 Btu’s for every pound of condensate. This is called the latent heat of vapourization.In conventional boilers this energy is lost with the flue gas going up the stack. For example, a 8,000,000 Btu/hr input boiler operating at 87% efficiency will have an output of 6,960,000 Btu/hr.A condensing boiler operated for an hour will produce 687 pounds of condensate. The combustion efficiency being 89% the overall thermal efficiency of the condensing boiler will be 97.58%
(8,000,000 X .89) + (687 X 1000) = 7,807,000
7,807,000/8,000,000= 97.58%

Yes. We do have installations where our boilers are installed outside. All we do is that we place the boiler inside a watertight box. We manufacture the box ourselves, and ship the whole pack on one skid, which can be easily placed on roof-top or any other location. Obviously the box has an access door, which allows for periodic inspection of the boiler and its components.

Gasmaster water heaters have been certified as one pass, instantaneous heaters; therefore, they can be used in tank-less configuration. We have a number of applications, such as condominiums and office buildings where the water heaters are connected directly to the buildings hot water supply. All these buildings have a re-circulating loop, which hold 30 - 50 gallons of water, depending on the building's size. This is more than sufficient to provide the hot water on demand before additional hot water is produced by the heater.

The following tools and instrumentation are necessary to perform start-up and combustion calibration of the unit:

• Digital Combustion Analyzer
• Digital Multimeter
• 20 inch W.C. manometer
• ¼ inch NPT fittings for use with manometer
• All size Phillips and flat blade screwdrivers

Condensation occurs when a gas undergoes a phase change into a liquid. This is a natural process and occurs at the point at which the gas temperature begins to fall below its dew point. This dew point varies for different gases, and for natural gas fired boilers, condensation takes place at temperatures below 135F. With respect to condensing boilers, this phase change occurs when the temperature of the vapour produced from combustion fall below the dew point.

Very briefly, air/gas mixture enters the combustion chamber where it is combusted by a spark from the ignition rod. This combustion creates instantaneous high pressure inside the combustion chamber which in turn generates pressure waves. These pressure waves carry the products of combustion out towards the perimeter of the coils. Water enters the coils at the perimeter and exists close to the center. Rapid expansion of exhaust gases together with the cooling effect by the water flowing through the coils causes the pressure in the combustion chamber to drop below ambient. Some combustion products are returned to the combustion chamber; the new volume of air/gas mixture enters the chamber and is pre-compressed by the returning exhaust gases. The temperature in the chamber is still high, therefore, the second combustion takes place and the cycle is repeated. The process is known as radial pulsed combustion and is patented internationally.

A condensing boiler is able to condense the water vapour in the flue gases and can withstand the corrosive and acidic qualities of the flue gas condensate. Although most boilers can condense the flue gasses but only boilers that have heat exchangers constructed from materials able to withstand the corrosion should be used in condensing application. The most common material used in 316L Stainless steel which had high resistance to corrosion. Other materials like copper, aluminum, cast iron etc are prone to heat exchanger failure from flue gas corrosion. Condensing boilers with primary and secondary heat exchanger do not work well as they are not able to fully condense and defeat the purpose of using a condensing boiler. Also boilers with this arrangement are prone to condensation in the primary heat exchanger at lower firing rate which can cause damage to the heat exchanger.

Condensation is a phenomenon that can be observed in everyday life. A glass filled with cold water or cold beer at room temperature will form condensate on the outer surface of the glass. Flue gas condensation occurs when the combustion gas flows over the heat exchanger and is cooled below its dew point and so undergoes a phase gas from liquid.  When the water in the heat exchanger is below the dew point temperature of the flue gas condensation will occur.

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