What is the standard electrode setting ahead of the nozzle minimum in an oil burner, with electrode ends 3/16" apart?

• A. 1/16
• B. 3/16
• C. 1/8
• D. 1/4

Answer: (C)

Ignition in an oil burner relies on a spark jumping across a small gap between the two electrodes that are positioned near the nozzle. Two distances matter: the gap between the electrode tips and the distance of the electrode tips ahead of the nozzle. The distance ahead of the nozzle should be about 1/8 inch. This puts the spark right where the atomized oil and air are entering the flame zone, without risking damage from being too close to the nozzle or failing to ignite if the electrodes are too far away. If the ahead-of-nozzle distance is too small, you can scorch the nozzle or cause arcing on the nozzle; if it’s too large, ignition becomes unreliable. In this scenario, even though the electrode ends themselves are 3/16 inch apart, the standard ahead-of-nozzle setting is 1/8 inch.