There is really only one good reason to install a Fire Valve in your house if you heat with a furnace that burns either fuel oil or liquefied petroleum gas and that is to be safe. If you think about it furnaces are a combination of electrical and mechanical devices built to create a fire that is carefully managed to heat your home to the temperature you want despite how cold it gets outside. If any one of the many components fails it could possibly mean that the fire could escape the confines of the furnace causing damage to your house. This might also mean that any people in the house could become victims of the fire resulting in either injury from burns or smoke inhalation. It might even, in the worst case scenario, result in death. However, the good news is that steps can be taken to lessen the chances that this might occur
There are number things one can do to minimize this type of risk. An important one of these is to install a Fire Valve. The Fire Valve and the associated things needed to install correctly are not terribly expensive and the peace of mind you will get from knowing that you have made your house a safer place is well worth the cost.
Here are the basics about how the Fire Valve works. Whether your furnace burns fuel oil or liquified petroleum gas it should operate within a certain fairly specific temperature range. If a problem within the furnace develops it will usually either shut down completely or refuse to shut down when it should. If it fails to turn off it will begin to get hotter than it is supposed to get. If you haven’t installed a Fire Valve this become a problem. If you have one a temperature sensor is triggered. These sensors are made to go off at a variety of different temperatures to be applicable to differing types of furnaces. Generally these sensors trigger at 66 to 72 degrees celsius (approximately 155 degrees f) for most applications but also come configured to set off at a slightly higher rate for other higher temperature applications
This sensor is mounted inside the insulating casing of your boiler. It is connected by a capillary tube, just a thin tube, to a remotely operated valve. This valve is installed in the fuel line that supplies whichever particular type of fuel your furnace is designed to burn between the tank and the furnace. The capillary tube contains a liquid. If the temperature of your furnace goes above the level expected for that furnace the liquid in the capillary tube expands. This causes the valve to shut which in turn closes off the fuel supply to the furnace. Your furnace will of course shut off but that is a minor inconvenience compared to what might happen if you hadn’t installed a Fire Valve.
Once you have made the right decision, to have a Fire Valve installed please make sure to have the work done by a qualified professional. While some homeowners may have the necessary tools and knowledge to correctly install this safety device most people should always rely on the professionals for a job like this.
