Patent ID: 7476099

Claim:
A pre-mix burner having a primary air chamber and a secondary air chamber for the staged combustion of fuel and air, said burner comprising: (a) a burner tube having a downstream end and an upstream end, said burner tube for mixing air from the primary air chamber with fuel at said upstream end; (b) a burner tip surrounded by a peripheral burner tile adjacent the downstream end of said burner tube, so that combustion of the fuel takes place downstream of said burner tip; (c) a lighting chamber, said lighting chamber formed within said peripheral burner tile and adjacent the downstream end of said burner tube; (d) a removable lighting chamber plug positioned within said lighting chamber to substantially fill and plug-off said lighting chamber and eliminate a zone of high oxygen concentration; and (e) a plurality of air ports for receiving air from the secondary air chamber to provide staged combustion; wherein said removable lighting chamber plug reduces NO x emissions during combustion over the burner without said removable lighting chamber plug.