The Burner is the engine of the hot air balloon. It is what propels the hot air up into the envelope to make the balloon move skywards. There are many different types of burner available - single, double, up to quad systems, depending on the size of the balloon flying.



Modern hot air balloons use propane in the burner to heat the air. The propane is stored in cylinders which are kept in the balloon basket. The propane is highly compressed in the cylinders and flows to the burner in liquid form. When the pilot starts the burner up, the propane flows to it and is ignited by a pilot light. As the flame burns, it heats up the metal in the surrounding tubing and when the tubing becomes hot it heats the propane flowing through it. This process changes the propane from a liquid to a gas before it is ignited. The gas makes for a more powerful flame, and also more efficient fuel consumption.



There are a wide variety of different burner systems. They mainly differ in the number of actual burners included. Most popular is the double burner which is made up of 2 burner coils. A balloon can be powered by just a single burner, it all depends on the size of the envelope. On smaller balloons, with 1 or 2 passengers, a single system will normally suffice.