Prior to connecting a well to a production pipeline, a well test is typically performed where the well is produced and production fluids derived from the well, such as crude oil and gas, are evaluated. Following the well test, the collected production fluids must be disposed of. In certain instances, the production fluid is separated and a portion thereof (i.e., substantially crude oil) may be disposed of by burning using a well test burner system. On offshore drilling platforms, for example, well test burner systems are often mounted at the end of a boom that extends outward from the side of the platform. As the well is tested, the produced crude is piped out the boom to the well test burner system and burned. Well test burner systems are also often used in conjunction with land-based wells.
Conventional well test burner systems include several burner nozzles that receive and burn the production fluids and simultaneously allow the well test burner system to operate over a wide range of flow rates. Burner nozzles are often selectively capped to reduce the flow rate through the well test burner system when desired. The un-capped burner nozzles have large amounts of air and oil flowing through them, which serves to remove thermal energy and thereby keeps them cool. The capped nozzles, however, are exposed to radiant heat emitted from the flame discharged from the un-capped nozzles. Such radiant heat can sometimes result in seal failure for the un-capped nozzles, and seal failures can present various safety issues and result in environmental damage.