J.Gonzalez

Problem solved. The nuisance tripping has stopped. Repairing the rodent damage and cleaning/tightening all connections seems to have done the trick. I have been running the hammer for hours the past few days, mig welding, plasma, big compressor, etc. Thanks to all for the input.

I do not use previously used oil in the hammer. I do use cheap oil and plenty of it. I use good quality grease for the bearings. I recycle the oil after it has been used in the hammer in my alaska mill auxiliary oiler. The bar is 5 feet long and is sometimes cutting through 4+ feet of eastern hardwood which can be difficult for the chainsaw's integral oiler to keep well lubricated. I am certainly not endorsing doing anything the way I do it. So, this nuisance tripping I have been tracking... Steve is right, had the splice box been sealed properly those mice would not have caused a problem but I overlooked one spot. That is done now but the nuisance tripping at about the 15-20 minute mark persisted. I will have a chance to run the hammer full out again tomorrow. If it happens again I will find an "amp clamp" to meter amp draw. Should I also consider replacing the 100A breaker at the service panel? Thanks to all for weighing in

I suppose running dry and cold could be a possible problem. I have run it just as it is for years without issue, though. I usually prime it and let it warm up at an idle while the coal forge is waking up. What oil do you run through yours? I have been using chainsaw bar oil that gets reused on the aux oiler on my alaska mill. Been doing that for a decade at least. I have inspected all splice points but the buried one and tightened things up. I am going to run things today in hopes it is just that simple. If it pops again I will pick up an amp clamp.

The sub panel is 100A. Other loads would be coal forge blower, a half dozen florescent shop lights, a box fan on low aimed at the wood stove. I checked the only other accessible splice before the subpanel and it appeared to be fine. It was a while ago I put it in so I dont remember if I used antiox on the aluminum but it is something I generally do, working it in a little with a wire brush. I suppose I will check ahead of the sub panel now. I did all this wiring myself including trenching the 200 rocky feet to the shop. A rookie mistake is a possibility. Any recommendations on an Amp meter? Is this the same as a multimeter? I believe I know where to borrow one of those... Also, should trying a new breaker be considered? Thanks again

I have a problem. I am forging down 1" square stock with the #88 striker air hammer, 5HP, 1ph converted to 3ph through a VFD and the 100A breaker at the main service panel trips after about 20 minutes of work. Shop subpanel does not trip. I opened up the splice box between the service panel and the shop subpanel and found a mouse family and damaged ground and neutral. Fixed that and went back to work. Happened again. I have two other splice points between the shop and the main service panel. One where the wire dives underground and one halfway to the shop underground. 2/0 Aluminum, rated for direct burial, some in plastic conduit, some not. I live in way northern New York state. Things are just freezing up. Any ideas? Any tricks for diagnosing/measuring to suggest? Thanks in advance.....

Theres a shot of the S.S. garden gate I've started work on. I opted to forge out the leaves from sheet rather than flat bar. More tig welding but less propane.

Just tried the burner out in an old forge shell. Extremely stable flame at least for the 15 minutes of run time my near dead empty 20 pounder afforded. I will go pull the spare off the camper later and post pictures or a short video. Flame was a little reducing which I suppose could be addressed by modifying the reil type burner's air intake size. The flame was perfectly stable and very quiet over a wide range as well. I wish I had the time to change out my production slot forge from blown to n.a. Thanks again for sharing your discoveries.

Multi port head comes out of mold. I used 1/8" aluminum tig rod scraps dipped in grease. Worked better than I expected. 90 odd holes. If the n.a. burner head won't run it I'll try widening a few holes. Thanks for the input frosty and dan.

Hi Dan. First time on ifi in a long time. So I just converted my home built slot forge to blown ribbon and now I'm looking to change over my portable. It currently uses a single zoeller type propane 3/4" n.a. burner. In your opinion would this burner convert to run a ribbon head?